Rolling the Dice, Mantras and Sewing Success

Last Thursday was a very productive day! We had the ladies who founded the original SOHO: Space of Her Own program up in Alexandria visit our program! It was fun having them around so they could see what we are up to here in Richmond and we could hear some of the things they are doing as well.

This weeks Girl Talk was about dealing with thing in our lives that are unfair.  We first played a game where all sat in a circle and passed around dice. In the middle were a bunch of "presents" wrapped up in brown paper bags.  Each girl rolled and if you got a double, you could pick a present from the middle of the circle. The rule was that you couldn't test, shake or feel a present before you chose it: you just had to go for it.  Tesni didn't tell them what Girl Talk was about that day, or why we were playing this game. It was their job to figure it out as they went.

Some presents were really cool - like nail decals, notebooks, hello kitty stuff, and others were...less exciting: an onion, a can of refried beans, or toilet paper. One girl even got a paper mask of Tesni's boyfriend - which everyone thought was so funny! As we went around, some girls were getting frustrated that they weren't rolling doubles and getting to choose a present. Then, some girls were getting frustrated because they got one of the less exciting gifts. Some people thought it was hilarious while others were slightly angry or sad. It was fun to see the different reactions. For example, one girl got the toilet paper and was excited because it was practical or useful. A few people even won multiple good prizes!

Throughout the game, you could see the girls catching on. We talked about what the game was really about. Amber said it was about being thankful for what we had while other people said it was about things being unfair and how we don't have control over that. We talked about how we had reacted when things were unfair like getting mad, pretending to cheat, accepting things, trying to trade.  Then we talked about healthy ways we could deal with our anger or frustrations when things were unfair.  We talked about suggestions to try to deal with these things in a healthy way like listen to music, count (some people said this didnt work), talk to someone they cared about, take a break, etc. Then Tesni gave everyone a small gift with the caveat that "SOHO isn't exactly like life" so we can have a little more fun here sometimes.

 The activity went really well! Everyone then broke off into groups and each pair got a pretty box that we decorated with colorful or patterned papers.  Everyone decided on a "personal mantra" that we wrote out and then glued into the boxes.  We had some really great ones - and some really creative ones that reflected the girls individual personalities.  One girl chose "rise above the rim" (she's a big basketball player and fan). We had other ones like "I'm strong", or "don't stress, keep calm", "you're not invisible", "I ain't worried bout nothin'".

Next it was time for snack and then we headed down to the studio to finish our pillows. Tesni gave everyone a refresher on how to use their sewing machine since it had been many weeks since we all used them for the first time. Everyone was so engaged and listening to Tesni. All the pairs were doing so well on the machines and most of the girls finished their appliques. The class was full of activity and positive energy!

 

Friendship, Cookies and Pillows Round 2

This past Thursday, we had the same Girl Talk session as we had before our field trip with the other set of girls. as a few weeks prior on friendship. This went really well and everyone was contributing to the conversation.

We followed up with our cookies project where we decorate a cookie to represent what friendship means.  Everyone loves food! And what's not to like when it comes to neon-colored frosting? Some of the girls were really creative (and playful) with their designs and explanations. One little sister said that her mound of icing represented friendship and all of the sprinkles were her friends working together.

During the art making portion we planned and cut out our pieces for our appliqued pillow. This is usually one of the most popular projects during SOHO.  Basically the girls get to create  big pillow for their room with designs that describe them appliqued on. 

 It's also one of their biggest sewing projects so the girls learn how to use sewing machines and work together with their big sisters to learn the ins and outs of sewing! Thanks to U-Fab again for their sponsorship - we have especially great pillows this year!

It's a lot of fun to see the project take shape over time and to see everyone's excitement as it comes together. There are many steps in this project, so the workroom was wonderfully chaotic with drawing, cutting, placing, ironing, and talking. Some people were able to start practicing their sewing! 

SOHO Field Trip!

Last week girls, mentors and SOHO staff all headed out on the first-ever SOHO field trip together! The trip was slightly impromptu but there were too many wonderful things happening at once to miss it. It was also a fun activity to follow up last weeks somewhat serious talks.

 

First everyone went to Sonya Clark's exhibit at 1708 Gallery called "The Hair Craft Project".  

The Hair Craft Project is based on the premise that hairdressing is the primordial textile art form—hairdressing is the earliest manipulation of fiber toward an aesthetic and functional purpose.  Artists from VCU’s Craft and Material Studies program will prepare canvases each hand stitched with threads to simulate hair growth.  Local hairstylists will each be given a stitched canvas and the opportunity to braid them as skillfully as possible. Photographs of stylists' hairdos created for the project will be shown in conjunction with the canvases. The project aims to break down barriers by crossing boundaries between hair salons and art galleries as sites of aesthetics, craft, skill, improvisation, and commerce.

Sonya Cark explained the process to the girls, how she had her hair done by many different artists, took a photograph of the artists and their creation, and also had them create a piece of artwork on canvas. The show really resonated with the girls. Sonya first asked if anyone knew any of the artists and a few people raised their hand!

 

She talked about a hair dressers role as an artist, and each particular work of art. Then we all got to vote on our favorite pieces - there's an award for people's choice! Everyone was very engaged and Sonya was an amazing speaker and so kind to come early before an event that night at the gallery to talk to our group about her project. 

After 1708, we went to Quirk Gallery right next door. There were so many wonderful connections to SOHO there! Mary Fleming is the Gallery Director there and is a former SOHO mentor; she was Maikaisha's big sister last year. The group also saw Sarah Hand's show who taught the girls portraits. And they also saw Aimee Joyaux's show in the Vault at the back of the gallery. Remember Aimee from our first week? She and Jordan worked with us on learning about letterpress and printing our journal covers. Since it was the opening night, both artists were able to speak with us.

 

If you haven't been to Quirk, they have a great shop so naturally all of the girls did some browsing and shopping which was really fun. Everyone loved trying on sunglasses and taking selfies!

After our gallery-hopping, the whole group walked just a few more blocks down to Tarrants where we all got to have dinner!  Tarrants is a beautiful restaurant with a really nice atmosphere inside: fancy but still friendly. The servers and managers were really kind and the groups server was actually a friend of Tesni's. Thank you to Tarrants for serving all 27 of us with only a few days notice! 

It was nice to be able to all eat and talk together. It was a nice change of pace from SOHO nights where we are usually - and wonderfully- busy. Girls and mentors were able to be together in a more casual and friendly environment. many mentors said this was a really nice time to be able to relax and talk. We even played a hilarious round of telephone and received a toast from Markayla!

 

Though the night was mainly all about fun and taking a much-needed "SOHO Spring Break", it was also a great way to show the girls where to see art in the community. And it was extra-cool since the girls were connected with so many of the people we saw that night. We may have a new tradition on our hands!

A Healthy Converstion, a Dance Party and Applique

This week we started out SOHO a little differently than usual.  Tesni, Liana and the rest of the group decided to not have Girl Talk and Photography for the first part of class but rather to have a discussion about a few things happening in SOHO. We had a few recent absences along with just a couple issues with behavior. Taking the time to talk as a group turned out to be a wonderful thing.  Everyone had a mature conversation; with big and little sisters each talking about what they liked about SOHO, some of their concerns or worries, and things they would change if they could.  

Many things were discussed through this like trying to be your own person and only talking about how YOU feel, and not how someone else feels. The little sisters gave suggestions about how big sisters could ask them more about things about themselves like what they were good at so they could relate to them bitter. Big sisters suggested that they try and remember that we are all humans and that everyone, even adults, have feelings as well.

Tesni decided that it would be a good time to do an anonymous survey after the ones from last week that would capture some of what they were talking about. These were collected and will be shared with the group next week so we have a sense of what the group really wants, is happy for, is nervous for and is excited for. After reading through them after class, many of us at SOHO were excited to see some really productive suggestions, constructive criticisms and some beautiful things said about SOHO.

We ended this sort-of-group-Girl-Talk with a dance party.  Some of the groups was timid at first but after Rev Rock (from their school) jumped in and showed us all how to do the "naenae", we all loosened up.  The girls even did some choreographed dances.  The dance party really helped that talk end on a positive note. 

 

Because of the changes in plans,  there was slightly less time for art-making.  But, Tesni was still able to get the first big sewing project going - pillows! Everyone learned about applique and how they were going to applique onto their pillows to make them unique.  The girls and sisters worked together to create shapes and cut out their patterns they'll use next week. 

 

On the horizon for SOHO are room visits next weekend were pairs work together on their make-over plans!

We've also decided to take the girls up on a suggestion to go on a SOHO field trip to 1708 Gallery and Quirk Gallery! More updates on that next week!