Identity Story Quilt

Class taken at UNC of Greensboro with Professor Maria Lim in the Spring of 2019.

Identity Story Quilt

Reflection - Quilt Project - Andrea

The main idea of my work was obviously, my story, written for the “prompt” that we had in class that utilized adjectives which describe ourselves. My story was about a boy (supposed to be me, I was very boy-ish when I was young) who thought his grandparents’ keys were magical, and could be used to create a portal that could take him anywhere. He took the keys to the park, and while waiting for the magic, fell asleep. His dream took him to a witch, to whom he requested that he be taken to the United States, to get “opportunities” so as to bring them back to his grandparents and family. The witch could not help him. When the boy woke up, he was in bed. I went back and forth as to who should be standing over him -- his mom or his grandparents. After all, it is difficult to discern for myself if it was my grandmother’s influence to move to the States or my mother’s independent decision. I still do not know.

I am very fixated on composition, because my understanding of language is very strange. I learned English around the age of seven, so my comprehension is very technical and by the rules. Comparatively, I felt that I relearned Portuguese over time, also very robotically, because of my vocabulary limitations post-migration. With these experiences, my conceptualization of words and otherwise symbols feel as if they must be framed in order to be presented… as if, without the “stage,” the “show” is a farce, or senseless. The embroidery “painting” is exactly as many of you (including classmates) described it: a window. This idea that I genuinely believed in the magic of the keys is a window to my past, but it is also a fabrication. I was never so gullible, but I have always been desperate. The quote is something that my grandmother said to me (vaguely) on the day I first left Brasil. “When the door of opportunity opens for you, not a single lock will stop you.” Or something along those lines. I feel that I am just recently beginning to understand what parts of my life are locks, doors, keys, and whether or not they are open, and if I should open them at all. I made the piece long to resemble the shape of a door because I have had many experiences with doors. I have painted many doors. Each door I have painted has a story. And each story results in a change to the door, its hinges, its location, the room to which it connects… It goes on.

The artists who inspired me to create this were my grandmother, grandfather, and my nanny. My grandmother used to paint watercolor flowers. She is obsessed with flowers, hence the floral fabrics. My nanny embroiders and sews, and she is illiterate. The symbolism of her is a big part of my appreciation for the United States’ opportunities. My grandfather is a writer and a lawyer, meaning he has taught me much about presentation of a “true” story. I drew heavily from the concepts that their arts have taught me, combined, for this piece.

This project was very emotional. I will include the English and (albeit half-finished) Portuguese versions of the story. I am sorry if they are a little messy, I was very indecisive about whether or not to make myself a boy or a girl in the story, who was speaking at certain times, and whether or not to make the witch a bear. (There is bear symbolism with my mom, grandmother, and nanny… As well as with certain bear characters from children stories.)

To be quite honest, I hated this project. Not only because embroidery is unbearably frustrating, but also because I do not enjoy utilizing my nostalgia for Brasil in my work very often. If you are wondering why, it is because I will never do my past justice. Please do not ask any more.

Thank you.