HYCC Sea Creatures in Boston's First Night Parade

Sea Creatures were the theme of Hawthorne Youth and Community
Center's contribution to Boston's First Night Parade this year.
Louie the Lobster (seen above) was our focal creature.  As for the
past few years, artist  Lisa Lee and I collaborated to facilitate
HYCC's  First Night Project funded through First Night.org 

We worked with HYCC's  after school program as well as led
Saturday workshops  including teens and adults. It's always a real
community effort to get everything finished and ready to parade.

Inspired by the organic crocheting structures of
Virginia Fitzgerald, I started working with the after school
kids ( age 5-11) teaching them to crochet in the early Fall
and was pleased to see all of them enjoy the process.(It's
rewarding to see a super active 9 year old go over to
his cubby and pull out his crochet hook and yarn on
his own. )  Thanks to a donation from Susan Thompson
of some of the yarn she received when weaver Theresa-India
Young  died, we had plenty of varied yarns and textures to
work with.  I think Theresa-India would have been pleased
with the use. Susan was happy to share and pass them on.

Everyone  loved making long chains.

Gradually a sea fantasy emerged with crocheted "seaweed",
fish, some jelly fish (made from shower curtain material)
strings of lights and more...all hanging from a hula
hoop. This is what the finished fantasia looked like in
the parade:

The children also each made individual fish or other creatures
to carry....made from a variety of materials....with of course
 glitter and paint. Large trash bags make great smocks. 

But as I said, our focal piece this year was Louie the Lobster.
Lisa Lee was the chief armature maker using chicken wire and
aluminum screen.  Made in two parts it grew and grew....In
the end Louie was a little over 10 feet long. The screening
was stitched with wire onto the chicken wire with inner
strong circular wire supporting it. 

Once the basic structure was set, it was time for glue and glitter:

Lots of people helped: 

Lisa mentioned our plans to the guys working on her apartment.  

They offered to construct a float with wheels to support Louie.  

A cooperative spirit is alive and well in our neighborhood.

We gave them specs and they were off to get materials.
Once constructed, the wooden frame was turned into
"water" for Louie:

and more detail was added. Louie wasn't bothered by

the hungry shark below.

Finally Louie was ready to move to the Hines auditorium
where the float assembly was completed

And last touches were added.

Louie's eyes are flashlights.  Blinking holiday lights had been
strung through Louie's body and claws at HYCC.  "Seaweed"
raffia was added,a few octopi, a bubble machine in the front
and a chair secured on the base so Sam Sadd, HYCC's coordinator
could ride and pass out Mardi Gras beads from boxes under Louie.
Finally Louie was ready to move outside:

Families and friends arrived, picked up their fish or other
creatures, and we went into the night to march with others.

There were over 40 of us behind the HYCC banner.
Walking in the parade is a long standing neighborhood
tradition, connecting  us to each other and to Boston at large.
Kids and adults have fun wishing everyone Happy New Year
while passing out beads and looking at all the other community
groups' parade items and costumes.  This year the Hot Tamale
Brass Band was behind us...great help to keep up our energy.

At the end we gathered to celebrate another successful
event. Then watched the family fireworks display!

Next year, Lisa thinks we should make something even bigger
for the parade.  Stay tuned for that! We're going to have to
work on HYCC's expansion plans.


Meantime, we're looking for a place to display Louie
for a while.

  Happy 2013 everyone...may it be a year filled with communities
working together!     Wendy

HYCC - Make Ours Green project

"Make Ours Green" was the title of this Spring's Green architecture
project at Hawthorne Youth and Community Center's after school
program. It was made possible through a Boston Foundation
for Architecture grant bfagrants.org and supported by Friends of
the Dudley Library and the Dudley literacy center. As usual the
final exhibit is on display at the Dudley library for all to enjoy.
The photo above shows how the display looks in the library.

With the help of mentors from archventures.org HYCC kids
learned about "green" architecture I accompanied them on trips
and helped  facilitate. Three sites in our Highland Park
neighborhood are slated for green architecture projects so
the time was right to discuss green building and energy
saving concepts with HYCC  youth and families.

Construction is under way at "Powahouse" a PlaceTailor.com
project, just a short walk from HYCC.  The kids loved
seeing the "bones" of the house and everything that is
hidden behind the interior walls of a house. The Archventures
mentors did a great job of explaining various aspects including
the "light wells" the air exchange, the super insulation, the
"bridge" feature in one of the units, the plumbing and the
plans for solar panels etc.   The kids especially enjoyed the
view from the roof deck. Check out the powahouse blog
for May 25: http://www.powahouse.org/2012/05/25/archventures/
it shows some of the kids on tour.  The blog is written
from the perspective of the house which might explain
the confusion that these are elementary school, not
middle school children.  Sometimes houses, even smart
green buildings can't distinguish school levels very well.

One of the other designated sites, but one which doesn't
yet have construction started, was chosen by the kids for
their imagined houses.  It is across from Marcella Park
which the kids know well.

They decided to design two units - one for 5 people,
and one for 10 with extended family possibilities. Each
house has a bedroom and bath on the first floor for a
grandparent or two. As a grandparent myself,  I was
pleased to hear them take us into consideration.

After sketching some floor plans, they refined their
ideas using blocks and legos. Working with the blocks
they determined the large unit should have 2 compact
bedrooms for the 4 children and a large playroom
(complete with flat screen TV).  Ingenuity soared as
one student designed a toilet which would be both comfy
and include the idea of composting. He had never heard of 
composting toilets. I brought in some materials about them
so he could do further research.

Archventures brought laser cut cardboard

pieces and model construction began.

 

The buildings grew, floor plans were created,
and colorful exterior walls painted.

These would definitely be houses noticed from a distance.
Every floor had its own color. Outside walls were insulated
(polyester simulating cellulose..)  and colorful interior walls
added. The mentors explained why it was important to think
through which rooms should be facing south to get the most
light. The kids put in the largest windows there.
This is the south face of the finished model:

Complete with solar panels facing south, backyard
sculpture, a meditation space and third floor open
space adjoining the master bedroom (and hot tub room).
This is the North Face:

And the aerial view which shows common roof
garden  and/or green roof:

Wonder if the Archventure team got any ideas for
future designs?

At the presentation, kids explained to parents and
community about the model and what they had learned.
Archventures provided some intriguing maps of the
neighborhood and comparisons with downtown Boston
which were displayed along with sketches by the kids.

Certificates and green necklaces were handed out and
dinner enjoyed with family, friends and library staff.

Unfortunately with end of school logistics, not
too many of the youth could be at the presentation,
but they will be able to take their parents and
friends to see the display at the library all summer.

In the Fall, we'll take the youth back to Powahouse
when it is completed in September. They will watch the
empty lot they chose as green construction begins there.
It will be fun for them to compare their designs  to
what is built and to watch for construction on the third
site just around the corner from HYCC. Building
should begin there soon as well.

The HYCC kids invite everyone down to the Dudley
branch  library to see their exhibit and learn a bit more
about green architecture.  HYCC staff and kids thank
everyone for making the project possible.

For now, I'm off to New Jersey, to help one of our
daughters and family get ready to move to Ecuador.
Looks like South American travel will be in our future
again. Then home to set up a show of my work at a
local cafe in early July.

Adventure on.     Wendy   

HYCC community wakes the watery world

 
The first Saturday in May, Boston celebrates with a "Wake up the
Earth"  parade and festival in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood.
The festival  began in 1979 as a celebration of community success
in halting the  extension of I95 which would have divided Boston
neighborhoods.  Many  houses had been torn down by the time the
eight-lane highway was finally stopped.  Activists who
worked on this issue in Jamaica Plain and Roxbury subsequently
started community gardens and worked for the creation of new
parks on the vacant lots left by the destruction of the houses.The
result is a series of parks, depressed subway line, and a bike path
greenway into downtown Boston. 

 
Since '79 with the leadership of community organizations like
Spontaneous Celebrations: www.spontaneouscelebrations.org
the festival has grown as a event affirming community, diversity
and the importance of green space in an urban environment.
For years there were two streams of the parade, one beginning in
Roxbury and another at the  monument on Center Street in JP.
But for the last 10 years, there has been just one parade. With
active development growing on both sides of  Columbus Ave.,
it was time to reinvigorate both streams.  With the encouragement
of Discover Roxbury : www.discoverroxbury.org  a lot of
Roxbury groups joined in.   I helped facilitate Hawthorne
Youth and Community Center's part.


We opted to "Wake up" the watery world.

Stuffed paper water creatures were designed and made by

the afterschool program kids as well as by families in Saturday

community workshops.

Starfish:

Catfish:

Grinning sharks:

Jelly Fish:



Turtles, dolphins, seahorses and more... We attached dowels
with two tone blue streamers (from plastic table cloths)so
the creatures could swim down the streets.

Some families added items made from home - like  waves with blue
paper streamers

And so we marched down the streets waking the water and seas
accompanied by other groups playing music, dancing, carrying
puppets, holding signs (no more bullying), walking within a dragon
and more...

Once at the festival on the greenway, HYCC set up a table to keep
the water theme going.  Children and adults decorated paper
fish,  seahorses, turtles and sharks:

They were put into our HYCC "pond"

or carried around the festival swimming in their blue ribbon
water:

The weather was cooperative.  A fun day of music, dance,
play, and communities gathering.  Can't ask for more.

Next blog - more work with HYCC - transforming
discarded chairs into thrones for Community Creations
exhibit at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

Adventure on.  Wendy