End of 12th year teaching Reflection

I have to tell you...the last two months of this past school year were so jam packed that I am now just having time to reflect and write about it.  Which is fitting because tomorrow is Father's Day, and I jokingly say all the time that the Photography room is a sanctuary for lost wayward souls who need a home.  I would have to say that being a father before I became a teacher has greatly impacted my teaching style, and often I am a school dad for my kiddos, which is something I cherish.  But enough of that, let's get to why you came here, to see the awesomeness of these kiddos and their accomplishments!

April - Matryoshka Tattoo Show

April saw us showing at Matryoshka Tattoo again for our second show there of the school year.  As I said before in a previous post, we have been showing there for 8 years now and I cannot thank them enough for allowing Topeka High student's to continue to show there year after year.  Matryoshka was our real first foot in the door of being a part of the Noto Art District's First Friday atmosphere and giving our students a taste of what it means to show their artwork to the public in a positive art environment and be a part of the community.

  

Once again I was fortunate to have a wonderful group of students help me set up the art show.  The experience is so good for them, they get to see another aspect of what it takes to be a professional artist.  How do you hang your artwork to make it more visible, and how do you layout a show to ensure that the public is able to view it in an aesthetic way? Another great factor is that the kids who help to hang in multiple locations get a wider view of hanging their artwork and how different locations affect how you show your artwork and how you hang it. 

And of course after we were done hanging, I rewarded them with sugar!  The opening night of the Matryoshka show was so busy, and so fun that I got caught up talking with so many people on a beautiful night and forgot to take any pictures.  But I can tell you that the front shop of Matryoshka was so full for two hours that people would have to take turns coming and going and at times would have to wait outside for viewing room.  For another hour after that is was a steady flow of traffic of the public viewing our talented student's pieces. 

May - 2nd Annual Glow Show

With the April show done we didn't have time to rest, next up was our most groovy show of the school year for May's First Friday - Our 2nd annual GLOW SHOW!!!  What an undertaking it was!  Last year we learned A LOT, and had more elaborate ideas of how to make student artwork glow more, which was exciting!

During the Month of April we spent time preparing the small gallery with the Black Lights the would activate the neon glow of student artwork.  The small gallery ended up have black light bulbs in the top track, and we lined the walls with strips of led black lights.  This allowed us to have more glow than the previous year, and added an area where students could also work on their artwork and see how it would look for the show. 

When it came to the day of the show, students and staff and were greatly excited!  Students were busy telling their friends to come to the show and were taking them down to the small gallery for a sneak peek.  Students from other classes and lower levels of sections we taught were asking how to be a part of the show for next year, building they hype we needed.  We had a very successful showing of students and parents who came directly after school to view the glowing artwork in the small gallery, along with the end of the school year best artwork that students had created hanging in the main gallery.  

We also had popcorn for lovely treat for our guests, and after viewing the glow artwork they were able to go down the hallway to draw on white shirts with neon sharpies that then became reactive to the black lights hanging in the small gallery.  After drawing on their shirts, our guests not only were able to view the show, but be a part of the show.  Parents and students had a great time and created some really creative t-shirts together.  

It was really a great way to end the school year, because after that the next thing I knew it was graduation day and some of our talented kiddos were on to new and bigger adventures that I can't wait to see them succeed in!

June - Scholastic National Results

One last item before I end this, and I do so thank you for reading this far.  I wasn't kidding when I said the last two months were jam-packed, and I have set us up to be busier next year, including summer opportunities for students to show artwork.  I will tell you all about that later, I promise, but I will say to make sure you go see the art show at the Fiesta from July 16th -20th this year, it'll be worth it!

The last item that I am so proud of.  I just found out two days ago that Betzy's photo that received a Gold Key in Scholastic for the Easter Region was entered into Scholastic's National competition and received a Silver Medal.  She is one of 2,600 talented art students across the United States to receive an award.  

Thank you for continuing to support the photographers of Topeka High.  They are doing amazing things and hearing your positive feedback keeps them going and inspires them to continue pushing their boundaries.  I am looking forward to year 13 next year!