Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Rives.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was and still am greatly influenced by my father and his architectural practice. Watching the birth of ideas and their progression to the completed, livable state is absolutely incredible. As a child, I would often visit the construction sites of residences, and follow every step throughout the design and building process. My father and I would both keep a sketchbook on hand wherever we went, drawing our surroundings and him showing me how to make my lines, angels, and proportions more accurate. One of my fondest and most influential memories is from a family vacation, where my father and I sat in the lobby of a hotel with a giant fireplace and vaulted ceilings and spent the afternoon sketching the stone covered arches.
It has always been second nature for me to look at things in terms of how it was created, so wanting to be an artist came as no surprise. My parents supported me in my decision to leave Texas to attend Ringling College of Art and Design, where I just recently graduated from in May. Here, I was supported by my peers and professors to push my technical skills in a new, more conceptual way. Before Ringling, I didn’t think I even had an option to make anything other than paintings and drawings, and it was there that the conversations with my community showed me how, and encouraged me to be my most authentic self, through using primarily textile/fiber art.
Moving into the next stage of life has been an adjustment without that community, but that experience has brought me to Orlando, where I have met a group of artists and educators who have welcomed me with open arms and ears.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been a smooth ride, but that just means more opportunities for growth. There have been internal struggles, as well as external ones. Trying to live up to my own high expectations. Trying to prove myself to others, especially my peers. Every day I have to remember that I have my own strengths and accomplishments, and I am constantly learning. It’s important for me to remember that it’s okay to step away from my work every now and then to read a book or to wander around just to see what’s going on in the community. All of these things are chances for you to grow if you allow it to.
I’m currently teaching art, and something that I tell my students, particularly the young women, is to just try! You will never accomplish or learn anything if you don’t try. Even if you aren’t excited about it at this moment, it could influence you later on.
Please tell us about your work.
I have been sewing my own blueprints of fourteen architectural spaces I have occupied within the last four years, specifically bedrooms, and simplifying them to the point where they can no longer fulfill their intended purpose if constructed three-dimensionally. With this, I merge the fragility of latex with images of hard, sturdy, man-made buildings to raise the question of how the human body, and physical space in which it resides, inform one another. From that, I have recently begun to transform these spaces into weavings, challenging how historically women have been the ones at home sewing, and men designing and building.
On the same note, my paintings create a parallel between the struggle to understand my position in space and feeling of belonging and my recent removal of Fibroadenomas. This body of work is definitely helping me find my way.
There’s a wealth of academic research that suggests that lack of mentors and networking opportunities for women has materially affected the number of women in leadership roles. Smart organizations and industry leaders are working to change this, but in the meantime, do you have any advice for finding a mentor and building a network?
Just get out there and talk with people. Go to openings, reach out to people. What’s been really fantastic for me is that I have met some great people through gallery openings, peers, and historians that I look up to. Eat up as much knowledge and resources as you possibly can! Chances are, someone you know will know another person interested in the same things as you, you just have to be willing to talk with people about it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.emilyrives.com
- Email: emilyrives.art@gmail.com
- Instagram: @emilyr13
Image Credit:
Julia Kokernak, Ruben Roman Garcia, Charles Robbins
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