It started as a class project. Hundreds of handmade bowls later, CHS grad gives back to city
What started out as a high school senior project by a Columbus native soon turned into a way to give back to his community.
Mikail Albritton, an Emory University sophomore, recently came back to Columbus to create bowls for the Empty Bowl Luncheon. Empty Bowl, hosted by Feeding the Valley and the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department, is an annual event held in Columbus and across the U.S. to bring awareness to child hunger and food insecurity.
Albritton has created bowls for the event since 2018. He chose pottery as part of his senior year project at Columbus High School.
“It took me about three months to get really, really good at making bowls,” Albritton said. “It was a bit of a learning curve for me.”
A recent post showing Albritton making bowls went viral on the Empty Bowl of Columbus, GA Facebook page. The post received over 330 likes and almost 20 comments.
Albritton said that he tried artistic pursuits like drawing and painting in the past, but never saw real improvement. He expected pottery to be just like the others but as he started getting better and better, he found that making bowls was relaxing and therapeutic.
“It made me feel alone, but in a good way. All my worries about school and life always disappeared when I was in the studio,” Albritton said.
Albritton comes back to the Chattahoochee Valley during most of his college breaks from Emory, where he is a biology and pre-med major. According to Albritton, making bowls is the perfect way for him to keep being artistic while managing his coursework.
He made 50 bowls for Empty Bowl over his most recent winter break, but says he’s made hundreds of different bowls and dishes for his friends and family. While he doesn’t have plans to come back over spring break to make any bowls due to other obligations, Albritton said he will hopefully be back sometime over summer break.
“It’s important to give back to the community,” Albritton said. “I’m going to keep making bowls for as long as I can.”
This year’s Empty Bowl lunch will be held from 11 a.m. — 3 p.m. at Northside Recreation Center, 2010 American Way. Tickets are available at the door and online prior to the event. Adult admission is $15 per bowl and tickets for children under 12 years old are $5 per bowl.