Student artists’ work will be displayed throughout the year on Guilford Bicentennial calendars

By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

GUILFORD — Five Piscataquis Community Elementary School students have their artwork featured as part of the 2016 Guilford Bicentennial calendars, with the names of the honored young artists revealed during a surprise presentation as part of an assembly to start the school day on Jan. 15.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

GUILFORD BICENTENNIAL CALENDAR ARTISTS — Five PCES students, along with another five from PCSS, have their artwork included in the 2016 Guilford Bicentennial calendars. The younger artists featured in the calendars were revealed during a presentation on Jan. 16 and are, from left, first-grader Shelby Grant, fourth-grader Jacob Duncan, first-graders Karrigan Wilson and Emma Folsom and fourth-grader Hunter Viles.

The PCES students chosen for the calendars are first-graders Emma Folsom, Shelby Grant and Karrigan Wilson and grade 4 pupils Jacob Duncan and Hunter Viles.

“We have 10 winners from the two schools,” said Janie Lander of the Guilford Bicentennial Committee before the presentation at PCES, with the five artists from Piscataquis Community Secondary School to be recognized at a later date.

“The calendar is for the bicentennial and it has pictures of town-related things and there are facts about the town,” Lander said. “These are on sale at the town office in Guilford.”

“The old places in town, we did not label them on purpose so people would have to do some research such as visiting the historical society or online,” Lander said about some black and white photographs depicting buildings and scenes from the past two centuries in Guilford.

She said more student artwork will be used on T-shirts, hats, banners and more celebrating the bicentennial as, “We have got something going on every month,” Lander said.

Speaking to the entire school assembled in the gym, Lander said she is a retired teacher and a Bookworm reading volunteer at the school. “I’m also part of the Guilford Bicentennial Committee because the town of Guilford is 200 years old on Feb. 8.”

Lander was joined by art teacher Jane Daniels to call down the five winning artists, who each were given a certificate as well as their own 2016 bicentennial calendar.

PCES students all created pinwheels and Lander told the audience these works of art will be the centerpiece at a bicentennial birthday bash on Valentine’s Day at the Valley Grange. The Feb. 14 event includes a social time beginning at 11 a.m., noon potluck luncheon and then a brief birthday presentation at 1 p.m.