Bittersweet Transitions and a Los Altos Mural at Almond Elementary School

I am in the middle of a big transition in my life. After two graduations on Wednesday, I am now the parent of a middle schooler and a high schooler. I can see my role is changing from being household CEO to household janitor who talks to herself. My kids are thriving. They are absolutely ready for the next phase. I have mixed emotions. Their graduations punctuate the end of a very sweet, albeit all consuming, time in my life: being the mother of young children. From packing lunches, walking them to school, chaperoning field trips, volunteering in the class and at school events, I was all in. The friendships and strong school community that I have become a part of the past nine years at Santa Rita have made it far and away the best chapter of my life. It is bittersweet to graduate from this sweet spot.

It is with this personal experience and narrative that I approached the school mural that would be the sixth graders gift to Almond Elementary School in Los Altos. Many of the elements, from the words “Almond is our home”, and the wishful dandelions to the kids running through the field were spontaneous additions to the design based on my own “early onset nostalgia” for the innocence of elementary school. The sixth grade class came up with a list of words that captured their experience of Almond, and I painted them on the roots of my flowering almond tree mural:

Having children has opened my heart, and made my life sweeter. I understand now that what I want most for my kids is what every parent hopes for their children. It brings out our best, most hopeful selves. I would venture that most of the happy feel of my work is a reflection of the phase of life I am in. I have to wonder as I enter the complexity of teen years if my artwork will also turn moodier, cynical or more self-reflective.

Years from now it might be that I look back on this image and see that, in my creative arc, it captures the peak of “my sweet phase”:

At the end of the project, I met with the class to discuss the work. What was it about? Hmm. I explained that some things in life are linear, known, based on science and facts. In math, 2+2=4 and gravity is, for the most part, a very reliable thing. Art is not. It is an intuitive, nonlinear expression. I told them I don’t know myself if that is the sun or the moon, If those are fireflies, stars or sunlit dandelions floating in the glow. The beauty of art is that it can be several things at once. This piece is about a feeling I was having.

Thank you Almond Elementary, Jennifer Walker, and the sixth grade class, for trusting me with this incredible creative opportunity to share this feeling through art.

I hope you enjoy your summer.

Cheers,