Week 6 - Stencil

As I thought about what image or symbol would be the best candidate to grace my sketchbook cover, I finally decided what I wanted. Out of curiosity, I scoured the internet and found the universal symbol of empathy. Empathy, mutual understanding, is one of life's greatest virtues. When we are empathetic toward one another, anything is possible. When we stand, united, under a common cause, nothing can truly divide us. Mutual respect between each other on the basis of humanism and all the adjoining components of it such as race, religion, color, creed, and sexual orientation, would be a prime factor of an ideal world for many. Undoubtedly, empathy is a moral principle that many individuals lack, and the widely existent instances of racism, animosity, and discrimination that we are still subjected to today, is evidence of that fact.

In reference to Chicana art, many outsiders to the culture are not open-minded enough to appreciate the beauty and meaningfulness of the art produced by people, and specifically, women, of color, simply because it is a possession of a people and culture that have been mischaracterized throughout history, a harshly misplaced precedent set over an entire population. If we could all learn to understand and listen to others as easily as we judge them, we would be capable of making vast strides in the pursuance of a more equitable world. Every single person on this Earth has the potential for change, not everyone, however, is willing to take the initiative to achieve it. Creating total tangible change will take the effort of all, not just some, few and far between.

In all honesty, I could have picked anything really, but I wanted to take the opportunity to pick a stencil image that carries boundless, and immeasurable, significance to me, and many others as well. That's what I have come to immensely respect about the arts, the limitlessness of it all, and the imperative weight it carries in society. Empathy is more than just a mere virtue or principle or a broad range of emotional states, it is a lifestyle.