When New Beginnings Come to the End

Not everyone gets to say that they had the perfect last day at a job, but I think that Rody and I have the privilege of being able to truly say that today was perfect.One of the reasons that this internship was such an incredible experience is that Mary takes us out on field trips and has us go and meet many important people who work in the visual arts and arts administration. In fact, I’d say that the highlight of this internship was going on these field trips. So it was only fitting, I think, for us to go on a field trip on our last day. And Mary took us to MoLAA (the Museum of Latin American Art) today, which was perfect because both Rody and I really, really wanted to go there.I loved the work that I saw there, and honestly, I loved the museum. I can see that the museum has some issues (their storage space is TINY), but I really liked the art that I saw there, and I think that the art itself was so different from a lot of the contemporary art that we’ve seen this summer. I think it’s safe to say that Rody and I both loved it a lot.When we came back to the gallery, both Kirk and Mary came to the Print and Study room to give us some goodbye presents, and honestly, I think that the presents were amazing. Kirk gave us some knee bowls (which I love the concept of), and made me earrings from some slides that I worked with and gave us each a book with a hole in the middle (it will remind me of drill presses, earthquakes, ash and really lame jokes about interns and drilling). Mary gave me a beautiful bracelet made of coconut shell and a notebook (which, again, is really handy).I’ve always had a problem with saying goodbye, and having homes in two different parts of the world has not made saying goodbye seem easier or more routine. It’s going to be weird to wake up to RA training tomorrow; to not come in to say hi to Rody or Kristin or Kirk or Zoe or John early in the morning; to not take ridiculously long tea breaks routinely; and to not work with slides and really expensive art everyday. I’m still going to have to wake up before 8 this next semester (8 o’clock class is the bane of my existence), but I know that I probably won’t look forward to it the way that I did these past 10 weeks. I know the gallery is next door, because it’s on campus, but I’m still really going to miss this place.So before I officially sign out as the Visual Resources Intern at the Williamson Gallery for Summer 2008, I’d really like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who works here. Rody, Patricia and Zoe- I’ve found a friend in each one of you and I hope that we frequently meet this next year. Mary, Kirk, Kristin and John- thank you so much for everything. This summer was so much fun, and a tremendous learning experience. You guys are incredible bosses, and I can only hope that I will have bosses as fun and nice as all of you when I graduate and go into the really world.

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