Bittersweet (w/new photos added) & Art Show!!

Here are some views of the Art Show Garden!! The garden was a HUGE hit! Parents, families, and kids spent a lot of time peeking everywhere, trying to find all the gnomes, each one so unique, nestled among the flowers and bugs; and the mushrooms, the snake, the veggies, the seed packages, the insects, as well as the flowers and dragonflies!


Here's me and my coworker by the Chihuly Rainbow Tower ~


And here's a random sampling of high school and 7th grade work from her students ~ the octopus below was done with a batik-like process. The student who created it is the daughter of my friend "C" that I've blogged about here in July 2010. (By the way, she's healthy these days!)

As for the piece on the right - it's a photo - but it elicited an interesting comment by the gal who is my likely replacement. I've turned her on to reading the blogs, and she said "this reminds me of a bottlecap mandala I saw on a blog." I immediately knew it was the one in this post by Art Project Girl!

Can you tell that the contour hand is slightly raised off the surface in the image below? That piece, and also the adorable sculpture to the right, were both done by 7th graders.

Below - a sweet pair of bookends by a high school student, and perspective tree houses by 9th grades -

And more elementary stuff -

There were too many display flats to show them all, with everything from toothpaste batiks, to Rizzi cars, to 3rd grade dragons, to 1st grade self-portraits, and much more. You've seen much of the artwork throughout the year, so I'm not going to post it all again now. Below is a glimpse of a Chihuly macchia display using coffee filters and starch, and some 4th grade perspective pieces.

The gym, below, before it was filled with people -

And during the show -

Today, at the end of the day, with still lots to pick up, it looked like the end of the movie Woodstock.
Eeks.

Meanwhile - related to art shows, since so many of us are posting about our events, there's a spectacularly awesome post at fem manuales that you should see! The translation of the post is "Spring Festival" and I am just gaga over EVERYTHING there - I want to pin every image! (The blogger does have a "translate" button on the blog which helps a bit if like me you don't do well with understanding other languages.

I almost forgot - about the title of this post - here's the SWEET part first: the excitement of the kids, the wonderful comments from parents and coworkers, many of whom expressed so much sadness that I'm leaving, the giant crowd of happy people, the Booster Club cheerfully donating refreshments, the adults and kids who were so wonderfully supportive, and the fact that it's done and I can relax.

Here's the BITTER part: it is my last show like this. Ever. Despite the exhaustion I really do love it and will miss it terribly. I'll miss the kids like nobody's' business. And then there's the part I probably shouldn't write about but I will, that has me feeling the most bitter. My principal never stepped foot in the art show, even though she was there in the building. It would have been great PR for them, supporting the students and staff, and chatting with the parents and kids. I heard that my superintendent came in for a brief peek several hours before the actual show began, but he never came back. Neither of them has spoken a word to me about the show -not in the weeks/days prior, not during the show, not afterwards. Insulting. No letters of congratulation for me and my coworker, no quickie email, no nothing. It's especially noticeable to me since it was my last show. Parents came and talked to me, a LOT, but nothing from those two administrators. Does your administration show support for your art show efforts? Or are they like mine?