The design I chose for my stencil is a butterfly. The butterfly is not incredibly extravagant, but it has small designs within the wings that really stood out to me. In conversation with professor Lopez, she told me that stencils just remind her of papel picado, and funny enough the design of this butterfly happens to really resemble that. I think it would be really cool to be able to replicate something that reminds me of my culture and carry it around with me, especially in a school that wasn’t made for people of my background.
My initial idea for the stencil was the concept of nature. I had considered doing the sun and the moon, but didn’t find something that fit with what I wanted. So then I decided I wanted to do something with wings because of the concepts they represent such as freedom.. For example, we often hear things like “spread your wings”, “the sky is the limit”, and “soaring to new heights”. I could have chosen angel wings or a hummingbird, but I chose a butterfly because I remembered that the monarch butterfly has become a symbol for the undocumented immigrant community. Although I am not undocumented myself, I come from a mixed-status household which has shaped not only my outlook on life, but how I function in society. Freedom and opportunity is something a lot of immigrants imagine when they migrate to a new place, and I can’t help but think about how limited those concepts can actually be for individuals who are undocumented. That’s also why it was important for me to choose an image that honors my background. It also gives me that sense of wonder and want to keep exploring and expanding my horizons.
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