Gathering

My grandfather has a tattoo of a Swiss flag on his upper left arm. I continue to wonder and ask why. He was Austrian and as far as I know he never lived in Switzerland nor has any Swiss “blood”.

My work explores the validity and authenticity of our search for our own histories. As I have grown older, my ancestral history has become more important to me. My intension is to document, as accurately as possible, my own ancestral lineage. Within this search, I have been discovering and unearthing new and additional mysteries, and information that contradicts what I have been led to believe or is not at all accurate.

So, you might ask, what is our truth? Why didn’t these people want us to know the legitimate facts regarding their backgrounds? What I have been learning is in many cases, it was the only way to escape the horrible situations many people found themselves living in many parts of the world. Countless were hopeful and desperate for a way out and a new life without the tyranny or threats of persecution and or death in a new world.

As I have researched my own past, I have been learning the value and security of what we know and believe as a safe place.

For many fleeing other countries, they have never known a place or home that is safe. I doubt we will ever understand or grasp what so many people went through during the early 20th century. How did they get the money and documents for their passage to America? What was it like to travel to a new country and leave everyone and everything you have ever know behind? For most, it was to never return to their homeland.

The arduous journey upon the scores of ships who carried these people filled with their hopes and fears and then the transition through Ellis Island inspection. The Island itself is filled with the stories these brave and frightened people held. Currently my interest and passion has been focused on the women who traveled though the Immigration system in place to enter this country.

For my mother’s parents, my grandfather worked on the sailing ships that brought alcohol and other items from other countries into the San Francisco Bay. He began investing in property at an early age in San Francisco. It was during prohibition so there was money to be made.

My grandmother was a lace maker in what was known then as Boheme. It is now known as the Czech Republic. Both my grandfather and grandmother considered their selves Austrian, and were born and raised in a small Bohemian village. My grandfather sent for her and they married in San Francisco.

Most of my work has been inspired from photographs my grandmother had. Fortunately, she had a talented cousin who was a photographer.

My work began with these images. I have etched many into copper and incorporated the images into work. The work also incorporated the making of “Bobbin Lace” and the work of my grandmother.

As my work evolves, I have more desire to demonstrate how women work with their hands and then pass that craft on to their daughters, granddaughters and other women in their lives. The work of a woman’s hands is very important to me.

My hope and passion is to apply the most accurate truth to my history without harming the reasons for secrecy or discretion. I hope to remain respectful to not only the memories, but the integrity of my ancestors.