Shrinky Dinks, Values and "TABLE"

This week, we started a fresh lesson in Girl Talk about values.  The group talked about what values are, why they are important and how they can influence you and your life.  Then, everyone created images to represent their most important value...and these were made into Shrinky Dinks! Everyone always loves the shrinky dinks project. The final images are made into jewelry afterwards so that each person can "wear" their value!

After snack, everyone gathered downstairs in front of the VisArts gallery - the whole SOHO group got to do something special tonight...a tour of the gallery show!  The tour was given by VisArts' gallery director Caroline Wright. She led the group through the "TABLE" exhibition. The show features multiple artists who created their pieces around the concept of a "table" and what that means...from the materials associated with tables to the memories had while gathered around tables at family dinners.

We were all impressed with the amount of questions the girls asked about the artwork and the great discussions big and little sisters had with Caroline.

After the tour, the group met up in the studio to make plans for the wooden lap desks they would create in the next SOHO session after Christmas break! Then at the end of the night, as a special treat, all of the big sisters brought pictures of themselves in middle school! These were put up on the wall and we made a game of it. Little sisters attempted to guess which was their big sisters. Of course - it was pretty funny watching their reactions to the photos and to see them try to figure out who was who.

We'll be back after the holidays break - happy holidays to everyone!

More Poetry and Screen Printing!

 This week we switched groups again, and this round of pairs had more wonderful "I Am" poems to share in Girl Talk. There were definitely some great moments - some of the poems were really touching and some were funny!

For our studio activity this week the group learned about silk screening or screen printing. VisArts has a wonderful printmaking studio that works perfectly for big groups to screen print in.  Tesni showed them the basics of the screen printing process from how you "burn" the screen using emulsion, transparencies and a special light table to how you print it.  

Pairs worked together to create posters for their rooms, SOHO t-shirts, some holiday cards! It was a lot of (messy) fun!

"I Am" Poems and (Not So Scary) Soldering!

This week during Girl Talk at SOHO, we created "I Am" poems where big and little sisters used the starting phrase "I am" to create a poem that describes them.  It's always wonderful to see the variety of what's created and to see that some people are already so open with each other.  Almost everyone shared their entire poems with the group.

During the art portion of the night pairs created friendship necklaces!  This project is always fun because girls get to use soldering guns and learn a little about jewelry making.  There's always a few who are scared of the processes but by the end everyone is impressed with what they've learned!  After Thanksgiving, everyone will get their friendship necklaces back and will be able to start wearing their creations.

Last week was also the night before our week off for the Thanksgiving. In line with the thankful theme, Zartesia had orchestrated a secret thank you to the big sisters and teachers to thank them for everything at SOHO! It was a wonderful surprise for all the big sisters to see that their little sisters understand and appreciate their time together.

What are you thankful for this week?

Happy Holidays everyone!

Book-Binding and More Fun with Hula Hoops...

 This week, groups from last week switched so that pairs in Girl Talk the first week worked with Liana for photography. And girls in photography headed to Girl Talk. The second group had a great time with blind contours and reaching that candy as well! And the last group worked with Liana to learn the basics of photography and talk a little about composition and how to look at photographs.

After snack, everyone learned about bookmaking from Tesni - the tools, the process and how to get started. Then pairs worked together to create their books! It's definitely a process that benefits from two people. And it was a little challenging. But pairs did a great job working together and figuring out how to problem-solve.

Next week we get to try some exciting new things like soldering! See you then!

Blind Contours and Letterpress

This week Girl Talk was all about getting to know each other better - just big sisters and little sisters in a smaller group.  Pairs played some drawing games together. One that's always fun is doing blind contour portraits of each other. As a re-fresher, blind contours are drawings you make while looking at the person you're drawing, never looking at the paper, and never lifting up your pencil! There was a lot of laughing going on. 

Pairs also played a game we affectionately call "candy reach."  Each pair stands in their hula hoop they made the first night, and Tesni scatters some candy around them, outside the hoop.  Some are just out of reach and some are actually really far away! The pairs then work together to figure out a way to reach the candy. There were some pretty awesome acrobatics going on, using tools like pencils and pens, and a lot of giggling and high fives.

When the group came back together, everyone headed into the letterpress studio to learn a bit about letterpress printing with Jordan. Then each pair printed covers for the hand-made journals they would be making! Jordan worked with each pair in the printing studio while the group finished up their inspiration boards in the other room.

Next week we'll be able to use the covers printed tonight and learn about bookmaking!

Inspiration Boards & Family at AJCES

 This year, we had our second SOHO night at the girls school - Anna Julia Cooper Episcopal School. Or, AJCES for short.  We invited families to join us, too!  Big sisters got to see the girls' neighborhood, what their school was like and meet some of their family members.  This was the first time we had ever tried this and it was wonderful!

Everyone had Girl Talk together where we played the always-fun untangle game and talked about what Girl Talk really means. Mainly, we wanted to make sure all the women and girls knew it was a safe space to share ideas and thoughts and feelings and to explore new ideas, too.  Everyone also went through images and postcards to find one that they felt reflected them as a person and then shared why with the group.  

The girls gave their big sisters a tour of the school which was really fun.  The girls seemed to enjoy being the ones teaching this time!

Finally everyone sat together in the cafeteria and word on creating inspiration boards for the room makeovers each pair would do at the end of the year. It was fun to see parents getting excited and little sisters and big sisters getting to know each other. Inspiration boards included colors, patterns and ideas but also included things like how girls wanted their room to feel and what was most important to them.  We ended with another wonderful closing circle - can't wait for next week and getting the group into the VisArts studios!

SOHO's Opening Ceremony!

We held our official SOHO opening ceremony on October 23^rd! All the women arrived early with potluck snacks to share with the women and girls.

All of our "little sisters" arrived by bus from AJCES.  The mentors were all waiting upstairs in our community space and even formed a high-five tunnel to greet them all! The beginning of the meeting was socializing and  getting to know one another over snacks.   Then everyone went on a tour of the building and learned about all the different studios and what happens in them. 

The girls and mentors went on group scavenger hunts to see how well they remembered what they learned in the tour...and to just have a little fun.  The last clue led them to the beautifully decorated fibers studio.  Once in, girls and women were greeted with a circle of chairs, candles, twinkle lights and a big sign saying "Gratitude".  On each chair was a gift bag with each person's name on it and a flower.  In each bag was a card with the word taht their match used to describe themselves in their interview on one side and the word their match used to describe themselves at their interview. Everyone opened their bags and all stop up and found their match. There were a lot of great moments ("I'm looking for somebody 'Awesome!'") and a lot of hugging and high-fiving.

Afterwards, each pair had their picture taken together. The pairs also used their time to decorate a hula hoop together and had a hula hoop contest! Big and little sisters also spent some time writing  letters to themselves about what they were looking forward to in the program. During Closing Circle everyone sat together in a circle, holding hands.  Each person expressed what they were thankful for with the group. Then, when SOHO ended, everyone took photos together and big sisters waved goodbye to the girls as they got on the bus! So excited about this first meeting and looking forward to the rest of the year!

We had a special awards ceremony for SOHO last Friday morning!

SOHO received the statewide Shining Star Award, part of the Dominion ArtStars awards given through Virginians for the arts. These awards celebrate arts and education in the community, recognizing arts organizations that best demonstrate and advance synergy between the two. Shining Star awards emphasize the contributions of arts organizations through their partnership and collaboration with schools across the commonwealth. In honor of this big occasion we threw an awards ceremony! We were so happy to see mentors from past years – all the way back to SOHO’s very first year. SOHO would like to thank Richmond City Councilman Parker Agelasto, Delegate Betsy Carr, and the representative from Congressman Bobby Scotts office who attended for coming to the ceremony and celebrating this achievement with us.

The ceremony included speeches by VisArts CEO Ava Spece, Iris Holliday with Dominion, Emily Smith – board member for Virginians for the Arts and program staff for SOHO – Tesni Stephen, Jordan Roeder and Liana Elguero. We concluded this with a few stories from past and present SOHO mentors.  We are so thankful for this award and for the support represented that morning through all of our lovely attendees. Go SOHO!

Getting Ready for SOHO

We start tomorrow! Very excited about all the new participants, and looking forward to this years program.

For those from past years, here are a few cool things happening in RVA that might be fun activities for you and your mentee. The Great Pumpkin Palooza at Innsbrook is taking place this Saturday, Oct. 25th. Admission is free. For more information, visit http://www.richmond.com/calendar/festival/event_bd6de2f6-435e-11e4-af98-10604b9f7e36.html. Also on Oct. 25th, Scott's Addition is hosting it's own Pumpkin festival and Family Movie Night. For details, take a look on their website http://scottsadditionpumpkinfestival.com/index.html.

The by the pound tub at Ashby in Carytown is still giving proceeds to SOHO until next Friday. If you happen to be interested in doing some shopping before then, keep Ashby in mind! https://www.facebook.com/ashbynotes

Exciting News!

SOHO has been given the statewide Shining Star Award!The Shining Star award is sponsored by Virginians For Fine Arts (VTFA) and The Dominion Foundation. The award donates five thousand dollars to programs that support education and the arts throughout the region. This accolade celebrates community outreach efforts that demonstrate and advance creativity and learning. We are excited and grateful to be selected as this years recipient! Congratulations and a big thank you to everyone who has been involved!

A New Year of SOHO!

The SOHO mentors for the new year had their orientation this past Friday! A big thank you to all of these awesome ladies for taking part! The orientation provided time for all the mentors to get to know one another and prepare for a great year with the program.

Our current group of mentors span many disciplines. We have a Biology Professor at VCU, a Purchaser for an interior design firm, a Program Coordinator, a Restaurant Manager , a Latin Teacher, a Business Systems Analyst, a Trip Coordinator at World Pediatric Project, a Compensation Analyst, a Barista, a Program Overseer at HandsOn Greater Richmond, a Public Relations Worker at the Valentine History Museum, and a Business Consultant. We are really looking forward to having them in our SOHO program this year.

Other exciting new about the program! Ashby, Accessory Store, Consignment and Thrift have announced that SOHO will be their "Buy The Pound" charity for the month of October. We are so excited and appreciative of this gesture.

 

Their store is located in Carytown, and their facebook has all the info about their business. https://www.facebook.com/ashbynotes

 

 

In other news - SOHO now has an Instagram account!  Follus us: @SOHO_visarts

 

Meet Our Past Mentors: Sarah Mullens

Sarah Mullens was a SOHO mentor this past year. Since the end of the program, she has stayed in regular contact with her SOHO little sister and pursued mentorship of her own.

Sarah comes from a long line of educators, and has had a lifelong passion for learning and service. In high school, she co-founded and led Library for the Homeless, an organization that delivered books to Austin, TX's homeless population. She then attended Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she concentrated in Mathematics and Philosophy, with a minor in Formal Logic. After college, she taught mathematics at a Title-One high school with Teach for America.

After coming to Richmond, she and Richard Luck began UnBoundRVA. UnBoundRVA invests in talented individuals from low-income communities, connecting them to the resources, training, and the support needed to become successful entrepreneurs.  Sarah focuses on curriculum development, teacher training and identifying talent.

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What would you say most motivated you to apply to be a big sister in SOHO?

I love the idea of changing someone's life trajectory through conversations--especially conversations as such a critical part of someone's life. When you're 12, the smallest choices and changes can have such big impacts on your life in the future, and I loved, and still love, the idea that I could be a small part of that with someone.

What most surprised you about your experience during SOHO?

I think I had forgotten how hard it was to be 12. Trying to empathize with Caliyah and her struggles at school or with friends or whatever often left me dumbfounded. It's crazy thinking about what that feels like for her and what it felt like for me.


Connecting with a little sister happens quickly for some and slowly for others. How did this happen for you and your little sister?

We connected really quickly, because we both have big personalities and love to make new friends. The challenge actually came after the excitement of being with someone new wore off. The real work started about 2 months into the program when we really had to start developing a meaningful relationship.

What was the funniest moment you shared with your little sister? 

It's so hard to pick that, because Caliyah and I both laugh all the time. She was always doing something crazy. That was probably one of the best parts for me. She was such a reality check, like, "Sarah, stop taking yourself so seriously."

What was your biggest challenge as a SOHO big sister during the program?

8 months is a long time. I'd say the biggest challenge for me through the program was devoting 12 hours per month for that length of time. I always had a ton of fun once I got there though!

It’s been about 3 months since the SOHO program has ended, can you talk about your relationship with your little sister since then?

We are planning a trip to UVA, but unfortunately, we haven't been able to get together since the program ended. We're both keeping journals that we will share when we see each other.

Have there been any other mentoring relationships you’ve been a part of since SOHO?

I've kept up with my SOHO mentor pretty regularly, and I will also be a part of Mentor Richmond, but that is me being mentored. To be totally honest, the program helped me see that I need some mentoring before I'm ready to be a mentor again!

If you had to name one thing that you took away from your involvement with SOHO, what would that be?

A serious appreciation for cross-generational relationships. It is so awesome to see life from the eyes of someone who is really similar to you, but just at a different point on the path. I loved that.

Check out Sarah Mullen's inspiring organization Unbound RVA here: http://www.unboundrva.org/

Deadline for SOHO Mentors Extended!

It's a busy time of year and we want to make sure that all of you who are interested have the chance to submit your applications to be mentors. After some feedback we've decided to extend the application deadline to Friday August 29th.

Remember, SOHO is a wonderful program with a big impact, and it does require a time commitment from you as a mentor. Please take a look at our SOHO 14-15 Schedule – for Mentors as you consider applying. Please remember that this program is offered free to all of our mentors, however there are opportunities for sponsorship by an employer or affiliated organization. 

Please submit an application to Jordan Roeder, Outreach Coordinator at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond:

2014-15 SOHO Mentor Application

Via Email: jordanroeder@visarts.org

By Mail:
SOHO Program
Visual Arts Center of Richmond
1812 West Main Street
Richmond, VA 23220

Want to be a SOHO big sister? You can apply now!

We are now recruiting members for the 2014-2015 SOHO year! Come share your creative energy and support a girl in our community!

SOHO mentors are women early in their career or who may be starting a new direction in life who wish to share their encouraging words and patient hands to support strong, confident young women on a journey of self-discovery. You will act as mentors to your “little sister” each week while completing art projects and participating in activities here at the Visual Arts Center. You also will have an active role in events such as our opening and closing ceremonies and the final room makeovers at each girl’s home.

Watch the in-depth video below to hear from past big and little sisters of the program about their experiences.

SOHO: Interviews from Briget Ganske on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/68353803

As a SOHO mentor you receive leadership and mentorship training to help guide you towards your own future and help you do the same for your little sister. This will include workshop-style sessions on Friday afternoons that address topics such as effective communication, authentic leadership, goal-setting, and cultural competency. You will also receive training and consultation about your role as a big sister and how to navigate your relationship with your little sister.

SOHO is a program with a big impact, and it does require a time commitment from you as a mentor. Please take a look at our SOHO 14-15 Schedule – for Mentors as you consider applying. Please remember that this program is offered free to all of our prospective mentors. There is an opportunity for sponsorship from employees or local organizations who wish to give to the SOHO program in your honor and sponsor your experience, however this is not required.

Please submit a SOHO Mentor Application and resume to Jordan Roeder, Outreach Coordinator  no later than Monday, August 25th.

2014-15 SOHO Mentor Application

 SOHO 14-15 Schedule – for Mentors

Via Email:

info@visarts.org

By Mail:
SOHO Program
Visual Arts Center of Richmond
1812 West Main Street
Richmond, VA 23220

SOHO + The Color Purple!

Thanks to some very generous folks at Virginia Repertory Theatre, a group of SOHO big and little sisters from last year were able to go and see The Color Purple at the November Theatre!  Some of the group even went out to dinner before hand and then headed over to see the performance.

 

The Color Purple is a musical based on a book by Alice Walker.  The show follows the amazing story of Celie, a young African-America girl growing up in rural Georgia during the early 1900’s – 1930’s.  Admist beautiful arrangements and amazing vocal performances, the show also addresses many important facets of our American History, focusing on segregation, racism and sexism.  

Both big sisters and little sisters had a great time and loved the show.

“It was really amazing! The show was top notch! Great acting, beautiful set, and a AMAZING singing and dancing! I was blown away with how good it was!”

Thank you again, Virginia Rep!

Learn more about Richmond’s Virginia Repertory Theatre here: http://va-rep.org/#&panel1-1

A Night Out at Edo's Squid

Though our SOHO program just ended about a month ago, little sisters and big sisters from this past year have already gotten together for a fun night out! A few weeks back, everyone met up and rode together over to one of Richmond’s best restaurants – Edo’s Squid.  Two of our big sisters works there and organized a big dinner with the girls.  The food was great, and everyone had a wonderful time being together in such a beautiful place.

Thank you for your generosity Edo’s Squid!

 

If you haven’t eaten at Edo’s Squid – you should. There are located at 411 N. Harrison in Richmond.

Check out their menu here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/edos-squid-richmond