EPISODE 48 :: Erin M. Riley - Exploring identity, pleasure, and family structure through weaving

Summary: In episode 48 of the Close Knit Podcast, I spoke to Erin M. Riley. Erin is someone whose work I’ve followed and admired for literal years, and if I’m being completely honest, I was so psyched when they agreed to come on the podcast. Erin’s work has always deeply intrigued me, and their internet presence was always focused on their work, so I was especially excited to get to talk to them and hear more about how they make their incredible, gigantic tapestries, and how their life experiences have informed their work. Erin takes me all the way back to middle school, when they were a restless teen sewing seed beads onto clothing and winning sewing machine threading competitions at school. We talk about how their family dynamics, and how their family’s journey with addiction has impacted them and the type of work they’ve created. We discuss the early internet and how it’s changed, how their work engages with various forms of pleasure, and themes that are not often talked about publicly. And we discuss the ways that people have engaged with their work online and off and the importance of making work that can be engaged with in person. Erin was so deeply candid with me in this episode, and I so deeply appreciated their perspective on their own art and its interaction with the world.