In 1982, Hawrysio was living at 935 Leavenworth in San Francisco, on the edge of the city’s notorious Tenderloin district, known then and now for high levels of crime, homelessness, and substance abuse. 935 was a typical women’s rooming house, where single women rented rooms by the week, month, or year.

One of the long-term residents was Mo Lan, an elderly Chinese woman who made drawings and paintings in her tiny room, which was covered floor to ceiling with her work. Hawrysio invited her to do a drawing on a litho plate, and paired the resulting print with a photographic etching of Mo Lan in her room. Sally, another long-term resident, chose to write a verse from the Bible on her plate. The single print below is an etching made from a photograph taken in the room of another resident, Mary, who didn’t wish to mark a plate or have her portrait taken.