Stitching Community Together

With The Post Oak School’s 11th Biennial Gala coming up around the corner, it is time to look back at all the memories and projects made leading up to the event. We have seen the beautiful artwork done by Post Oak’s High School students, so now is the time to switch the gears up and turn towards the Middle School. Let's see how Post Oak’s Middle School turned a questionnaire into a 32” by 25 ¼” frame filled with embroideries for the 60s-themed Gala!

The project was headed by Middle School Occupations teacher Terry McNally. When contacted about the Gala Art opportunities, he wanted to find a project the Middle School students could enjoy partaking in both at school and home. After pondering many options, McNally thought about one of the first Occupations work he assigned: embroidery. At the beginning of the year, students were given aprons to use during class and were given the assignment to personalize them by embroidering. Thinking of the assignment’s success, McNally determined the Middle School’s Gala project would incorporate embroidery. Eventually, he chose the national flower design, inspired by the 60s gala theme and World Wildlife Day that would be celebrated during March, the month of the Gala.

The process began with each student selecting a country they had a personal connection to and its national flower to embroider. Students chose countries for many different reasons, some just out of pure interest in the country and for others, ancestral connection. They then began the months-long process of designing a replica of their flower, picking out the appropriate thread colors, learning how to properly embroider, and completing their desired artwork. Along the way, students fine-tuned their hand working skills, and many learned how to thread a needle.

In the end, the Middle School students produced a beautiful piece of art with the advice and encouragement of McNally and Priya Parekh ’26, the Middle School Occupations Manager. The final, ready-to-auction piece is a diverse collection of national flowers, ranging from Austria to Singapore, that showcase the Middle School’s global community and a creative representation of the world’s flora and fauna. The final piece shows all 49 embroideries surrounding the main piece: a black and orange monarch butterfly made by Parekh. Along with this, the piece comes with a book giving credit to the student behind each flower. The book also includes each Middle School student’s one-page written summary of the flower’s significance to its respective country and its connection to the student.

“The Middle School should be proud that they all contributed to a piece of creative work which I am sure will be cherished by the successful bidder and future owner at the Gala Art Auction,” says Terry McNally, Middle School Occupations teacher and project director. “The students should be proud of their achievements and end products. Compliments and positive comments have been given throughout the making process and also regarding the finished, framed art piece.”

The Middle School Students hope their artwork is well-received at the auction and Gala!