I Got Involved in the Community -Jill Valavanis
Jill’s Sonoma Journey - I Got Involved in Community Chapter
This is the third of three stories about Jill’s relationship with Sonoma.
🟩 I Visited – Chapter 1
🟨 I Chose to Stay – Chapter 2
🟥 I Got Involved in Community – Chapter 3 (You are reading this story)
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After returning to Sonoma, Jill looked for a place to teach art and found an invitation at the Sonoma Community Center. Teaching, the Sonoma Valley Mothers Club, Girl Scouts, and the Center’s fiber arts studio became lasting ways for her to connect with and contribute to her community.
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While I was living in Southern California, I earned my master of fine arts degree. I taught three-dimensional design and fiber structures as an adjunct professor. Between teaching assignments, I worked with children, so I came to enjoy teaching both kids and adults.
When we moved back to Sonoma around 2000, I wanted to continue that work. I called the Sonoma Valley school district and asked whether I could teach art in the public schools. They told me there was no money for art in the budget. That was sad to hear.
My next call was to the Sonoma Community Center. I told them I was a teaching artist who worked with children and adults and asked if I could offer classes. They said, “Absolutely—submit some proposals.” I did, and I began teaching there. I have taught at the Center ever since.
My work grew beyond those first classes. I taught through the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art and in elementary schools, both public and private. I developed curriculum and ran a small summer art program for kids. Teaching gave me a way to share something I loved and to get to know the community we had returned to.
Having young children opened another door. I joined the Sonoma Valley Mothers Club, which was for families with children younger than school age or a baby on the way. We created playgroups so our little kids could spend time together. We also took care of one another. If someone had just had a baby, had surgery, or was injured, other parents organized meals. There were moms’ nights out, activities for dads, and an annual camping trip.
A great many of my Sonoma Valley friendships began in that club. I was glad to see members of a newer generation come to the Community Center’s fiber arts studio for a moms’ night out. They brought pictures of old scrapbooks from the early 2000s, and there I was with my little guy. The club had slowed down during COVID, so it was exciting to see people working to bring that connection back.
Girl Scouting was part of my life as well. I had been a Girl Scout in Oakland, where my mother was a co-leader, and I stayed in Girl Scouts through my senior year of high school in Sonoma. When my daughter started school, I thought I was probably destined to become a leader myself. I led her troop from around first or second grade all the way through twelfth grade.
I have never considered myself particularly outgoing. I tend to step up in my own quiet way. I enjoy organizing things, and that has helped me in my work at the Community Center.
The fiber arts studio there became especially important to me. Margaret Hatcher, who worked on creative programs at the Center and made extraordinary costumes, came up with the idea for a studio the local community could use. When I heard about it, I thought, “That is right up my alley.” I contacted her immediately and proposed classes. At the studio’s grand opening, the teaching artists displayed examples of what we could teach. I never imagined I would eventually spend so much of my time in that room.
After Margaret stepped down to devote herself to her artwork, Eric Jackson ran the fiber arts programming for several years. I was already working at the Center, teaching and running programs in drawing, painting, and printmaking. When Eric moved out of state, I had the opportunity to lead the fiber arts programming.
Sonoma is a special place to me. I think many of us who live here feel that and do not take it for granted. We want it to remain a community-oriented place. Teaching art, bringing people together, and helping them make things are my ways of contributing to that.
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Jill’s involvement grew from everyday needs: finding a place to teach, meeting other parents, and supporting her daughter’s interests. Her story shows how someone who considers herself quiet can help sustain a community by organizing opportunities for others to learn, meet, and care for one another.
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This story was created from an interview with Jill Sable Vallavanis conducted by Don Lundgren. Jill’s words have been edited for length and clarity while preserving her voice, experiences, and meaning.
