Sister Makings

Ramadan mubarak.
Happy Ramadan to you. 
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update...7 months later:)
Thanks to you all, we have launched our group.
+++ We have co-created a safe space, where we can meet over tea, coffee, food and simple craft. With beautiful separate rooms for children, and also a big kitchen we can use.
+++ We have laughed and cried, shared, sat in silence, served each other tea, sometimes misunderstood each other, celebrated a birthday, did some weaving, created some bracelets, created name tags and more. We have learned a few new words in both Arabic and English. We have sung, with our children, a song whose lyrics were "peace, salam, shanti." The children have created drawings and paintings, they have done weaving and jewelry making, and have played with clay and toys and one another. We experimented with facilitating methods so we could co-create the space/group together, and got the feedback that we need some different ways to communicate with our sisters (whats app, still working on this!), that Friday's didn't work, that our new sisters wanted to get outside, and other things too.
+++ We have cooked together + shared food brought! Dolmas, Fatoush, Macaroni with Lamb, Tomatoes and Onions, Syrian Cookies, Syrian Coffee and Tea, Pulla Bread and homemade Butter, Falafel and Tomato, Hummus with Chickpeas and Sumac, Syrian Bread, Lentil Rice Salad, Layali Lubnan Dessert, Upside down Pineapple Cake, Mujadara, Fatoush, Mukluba with Lamb and Eggplant and Potato, Stuffed Bread with Meat, Spinach and Onion, Molokia with Chicken, Saffron Rice with Almonds, Chocolate Cake, Samosas filled with Potatoes and Peas, Sambusa filled with Beef and Vegetables, Sweet Potato Biscuits, Sauerkraut, Macaroni and Cheese, Spinach Salads with Fruit and Cheese, Fruit Salad, Spring Celebration Braided Bread with Baked Eggs, Sheeps Head Soup with Tomato, Parsley, Lemons and Iraqi Bread. The food list continues...
+++ We have started our outings, with a picnic and shopping at the farmers market.
+++ Right now , as of a few weeks ago, we are gardening! We have a strong sister group of 11 new neighbor sisters and 11 local sisters, plus a translator, organizers, and all our children!
We have a plot we are tending to via Cultivating Communites : Boyd Street Urban Farm. We are growing (so far!): cucumbers, carrots, radishes, mulukhiya, spinach, tomatoes, mint, strawberries, and flowers.
+++ We are working to set up a different web site, so please stay-tuned. We are learning so much from each other, and healing together in small and big ways.

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update on International Women's Day!

* We have launched 2 gatherings! As we go, this group will change and grow, being co-authored by the folks in the group, and as it is a pilot - we will collect ideas for the future as we go. We are beyond grateful for the support of the community, and most thankful to our sisters and our ability to find ways to come together, and to experiment with co-creating safe space. THANK YOU. We should have our web site link up shortly, in the meantime, please reach out via this site or e-mail. Warmly, Christina + Sister Making group...

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I am an artist and a mother.
And last summer, I was blessed with some new friends.

I showed up at their hotel nearby - my trunk full of clothes and gifts that my friends had collected. The family had just arrived in Maine, and were waiting for permanent housing. They invited me into their tiny hotel room and served me yummy coffee. My 4 year old daughter, Melu, sat with their children, peeling and eating clementines. They showed me heart wrenching pictures of their destroyed home, they thanked me for the clothes and gifts I brought and before I left, they took my hands in theirs and called me “sister.”
And, so it was, and so it is.
Since that time, my friends and I have met and become friends with more new neighbor families, and realized both the need and desire for community.  Our new sister friends are asking for it, and we need it too. A shared space where together we can make crafts, cook, and share stories - as mothers, as parents, as people.

We, together, want to create a safe shared space to make this happen. We intend the space to be a welcoming one for children, which will allow our new sisters the freedom to leave their apartments and gather with us, and for our children to have more shared playtime.

Introducing Sister Makings.
Sister Makings is a 3 month pilot program we are launching in Portland, Maine to support our newest neighbors.

A 'sister making' is an intimate gathering of women and children, with creativity and ‘making’ as the backdrop for the important work of sharing space and being together. We will gather as both sisters who have been here in the community for awhile, and new neighbor sisters, who - both bringing our children, will co-create our shared space. We will teach each other, talk, listen, share, grow, and, hopefully, heal.

Each gathering will focus on a different, mostly textile and craft based making activity in which our new neighbor sisters have expressed interest in: weaving, felting, braiding, jewelry making, cooking and sewing. The making activity will be designed to allow easy entry, learning as desired, and interpreting as we go. We will all learn from each other.

The making activities will be a backdrop for the important work of sharing space, listening, healing and gathering together.

We have secured a safe, cozy, warm space with a small kitchen area and large work space. We will have tables and chairs for crafting as well as a large round rug with cushions for those who like to work on the floor.

For the children (both new neighbor children + those of community sisters who have lived here longer) there is a gorgeous, adjacent room set up for play that allows for travel back and forth between spaces as need. At each gathering we will provide experienced caregivers for additional support.

How can you help?
We are raising funds to launch this 3 month, local, pilot program. We have already secured space starting January 3rd. To get the program up and running we need to raise $7,000 so that we can:
+ Create a beautiful, cozy space including painting and furnishings
+ Purchase the tools, ingredients + supplies we need
+ Overhead to organize gatherings including:
--- travel support (most of our new neighbors don’t drive) + stipends 
--- caregivers for our children + trauma support for women + translators as needed
--- create supportive making/home supplies 'kits' for women who may need or want them
--- simple documentation to support our efforts to launch ongoing program this spring.

We are raising funds through February 21st.  Anything above our goal amount will go toward additional gatherings!

This is the most direct need for a program I have ever experienced. We cannot visit all of our new neighbor friends in their homes, with yarn in tow, and cook weekly with them - but we can do it all together, in one space.

شكرا  + Thank you
Shukraan is Arabic for 'thank you'. It is one of the first phrases we learned from our new friends. THANK YOU, so much, for helping make this pilot happen! During a time in which many of us feel helpless to much of what is transpiring in the world THIS will make a positive difference, and our hope is that it will support the weaving of a much healthier fabric for our city and community.

Shukraan!

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ps: want tad more team info? see below or contact us :)

We are a group of mostly Portland moms who have become friends with our new neighbor sisters. We will collectively build in group + individual reflection as we go, integrating feedback + ideas of our new neighbor sisters, to be reciprocal partners in developing this new group.

Our collaborative team / advisors also includes:
Dara Lestrade
-- Neighbors in Need; Associate, Cleary Gottlieb LLP, 2000 - 2009; Stanford Law School 1997 - 2000
Sarah Marshall
-- Cultivating Communities Refugee and Immigrant Farmer Program
Adele Ngoy
-- Women United Around the World; New Sewers Program
Plus many other sisters!

Christina Bechstein  program lead, is grateful for her experience in team collaboration, cross cultural/place-based creative projects with folks of all ages and backgrounds. Selected examples include:
*Cross Cultural + Creative Community Work
-- “Growing Fence” Boston MA, collaborative community, public art + gardening workshops with youth, gardeners, neighbors, Shirronda Almeda, Jeremy Chi Ming Liu, Sand T, Mason Roberson, Jared Katsiane and many other folks. Lead Artist. Community Partner: Asian Community Development Corporation. Funder: New England Foundation for the Arts, Browne Fund, Anonymous Fund, Harvard Graduate School of Design.
-- “Sodadi” Dorchester, MA, creative collaborative art workshops and public art with Designer Ziddi Msangi and Emerson Elementary school children (Cape Verdian bi-lingual school). Team Artist. Funder: Boston Schoolyards.
-- “Revision Greenhouse” Dorchester MA, creative workshops with new neighbor moms at Revision Family home/farm, project led by Jeremy Chi Ming Liu. Team Artist. Collaboration with Social Worker Luz Lopez. Funder: New England Foundation for the Arts.
-- “Building Together” Lewiston, ME, collaborative food, art, dancing + music community events with Michelle Vasquez Jacobus, Sandcastle Pre-school, University of Maine Lewiston and many other folks. Lead Artist, part of large collaborative team. Funder: Kellog Foundation.
-- “Detroit Post-Map” Detroit, MI, art/story map collaboration with Detroit residents, University of Detroit Architecture students + Ronit Eisenbach. Team Artist. Funder: Graham Foundation.
-- “Story House” Portland, ME, collaborative art workshops with new neighbor high school students, partnerThe Telling Room, Maine College of Art Students, Jennifer Christian, and many other folks. Team created launch for organization and traveling exhibition. Lead Team Artist. Funder: Maine Art Commission and donors.

* Teaching/Civic Engagement Work
-- Over 20 yrs teaching, training + leadership in community art, educational pedagogies, studio art, service + public engaged team/work + learning in Detroit, Boston, Maine. Collaborative leadership training with Institute of Civic Engagement. National Campus Compact Service Learning in Community Consultant. 
-- Former Associate Professor of Sculpture @ Maine College of Art, and Director of Public Engagemen. Led creation of a new minor of Public Engagement, trained faculty in community partnership work, taught and led students on projects working in diverse communities, created ongoing community partnerships, a few included The West School, English Language Learners at King Middle School and Cultivating Community.
-- Ongoing work with mixed age, creative co-creation with public art + also her project/social biz Love Lab Studio.