The Queue: Rhiannon Griego
Get to know the people featured in the pages of our magazine as they share what's inspiring them right now.
A biweekly roundup for and by the craft community, The Queue introduces you to the artists, curators, organizers, and more featured in the current issue of American Craft. We invite these inspiring individuals to share personally about their lives and work as well as what's inspiring them right now.
Rhiannon Griego is a Santa Fe–based artist who is featured the Spring 2022 issue of American Craft in "Cloth Encounters." This article by Selvedge magazine founder and editor Polly Leonard profiles nine women textile artists who are "grappling with issues of environmental, economic, and social sustainability."
Photos courtesy of Rhiannon Griego.
How do you describe your work or practice?
My discipline as a textile artist is focused on finding stillness in a modern world through the ancient art of weaving. The intersection, like warp and weft, is a place where I explore the paradox of being a modern woman and old soul wishing for a slower-paced life and reimagine the art of handwoven cloth.
The past 18+ months have presented many challenges, from a global pandemic to renewed urgency around issues of racial equity and police brutality. As we slowly move into a post-pandemic world, how are you finding beauty and staying grounded?
I find beauty in the paradox; life can feel ridden with so much ugliness and uncertainty while equally dancing with the light of life. I weave almost everyday, I meditate, I dance, I get lost in the landscapes where it's quiet. I read. The more I pay attention to the cycles of ancient civilizations, I note there is always rebirth around the corner, and I find a steadiness in knowing everything changes.
The theme of the current issue of American Craft is "Fashion." Can you reflect on that theme as it relates to your work and practice?
I consider my work woven artwork as it will exist beyond my perception of fashion as a trend. Textiles are amongst the oldest artforms, so when I weave, I hold that vision of my own work surpassing any present fad to be passed down through generations. It brings me comfort to have defined my own style that is moved by the desert landscape and translate that as a way to bring subtle reflections of nature into everyday dress.
Photo courtesy of Rhiannon Griego.
Photo courtesy of Rhiannon Griego.
What has been the biggest barrier you have had to break through to get to the place you’re at with your career?
The business mind behind running a successful art career.
What’s an exhibition or art project you think the world should know about and why?
Olga de Amaral: To Weave a Rock, exhibited in 2021. Olga's work is truly masterful and exemplifies that textiles are sculpture and three-dimension fiber work born from the meeting place of warp and weft. The ingenuity of her work gives rise to dreams and for me, helped in pushing the boundaries of fiber as "craft " or "women's work."
If you could purchase any craft artist's work for your home or studio, whose would it be and why?
I have been quite taken with Lawrence Calver's textile works and I intend on collecting a piece. His abstract textiles feel like memories of happy sensations and mirages. I appreciate the way he paints with the dyes. @law_calver
Photos courtesy of Simchowitz Gallery and Lawrence Calver.
Inspired by the people featured in The Queue?
Dive deeper into their work in the pages of American Craft magazine. Become a member of the American Craft Council to get a subscription and help fund a range of nonprofit programs that elevate the craft community.
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