Misstencil, Part 1 (S7E14)

Misstencil was born on a mountain in China.

In this episode, we meet artist Misstencil and she shares the story of her life. Before we get to that, be sure to RSVP to our Keep It Local show on May 23. Misstencil will be one of the six artists featured that evening, and for a very good reason. But we'll get to that.

As the Communist Party came to power in China, her dad and his family found themselves on the unfortunate side of things. His side of the family had a history as successful business people, which was suddenly frowned upon. Her mom came from a family of professors, also not favorable in the "new China." Her dad was from Hunan Province, where her mom's family later moved.

When her dad was young, his family gave him up to a foster mother and foster sister. That foster family, capitalists like her dad's family, was ostracized and became homeless. Misstencil's dad was smart and talented, but because of his family's background, was denied the opportunity to go to college.

He also had tough luck with women. When it came time to meet their parents, once it became obvious what his family's political background was, they would end the relationship. This happened on more than one occasion.

Despite being attractive and talented (at art and engineering), he was still single at 30. Then someone introduced him to the woman who would become Misstencil's mom. On their first date, he wasted no time letting her know his background. And it landed. She told him about her own background, and said she wanted to give him a chance.

After the two got married, the government sent them to work hard jobs in the mountains. The reality of life there meant that children went to day care while the parents worked. And after work, those adults had to attend political meetings. There was little to no time to raise kids. This was the situation in which Misstencil would grow up.

Because of this, her parents sent Misstencil to live with her mom's parents when she was eight months old. She saw her parents only once a year until she was around 12.

Growing up with her grandparents was traumatizing for Misstencil, despite how good they were to her. And that led to depression. All the kids around her had parents, but she effectively did not. It also affected her performance in school. She didn't do well in any subject except art. Her depression made it hard for her to be interested or to take school seriously.

Misstencil's parents took her out of school eventually, out of fear that they would lose her, and were able to get her into an education program that was not goal-oriented. In that time, she started to change, which she attributes to the lack of pressure. "I no longer had this pressure of doing stuff I don't like to do," she says.

When she graduated, that school sent Misstencil and one other young woman to Shanghai for college. She says that it was an especially optimistic time in China, and she embraced her time in the country's largest city.

Misstencil shares a fun sidebar about the first time she saw and went into a McDonald's. Because she was totally unfamiliar with the menu, she ended up ordering a bunch of desserts.

Then she tells us about seeing an advertisement for a meeting about a school in Switzerland. More importantly, cookies would be served at this meeting. That was enough for young Misstencil.

Like many people in China, she was familiar with Switzerland and its amazing mountain scenery. Calendars depicting the Swiss Alps were common. But Misstencil never imagined that she'd have the opportunity to go there.

As we've mentioned, the Chinese government exploited people like her dad. He was never really compensated for the incredible contributions he gave to his society. But then he found himself with a little bit of money, and told his daughter that they could use it to send her to Europe for school, at least for a year. She jumped on that chance to get out of her home country.

Misstencil shares the detailed story of her journey to Switzerland. It involves large amounts of paper currency, some of which ended up in her shoes. Arriving was tricky, too. It was the middle of the night and there was a train to catch. And she needed to go to the bathroom, but didn't have the coins needed to do that.

A further complication was that she didn't speak the language (German or French). A friendly fellow train passenger offered help finding her stop. But then he fell asleep. Eventually, she made it … in the middle of the night. There was no one around. So she walked.

When she arrived at her new school, she was told that because school started the next day, she'd have to pay to stay there that night (which was already half over). Misstencil notes the contrast between this and what she was used to at home. She says she wondered if she had made a mistake.

But she paid, and the next morning after she woke up, she opened her window. It was like being inside of a calendar, she says.

Check back next week for Part 2 and the rest of Misstencil's story.

We recorded this episode near Blue Heron Lake in Golden Gate Park in May 2025.

Photography by Alfredo Becerra