This Artist Is Weaving Her Indigenous Ancestry Into Meaningful Wearable Artwork

RhiannonGriego’slight- and energy-filled studio in Santa Fe is her happy place. Sometimes, she’ll find herself there vibing for 14 hours straight, just conceptualizing and weaving. To prepare her work environment each morning, the Native American textile artist first sweeps to allow for a clean space and an intentionally clear mind. She then puts on some music to create the day’s mood and burns some incense before she settles in behind her loom.

ForGriego, weaving is more than merely a means of creative expression or a hustle; it’s a way to connect with her multiculturalTohono O’odham, Mexican, and Spanish heritage. She picked up the practice in 2013 and since then, felt more and more compelled to help preserve the ancient Indigenous cultural tradition.

“There are still many Tohono O’odham basket weavers, but the art form of weaving garments began to die out two centuries ago,” says Griego. “My process of reconnecting [to my Native heritage] is also about rekindling something that has been lost. It really feels like an interweaving of all of who I am.”

Her designs — tops, tunics, dresses, scarves and wall hangings — are made with natural, sustainable materials and often embody a memory, represent a feeling, or reflect the natural world around her. The practice, she shares, is at once fulfilling and taxing.

“Weaving is a very spiritual practice, but it’s also very physically demanding,” she explains. “It requires strength, stamina, stillness and focus. It has taught me a lot of patience and instructed me on being grounded.” Griego tells me that when she finds herself in stressful situations, she’s learned to find that place of stillness that she’s honed — and that anchor has been an unexpected benefit of the craft.

Griego rarely sketches out her designs ahead of time and instead lets her intuition take the lead. A single piece can take up to 70 hours to make, often spread out over weeks or even months. For instance, one recently debutedcollection features 42 garments and has been a solid 10 months in the making.

“This collection is really about the metaphor that embers represent,” Griego tells me. “When we see a fire going out, do we let it extinguish or do we reignite it? It’s predominantly woven with different shades of brown, charcoal, gray and cream to reflect the ash and the subtle embers one would see when a fire is collapsing.”

Griego’s designs feature natural, durable materials such as wool, organic cotton, silk, linen, hemp, bamboo, and even some uncommon fibers such as agave, yucca and horsehair. That materiality reflects not only the time-honored traditions of her mixed-race heritage — her Tohono O’odham ancestors used agave and horsehair in their basketweaving, while her Spanish forebears raised churro sheep — but also the feeling she aims to capture for the wearer.

“First and foremost, everything is always about feeling,” Griego tells me. “How does this garment make me feel about myself? How do the fibers actually feel on my body? I want everything I weave to leave an imprint on the wearer, collector or admirer.” After all, what we wear is one of the fundamental expressions of not only our values, but how we want to be perceived.

Griego’s focus on sustainability is meant to reflect an Indigenous worldview that centers on living in harmony with the natural world rather than exploiting or extracting from it. “It’s mind-blowing how much waste the fashion industry produces and how long of an impact fast fashion has on our environment,” she says. “There’s just something so profound about working with and wearing natural fibers. It immediately connects you to your environment.”

Nature is both an inspiration and, at times, a physical workspace for Griego. She’ll occasionally pack up her loom and materials and make her way to an inspiring alfresco setting where she’ll spend the day weaving. Not only is this a soothing change of scenery, but it’s also a reminder of the inherent beauty of the imperfect.

“I try to never take things too seriously or confine myself to a rigid way of thinking,” she says. “I don’t aspire to create perfect textiles, either. Sometimes I’ll unravel a woven area or leave raw selvages unruly so there’s something truly unique about every piece.After all, there is so much beauty to be found within the cracks.”

No matter what she’s working on, Griego strives for designs that reflect three key principles: elegance, simplicity and versatility. Those guiding lights are evident in all her work, from tie dresses that nod to the aprons her female ancestors donned in the kitchen preparing family meals to the boldness and utility of the menswear she recently crafted for her newest collection.

Stylish statement pieces are a happy byproduct of her lifelong journey to better understand her unique Indigeneity. “Growing up, I experienced a lot of trauma and was very insecure because I didn’t understand where I belonged or what I was supposed to be doing,” she shares. “In reconnecting with my O’odham heritage, I’m also trying to revive one of the oldest art forms on the planet…Much as I understand the world to all be interconnected, I, too, am interwoven with multiple cultures.”