Stranger in a Strange Land is a portrait of my paternal grandfather I made in 2015. It was my first year working full time in my studio. This portrait created a minor buzz in the art quilt world. It was displayed in an exhibition at the Smithsonian Textile Museum at Georgetown University.
My submission did not directly address the theme of the exhibition, since my grandfather’s family migrated from Scotland prior to the American Revolution. In my artist statement, I argued that everyone has a connection with migration. My grandfather moved from West Virginia to Colorado in the last decade of the 19th century. From Colorado to San Francisco after WWI. From San Francisco to Los Angeles after the influenza epidemic. His reasons for moving were no different than refugees from Mexico, Syria, or Africa. Like these people he moved for reasons of safety and security for himself and his family.
Almost ten years later, I still love this portrait, despite hating it when I began working with it in my studio. I thought the static mugshot orientation of the figure in grayscale was a huge mistake when the printed fabric arrived in my studio. In hindsight I realize the composition was a great learning experience which helped me grow as an artist. To rescue this portrait I had to fix the problem of the deadweight of the figure and find a way to make it grab the attention of a viewer.