Thanks to an Artists In School grant, Horace O' Bryant middle school students will be given an opportunity to learn from acclaimed contemporary ceramic artist Peter Callas. Art teacher Jimmy Wray and Florida Keys Community College potter Jay Gogin proposed the program to bring Callas, visiting Rutgers University Director of the Ceramics Department into the classroom for "The World of Contemporary Ceramics."

"No one walks away from a Callas demonstration without being motivated to create," saod Gogin. "His manner is energetic and dynamic, but usually framed in a light hearted and fun format."

The Florida Keys Council of the Arts has awarded the winners of its current round of Artists in Schools and ArtReach grants which totaled $13,600. These grants are supported by Arts Council memberships, donations and sale of Florida "State of the Arts" license tags.

Other grantees in the Artists in Schools program, in which an artist partners with a teacher or librarian to enhance the existing curriculum include:

• The Keys Chamber Orchestra will present "Saxophone in the Schools" with Key West High School Band Director Michael Truhan and Sugarloaf School teacher Patty Roman. Lynne Greenwood will play for and meet with saxophone students.
• Gerald Adams Elementary music teacher Nora Revlin and musician Skipper Krippitz will produce "Southernmost Stomp" with a group of children performing complicated rhythmic dance numbers.
• Sugarloaf Middle School teacher Joanne Brennan and Elizabeth Thomas make "Poetry Soup," a workshop that will combine visual arts, music and creative movement.

• Marathon High School English teacher Nancy Lester and Elizabeth Thomas will invite high school students for on off-site location for a day of poetry writing for "Art Smarts."
• Key Largo School teachers Lisa Taylor and artist Gloria Avner will expose students to Aboriginal culture, and create a new instrument in "Art, Sound & Story: Creating Didgeridoos."
• Key Largo Middle School teacher Susan Bazin and musician Robert Sax will invite new musicians in the Upper Keys for "Music Mentors Master Class."
• Gerald Adams Elementary's Michelle Valente and artist Genevieve Canizares will bring visual arts in the classroom to develop creativity and self confidence through collage construction in "Dimension Children."
• Montessori Elementary teacher Hilary Redman and artist T.J. McDermott have partnered to introduce students to the historic, cultural and artistic maritime traditions of the Florida Keys Through "Marine Artisans of the Florida Keys."
• Children of the Florida Keys Children's Shelter will learn about sculpting in "Plaster Casters of the Florida Keys" with teacher Nan Ransdale and artist Tim Curtis.
• Island Christian School Fran Young and Alison Schaeffler-Murphy will present "The Art of Glass," a workshop on history and construction of stained glass.

Grantees in the ArtReach program, in which an artist partners with a community business or organization to reach a wider audience:

• Ginny Terry and Inga Lisa Wright have partnered with Kirk of the Keys Church in Marathon for a Keys Chamber Orchestra presentation.
• Painter Sharon McCauley will exhibit "Skies" at the Customs House Museum
• Artist Mary Crawley and the Marathon Wild Bird Center will combine art and nature in "Wild Bird Art."
• Blue Heaven Restaurant will provide artist Letty Nowak studio space to produce works for an exhibit at the Custom House Museum.

Support for programs of the Florida Keys Council of the Arts is made possible by the State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and private donations. For more information, visit www.keysarts.com.

Contact:
Monica Haskell
Florida Keys Council of the Arts
295-4369