(by Don Meador, Allen County Schools)
Students taking art at the James E. Bazzell Middle School will benefit for years to come after receiving a donation of a clay wedging table from the Allen County League of Artists and Craftsmen (ACLAC). The new table will enable art students to get more usage out of the clay they use when working on projects, focus more time on an activity, and do more with ceramics.
“This table is a very useful tool that we will use a lot of different times,” explained Bazzell art educator Jenna Neil. “With this table, you can take recycled clay and wedge the air out of it and that will suck out some of the moisture. If I try and wedge the clay on a hard surface, it will just stick. This way we can actually recycle the clay instead of having to use new clay. I am so happy for this donation. We will get many years of usage. It will also help our students with our ceramics program.”
The donation comes as part of a new focused effort by the local League
of Artists and Craftsmen to help support the art education programs at each of the
schools in the Allen County School District. Last spring, ACLAC officials
presented the school district with a $450 cash donation. The money was divided
between each school---$100 each for the Primary Center, Intermediate Center,
and the Bazzell Middle School and $150 for the Allen County-Scottsville High
School---with the funds earmarked for the purchase of art supplies. Through conversations
with Neal at the time, ACLAC members Victor and Maria Acosta learned of the
need for a wedging table at the middle school.
With a new wedging table costing approximately $1,700 to purchase outright, the Acosta’s began drafting plans to craft a specially designed table---including a lower-level storage shelf---just for the school. Victor Acosta stretched the drawings for the table to the dimensions Neal supplied---dimensions based on the spot in her classroom that would provide the best fit. ACLAC helped cover the cost of materials and the expense of welding the table together by the Bowling Green business of Metals and More. The Acosta’s finished work on the 300-lb table by applying a coat of red paint.
The Acosta’s, joined by ACLAC president Nina Jones and vice-president Kevin Meador, presented the table to Neal and the middle school on Thursday.