PMS Seeks Community Artists and Crafters for 'Arts for Life' Day

For many years, Portsmouth schools celebrated the arts for a week every spring. Because of cuts to the budget, this tradition ceased to be part of the life of the . Last year, the Parent-Teacher Organization decided that the tradition was was too important to be lost, so the PTO provided funding that allowed “Arts for Life Day” to be revived at PMS.

This year, we hope to add a new dimension to the tradition. Since we want our children to understand that the arts are a natural and valuable part of life and not simply a subject to be studied in a class, we would like to invite members of the Portsmouth community to come to our school on April 27 and share the ways in which the arts have enriched their own lives.

This year, at least, we will have to restrict ourselves to showcasing the visual arts, but we intend to make no distinction among those willing to display and speak about what they love to create: whether you call yourself an artist, an artisan, or a crafter, you will be welcome.

Your art might be painting, knitting, pottery, sculpture, mosaics, woodworking, model-building, instrument-making, or something else we have not even considered. You do not need to be related to anyone who attends a Portsmouth school; in fact, we would be delighted to introduce our students and our school to the wider community. All you need is a willingness to share your art.

We do need to hear from you soon, though, to make sure we have enough participants to run the event. If you would like to be a part of this celebration, please send an e-mail to Dorene Phillips PhillipsD@PortsmouthSchoolsRI.org, Crystal Cavaco CavacoC@PortsmouthSchoolsRI.org, or Sue Farrier suefarrier@cox.net.