How does Whimsey Sky Celebrate Diversity as a One-person Team?
Whimsey Sky, LLC is a single-member organization. Because of the legal structure of this type of business, Whimsey Sky can contract work or purchase licenses from creators, but cannot employ people.
In plain language, I'm Bethany DuVall. I own Whimsey Sky, LLC, and I'm just one person.
Members of my family and I are, collectively and individually, members of some historically excluded communities. In myself and/or my household, there have been visible and invisible disabilities, mental health concerns, issues of poverty and health care access, LGBTQ+, and the economic, religious, and political inequity that comes with being a woman.
But, I have a lot of advantages.
I'm a white lady in the US who grew up at the lower end of the economic scale and have spent the majority of my adult years living at a middle class level. Although I didn't always, I now have access to excellent health care. I've been fortunate to be able to pursue the education I've wanted (in fits and starts, and with lots of financial aid). I recognize the advantage that my skin and economics have given me.
I also recognize the beauty in our differences. You may have noticed from my art and my words that faith drives my approach to creativity and to life - and that I think you're beautiful, whatever your faith is or is not. It's my belief that if God wanted us all to be the same, we would be. Since we're not, the only logical conclusion is that God celebrates diversity. I find it a deep failing in humanity that we often do the opposite.
I also know that as a white lady, I don't know what I don't know. And it's my responsibility to learn.
What I do know is that you're beautiful, whatever your skin, creed, physical health, emotional challenges, gender (and there are so many of these!), or way of loving. I don't know what it is to live in skin besides my own, to walk in beliefs or bodies that are not mine. And I'm deeply grateful that I get to experience people who challenge my concept of normal simply by having a different normal than mine.
In plain language, I'm Bethany DuVall. I own Whimsey Sky, LLC, and I'm just one person.
Members of my family and I are, collectively and individually, members of some historically excluded communities. In myself and/or my household, there have been visible and invisible disabilities, mental health concerns, issues of poverty and health care access, LGBTQ+, and the economic, religious, and political inequity that comes with being a woman.
But, I have a lot of advantages.
I'm a white lady in the US who grew up at the lower end of the economic scale and have spent the majority of my adult years living at a middle class level. Although I didn't always, I now have access to excellent health care. I've been fortunate to be able to pursue the education I've wanted (in fits and starts, and with lots of financial aid). I recognize the advantage that my skin and economics have given me.
I also recognize the beauty in our differences. You may have noticed from my art and my words that faith drives my approach to creativity and to life - and that I think you're beautiful, whatever your faith is or is not. It's my belief that if God wanted us all to be the same, we would be. Since we're not, the only logical conclusion is that God celebrates diversity. I find it a deep failing in humanity that we often do the opposite.
I also know that as a white lady, I don't know what I don't know. And it's my responsibility to learn.
What I do know is that you're beautiful, whatever your skin, creed, physical health, emotional challenges, gender (and there are so many of these!), or way of loving. I don't know what it is to live in skin besides my own, to walk in beliefs or bodies that are not mine. And I'm deeply grateful that I get to experience people who challenge my concept of normal simply by having a different normal than mine.
Donations - Opening Up the Space
Whimsey Sky, LLC will be donating a portion of profits from any product using images of people from communities that have been historically excluded and that are not among the communities of my own household. One reason I painted these pieces in the first place is to be part of opening up the space, and it would be entirely contradictory for me to hoard profit from images of lives I have not lived.
For 40+ years, Facing History and Ourselves has supported education programs in the US and worldwide to give teachers and students the tools and opportunities to reflect on their own identities in the context of how historical events have led us to the place we are now. It empowers participants of all backgrounds to make deliberate choices to build a more equitable future. For this reason, Whimsey Sky is proud to have the opportunity to support Facing History and Ourselves.
For 40+ years, Facing History and Ourselves has supported education programs in the US and worldwide to give teachers and students the tools and opportunities to reflect on their own identities in the context of how historical events have led us to the place we are now. It empowers participants of all backgrounds to make deliberate choices to build a more equitable future. For this reason, Whimsey Sky is proud to have the opportunity to support Facing History and Ourselves.
Whimsey Sky, LLC is a new business - the soft launch was July, 2022, and there are still a few more pieces to put together before a more public launch (I'm writing this in September, 2022). Donations will be made at the end of each calendar year. Eventually, as Whimsey Sky grows, it may be possible to support additional organizations through our sales.