Freddy Baeza, special instructor of art at USAO, has spent a majority of the last month and a half throwing ceramic bowls in the Art Annex in preparation for the first Chili Bowl Brawl January 13th from 5pm to 8pm. This event will raise money to send five students, along with Baeza, to Cincinnati for the 57th annual National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference.

The four-day conference begins March 15th and will have a wide variety of guest speakers and panelists along with pottery, ceramic, and hand building professionals to teach the students about possible fields they can go into after graduation. Baeza mentioned that the conference is a good place for students to learn more about different grad schools, begin thinking about their future, and build important connections.

The brawl will have around ten chefs, each with a unique chili recipe, for participants to try. Participants will first purchase a hand-made ceramic bowl, which come in three sizes. The small bowl holds 8 ounces for $15, the medium bowls holds 16 ounces for $20, and the share-size bowl holds between 18-24 ounces for $25. Participants can then go around and try as many chilis as they’d like, and as many times as they’d like.

Baeza said the Canadian River Brewing Co. will be at the event to fill up the hand-made ceramic steins. Baeza said that there will be two sizes of steins available, a small one for $25 and a large one for $30. The event will accept cash and a QR code will be available for participants to scan and pay as well.

All of the money raised from this event will be put towards the conference. Baeza estimated that it costs about $1,500 per student and $1,800 per faculty member. He stated that his goal was for students to be able to go without worrying about how they were going to pay for the conference fees or the hotel room.

Baeza said that there will be three guest judges at the brawl to pick the overall winner. This chef will be awarded a vase made by Bazae, two wine goblets, two steins, a bottle of wine, and a six-pack of beer from Canadian River Brewing Co. Baeza said this reward was to entice people to bring their A-game and best possible chili. A few chefs that were mentioned include Blake Morgan, Jordan Vinyard’s mother, and Baeza. Other possible chefs include Dr. Jeannette Loutsch and Dr. Rachel Jones.

Baeza said he wants this to become an annual fundraiser and hopes that over the next few years students will take over the production pottery process so that every piece is student produced. He said he believes this will be good practice for students as they start learning the process, how to manage timelines, and how to run their own businesses.

Baeza set his goals high when he first began the throwing process in early December with a goal of completing 600 bowls for the event. Baeza said the first week started slow because he was only able to throw 12 bowls a day, but going into the first week of January he said he could throw 45 bowls in about three hours. As of early January, Baeza said he expects to have around 400 bowls and 150 steins available for participants to buy. Over winter break, Baeza picked up help from Adam Heilman, Sydny Dockery, and the Chickasha Area Arts Council to throw, fire, and glaze more bowls.

The time-consuming process yields beautiful pieces as the team works to make every ceramic piece unique. Baeza uses a multitude of glazes, with colors ranging from blues to greens to pinks, to ensure that every bowl and stein is unique.

Emily Loughridge is a second-year Communication major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.