No stencil, no problem…

Whenever I post this room on Instagram, I am asked to link the “wallpaper.” Instead I lead them to an ig stories highlight link that shows I clearly hand painted this accent wall ! (2021 update)

originally posted on instagram.

the A R T of improvement. Happy Saturday friends! Raise your hand if you’ll be spending some part of the weekend doing a home improvement project. This morning I woke up motivated to work on the bedroom wall. You, the people voted voted for the free-hand approach, as shown in the work of @carmeon.hamilton. After studying Carmeon’s technique and asking her what brush she used, I made my way to a local store and grabbed some “art brushes.” (Actually I stood outside and asked the saleswoman to get me some brushes, because...pandemic 😷). But before I commit paint to wall, I am going to do some practicing on grocery bags because, I have to admit, I’m a bit nervous about making a mistake. This got me thinking: home improvement can be a metaphor for what is happening around the country through #blacklivesmatter. In order to truly have the home of our dreams, we have to: 1) decide we want it (nothing can happen without a decision); 2) do the research (privilege and bias are real-you can’t just trust your gut or what you’ve always believed—but also diversify your sources); 3) make the investment; (time, money, resources are necessary for real change) 4) prioritize the projects that need immediate attention (arrest the cops who murdered breonnataylor and elijahmcclain and countless others) 5) still take care of day to day business (radically rethink the approach to public safety defundthepolice & stop calling the police on Black people doing normal everyday things; 6) recognize when you need a professional (VOTE for lawmakers that are committed to this work) and 7) understand it is an on-going process (just when you think you’re making progress, something else WILL come up that takes you back to step 1.) ❗️Living in this house is a dream. There is no place I would rather be. Seeing and addressing the problems of this house don’t mean I don’t love it. It means I know it can be so much better. It means I acknowledge the potentially catastrophic harm of not fixing disrepairs. And that’s why I’m willing to put in the work, money and time to get it there, so that this home is not only a good place for me now, but for all who have the privilege of coming here.

Oh…did you think this was going to be a HOW-TO post? That’s okay. We’re still getting to know one another.