Papercrafters Unite Against Racism Blog Hop – She Shines Art Journal Entry

Hello friends!

Today’s post is all about my project for the Papercrafters Unite Against Racism Hop happening on Blogs, YouTube, and Instagram. I’ll admit: I’ve had a LOT of learning to do over the past few weeks. And I have a lot more ahead of me! As I have listened, researched, processed, and followed the Black Lives Matter Movement, protests against Police Brutality, and advocates fighting for equality for all, I have become more aware of the injustice Black People and People of Color face in the US and all over the World. I have also become more aware of my part in perpetuating a system that directly breeds that injustice. And I want to do better.

While I know that a Papercrafting project isn’t going make much difference in ending systemic racism, my hope is that, in a small way, the Papercrafting Community can show support, solidarity, and a commitment to inclusivity, equality, and representation. As the organizer of this hop, Justine Hovey, explains, “The goal of this hop is to come together to stand behind our crafty sisters and brothers of colour not just in the art industry, but also to show our support in the never-ending fight for equality all over the world.” For more information about the Papercrafters Unite Against Racism Hop, please check out Justine’s Blog Post.

Let’s get to the project!

For my project, I wanted to create a layout that flipped the phrase “I don’t see color” on its head. I think all of us have heard that phrase before – if you’re white, maybe you’ve even used it. Although the intentions may have been good, the truth is that the phrase can be very invalidating & dismissing to BIPOC. With this art journaling layout, I was thinking about how much I love color as an artist, and how much more beautiful our world is when we appreciate diversity and color in all things, especially in fellow human beings.

I came up with the phrase, “Open your eyes to the beauty of the world in full color” to capture the message of diversity and inclusion I was aiming for. Instead of ignoring someone’s skin tone, and in turn ignoring their experiences because of their skin tone, what if we opened up the conversation?

I wanted to include lots of photos of women of color, specifically Black Women, as one of my goals as an artist is to create more diversity in my projects. Although I think magazines are doing a better job about hiring models & featuring women of color, there’s still a long way to go. We need more diversity across the board: from race to gender to size to ability. But for this project, with a focus on Anti-Racism, I chose to center and focus on Black Women. Surrounded by beautiful colors, prints, and scenery, I wanted the result to be joyful, positive, and beautiful.

I hope that this layout serves as a reminder – to myself and to you – that our individual experiences aren’t universal. My own white privilege and internalized racism puts a filter on the way I see the world. As I work to remove that filter, I am constantly reminded that the world is so much more beautiful in full color <3

Ready for the next project? Click on the link below!

>>> The Next Papercrafters Unite Against Racism Blog Hop Stop: Verity Biddlecombe! <<<

If you would like to see the process video and IG post to go along with this blog post, click here (YouTube) or check out my Instagram @haleympettit !

Before I sign off, here’s a list of resources compiled for this hop. Please follow the links to continue learning and supporting!

Resources

Instagram Accounts of Black Crafters (Thanks Kristina Werner!)

List of Ways to Help (Thanks Jennifer McGuire!)

If you’re looking for a way to help, please consider donating to one of the following charities:

• Black Table Arts – organizes and brings in black artists into communities and provides creative spaces for leadership
• The Loveland Project – helps provide therapy for black women and girls
• Fair Fight – a movement to ensure free and fair elections
• Black Girls Code – a movement to increase women of colour in STEM fields and exposes girls to computer science and technology
• The Bail Project – mission to combat mass incarceration and reshape the pretrial system in the United States and helps reunite families.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog and taking the time to check out my project! I hope you enjoy the Papercrafters Unite Against Racism Hop 🙂

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