Our Last Day :(

Hey guys it's Yanely,

I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post, but we were having some technical difficulties with our blog! But now that's all over, and sadly so is our internship here at Hester Street! I sure will miss taking the downtown B train to Grand Street everyday after school! I must say that I have had an amazing time interning for Hester Street. I have learned a great quantity of skills that I am sure will come in handy when I enter college. All of the projects that I have been a part of have been enjoyable and informative, and the entire internship has been an exciting learning experience. I am glad to have had the opportunity to work with people who truly care for improving and serving communities through art and design. Simple projects, such as lantern-making, can make students and teachers smile, and bring joy to the community. Working in the garden has been amazing because I’ve been able to see the transformation of the space over the past two years. The most current project has been creating pavers and stepping stones with the children from P.S.134, that will serve as pavers and decoration in the garden!(I made the bird paver on the upper right corner) The pavers will add color and artwork to the garden and will allow the children to feel proud of their contribution. It is amazing how much change we can produce with just a little bit of community support. I am happy to have been able to participate, even in the smallest events and projects, because I know that it is contributing to a bigger and better cause! Since I have had such fun here at Hester and I have learned so much I feel honored to remain a part of the organization. I will soon become an honorary board member for Hester Street Collaborative. I feel like the organization has such an amazing program for all generations of people, and I really want to inform my generation and share with them, not only my experiences, but also allow them to be able to create experiences of their own here at Hester Street. I hope that you all reading this post will feel inspired to do something good and productive in your neighborhoods because it's something great that everyone can achieve!

Here's a picture of two of my younger brothers and I working in the garden on a volunteer day.

the weather is getting warmer!

Xing here! Summer’s here!

With the weather getting warmer, we started to do some major garden work at P.S.134. A couple of weeks ago, Anne and Dylan took us to the Storefront, to view some architecture works presented and it has become one of my favorite days here. It was especially fun and very inspirational for me because I am going to major in Architecture! We brainstormed afterwards and did some paver designs that would best suit the garden and its new look. We decided on “garden creatures” and used the small geometric shapes that the kids at P.S. 134 are learning in class. I started with a tomato but it soon developed into a mosaic green ant. Yanely designed a bird and Wawa made a water pot design. I had a lot of fun with experimenting/mixing concrete and the designing part of the process but cutting the mosaic to pieces to fit the design nicely was quite challenging for me. The small mosaic pieces never come out right for me when I try to cut it but nevertheless, the outcomes came out looking GREAT! We then use these pavers as examples for the children of P.S.134 to make their own design using the geometric shapes Dylan cut out. And for the past two weeks, we have been making form works and cutting shapes for these new pavers so that they will look great! It was really fun seeing the cool designs little kids were able to come up with. While the pavers are being casted, the garden is also starting to look organized on its own.

before and after mosaic. and there's MY ANT!

we're all working hard at the garden. Thumbs up =D

It’s my last week here interning at Hester Street Collaborative. Very sad to leave but it has definitely been a pleasure to work here. I gained many new skills and great experiences at Hester Street Collaborative. Very thankful to Dylan and Anne and the opportunities given at HSC =D