Author: Sherrill Knezel

“The Milwaukee Blueprint for Peace is a community-driven agenda for addressing the complex factors that drive violence in our city. Rooted in a public health approach to violence prevention, this Blueprint was shaped by more than 1,500 individuals, elevating the voices of youth, community residents, and key stakeholders to call for strategic, aligned, and sustained investments and action to prevent violence, build resilience, and create a safer, healthier city.“ – Milwaukee Blueprint for Peace Website, 24 March 2021 When people feel safe, seen, and heard, that is when trust, healing, and social change begin to take root. This is...

I have been trying NOT to listen lately. Let me be more specific. I have been choosing not to listen to the negative news: the crisis at the border, daily examples of systemic racism, divisiveness in politics, and segregation in our community. It is difficult and heavy, and I am in self-protection mode. I also recognize and call out that it is white privilege that affords me this choice. This makes me uncomfortable and it is exactly this discomfort that tells me I need to examine the feeling more closely. How many times have I done this – choosing...

Lately when people ask me what I do, I say, “I am a public listener.” Technically, I am an art educator, artist, and graphic recorder. I teach elementary art, create “Knezelism” daily illustrations (featured weekly by the Milwaukee Independent), and listen deeply to draw out conversation. I came to the field of graphic recording through Mike Rohde’s book, The Sketchnote Handbook, and have been on a fascinating journey with it ever since. Graphic recording has been around for more than 20 years and is called by other names: scribing, graphic facilitation, visual note taking. It is the process of...

Knezelism: an inspirational illustration by artist Sherrill Knezel that explores different aspects of self-identity and community building in Milwaukee. As a K-12 Art Educator working in the Wauwatosa School District since 1992, Sherrill Knezel felt influenced by the illustrated communications style of Mike Rohde’s The Sketchnote Handbook. It tells the story of sketchnotes, why and how we can use them to capture our thinking visually, remember key information more clearly, and share what we have captured with others. Using her self-taught Graphic Recorder skills, Knezel has led professional development for educators with Visual Literacy for her school district, and...