A new VOF Triad was born today

This morning I met my new correspondent, Iryna from Ukraine, and her Editorial Mentor, Heidi, who lives in Oregon only about 20 minutes from where I live. I invited Heidi to visit the art festival that I am curating next weekend and to submit her photographs to the Open Show today. She, however, lives on a vineyard, and today is a “tractor day” for her.

For Iryna it was the end of her Sunday and closing in on bedtime. Although, we live almost on opposite sides of the earth, we found times to check in with each other via Skype (her evenings and our mornings). We established that we prefer communicating primarily by email and will share our comments so we three are on the same page. We’ll Skype at least once a month, and more, as needed. Iryna writes using Word, so editing should go smoothly. We discussed different approaches to her Letter of Intention and brainstorming for her first assignment.

From Iryna’s questions, she is thinking ahead and determined to succeed.

Our three-way conversation was spirited––filled with gratitude on all sides, some laughter, and much warmth. Iryna touched upon her country, it’s recent history, her father's support for women’s rights, and her work for an NGO focused on ecology and peace. The few brief lulls in the conversation were quickly filled with more questions about each other’s lives and how excited we are to be working together.

One delightful surprise during the call was meeting Iryna’s six-year-old daughter. Following in her mother’s footsteps, she was eager for her voice to be heard, too. She’s a budding artist and wanted us to see a picture she drew that––even with a fleeting pass in front of the camera––somehow looked very much like a self-portrait.

Having read Iryna’s journal posts, I sense her strength, pride, optimism, clarity, motivation, and power. At times, her writing is beautifully poetic. It’s my great privilege to serve as Iryna’s Vision Mentor.

Let the journey begin…

Sally