If you read this blog, you know that I am partnering with Pearls for Teen Girls in Milwaukee for my community art project in the From Here to Her 2016 show, Mothers of Our Nations. The team at PEARLS is dedicated to empowering young girls in all aspects of their life, and preparing them with the tools they’ll need to be successful in the future. It’s not just about preparing for college, but really building character and mentoring relationships that last beyond college.

I will be creating work to honor the staff at PEARLS and I am also currently volunteering this summer to help the girls create paper dolls of their own.

We are in the second half of the summer program, and this has been fun and challenging for myself and the girls. This has challenged me to think of the process in my doll making and try to express that in a manageable, step by step way, so that the girls can comfortably work at their own skill levels. There are some girls who dived right in, already love to draw and are moving along pretty quickly. And some girls aren’t too confident in their drawing skills. So I have been working a little more closely with them, trying to reassure them that they are better at drawing than they think they are. All of the dolls that the girls are working on are as unique as each girl and full of imagination.

I hope that after this, the girls find a new hobby, maybe start drawing more often and are proud that they challenged themselves to do something outside of their comfort zone.