Key West The Newspaper

The fundraiser features over one hundred works by students from the public charter school, a delicious selection of Italian wines provided by Uva Gourmet Shoppe and savory hors d’oeuvres by chef and Montessori parent Layla Barr.

Artwork will be available for bid in a silent auction, with bids closing at 7:30. Students recently learned the art of printmaking, a process that allowed students to “experiment with color blending while working cooperatively with their peers to create prints inspired by island living,” says school principal Lynn Barras.

Tickets for the auction can be purchased at Stone Soup Gallery, Uva Gourmet Shoppe and Montessori Charter School for $25 and include food and wine as well as access to the bidding and a discount on framing—$40 dollars for each piece purchased, with half the proceeds to go to the school in addition to the auction & ticket proceeds.

“Fundraising is vital for our school because the funding we receive as a public school does not cover all of the costs associated with operating an authentic Montessori program,” says Barras.   “It is through the generous support of our community’s donors that we can provide Montessori education for free”

Gallery owner & Montessori parent Melissa Trader sees the auction not only as an opportunity to raise needed funds for the school but as a means of empowering students with their creativity.

“It gets them excited to know that their work will be hung in the gallery and up for sale,” she says.  “They’ve got a lot of talent, and this provides them with a forum for expressing it while also giving them a sense of pride that they’re contributing to the betterment of their school.”

For more information, call Melissa Trader at Stone Soup Gallery at (305) 296-2080.