CommUNITY: Inspiration from Ricky Bromero

Hi friends! Today we are here with an installment of our monthly series, CommUNITY, where we share artwork from artists who we'd love for you to get to know. CommUNITY is about embracing and honoring the creativity of individuals who are often underrepresented. By sharing art from a diverse group of creators, we hope to not only bring inspiration to this papercrafting community we all love so much, but also support and empower individuals to be their authentic selves as they create and share. Look for a new CommUNITY guest artist right here on the blog each month. Today our talented guest is Ricky Bromero.

Ricky Burton-Romero has been making greeting cards for over 8 years. What started out with adult coloring has led him to many crafting opportunities. Ricky's cardmaking style ranges from clean and simple to a full-on story on the front of his cards. In addition, he enjoys ink blending and Copic coloring for most techniques. Ricky is married to his husband Tony and has two dogs named Ivy and Imogene Nickles. As an avid animal lover, he volunteers for organizations like Live Like Roo and Wild Hearts, both based in Chicago. Each year he hosts a card drive to help an animal organization in need. Last year he raised over $5,000 for Live Like Roo doing a virtual 5k. Check out Ricky's YouTube Channel and his Instagram by searching for BromeroCards.

Let Ricky explain what inspired him to create his first two cards. In his YouTube video he talks about his first experience with racism and how it still affects his life today. These cards are what he envisions his heart feels like when he thinks of racism and how he tries to embrace all that he can. The products he used for these cards are the Hero Arts Empowerment stamp set and the Hands Of Hope Die. His story starts at the 6 minute mark. The link to his video is: https://youtu.be/44pt99E1tgg

Now let's look at cards three and four. Ricky made these cards because he feels as a person of privilege he needs to help and raise the voices of others that aren’t as lucky as he has been. They are used to lift others and including all. Products used on these cards were the United People Hot Foil Plate and the Empowerment stamp set.

Thank you Ricky for sharing your story. It is truly touching and inspires us to do better, be better and love better. This sums up what community is all about. Equality, support and diversity!