Tracy Jane Gregory
The artist in nature with her embroidered collage quilt, entitled Bondage.
What's been going on in your world lately?
I’m an English tutor and teacher’s assistant at a community college in San Francisco, so I spend most of my time Zooming with students. I am privileged to work with instructors who have built their classes around social justice issues, so I get to unpack race, class, and gender with folks in my community daily.
When I’m not working, I’ve mostly been obsessing over RuPaul’s Drag Race. They are airing a U.S. and U.K. season right now, and I find myself crying every time queens have to lip sync for their lives. I think I miss being around people.
Anything in particular you've been working on?
Embroidery! I’ve been spending the last six months creating embroidered pieces to open up an online shop. Right now, I have hoops with human and bull skulls adorned with flowers or sunrays along with some skull and floral masks. Hoping the shop will be open by March or April 2021!
Other projects/organizations happening in your area that are cool?
There have been many great mutual-aid groups popping up in the Bay Area in the last year, like Mission Meals Coalition (IG: @mission.meals), who have a community fridge and supply hot meals to those in need. There’s also Compassion in Oakland (IG: @compassioninoakland), which started after the recent publicized anti-Asian attacks in the Bay Area. Compassion in Oakland provides chaperones to Asian elders, especially in the Oakland Chinatown Community, so they can feel safer walking outside.
In what kind of environment do you work best creatively?
I always fall prey to the mystique of locking myself in a distant-cabin and churning out a bunch of writing/pieces, but in reality, I work best within a community. Other people’s work, of all mediums, inspires me to keep working and try new methods. Also, being able to share what I’m working on with others and have them hold me accountable to finish projects is extremely helpful. That’s why Instagram and Etsy have been so important for me during this pandemic: it’s the most tangible community I can have right now!
What is something you would tell your past self?
Get a therapist! Take your time! Treat “saying yes” like a rare treat instead of an open invitation.
Something you are looking forward to in the future?
This one’s hard! I’ve spent most of my life yearning for the future, so I’ve been using the pandemic to help me stay more in the present. With that in mind, I look forward to getting my first vaccine shot today and going on a hike in the redwoods.
Art, Music, Books you've been into this year?
I’m someone who reads about five books at a time, so here are my faves from my current reading (or re-reading) list:
Photo Poetics: Chinese Lyricism and Modern Media Culture by Shengqing Wu
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
Existentialism Is a Humanism by Jean-Paul Sartre
Socialist Realism by Trisha Low
For music, I recently discovered the all-female doom-metal band Mrs. Piss. Changed my life.
This piece from Tracy’s quilt, Bondage, was recently featured on the cover of the Snail Trail Press’s 2nd printed issue released in 2020.
Links to anything you're involved in you want to share?
You can follow me on Instagram for updates on all things Tracy & and my embroidery shop: @traceonmyface
I also have a website that I don’t update too often: www.tracyjanegregory.com
A short poem?
For the ritualist
who drives hundreds of miles
to escape their problems:
Take a step to the left.
Let planes buzzing
overhead, turn into breath.
Spine becoming redwood,
stomach a crater lake,
You spiral like a mollusk,
and no longer know your name.
-Written after that hike in the redwoods, 3/2/2021
Anything else you'd like to add?
Thank you, OSC-Press for featuring me and my work! :)
Tracy Jane Gregory’s T-Shirt Design is available for preorder here: https://oscillator-art.com/pre-orders/fire-tracy-jane-gregory
