Teri Greeves facts for kids

Teri Greeves (born 1970) is a talented Native American artist. She is famous for her amazing beadwork. Teri is a member of the Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Growing Up and Learning

Early Life in Wyoming

Teri Greeves was born in 1970 on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. Her mother, Jeri Ah-be-hill, owned a special shop called a trading post there. Teri learned a lot about different beadwork styles by listening to her mother. She heard her mother explain things to customers. This helped Teri gain a wide knowledge of beadwork from many tribes.

Learning Beadwork from Family

Teri learned beadwork from her mother. Her mother had learned from her own mother and aunt. Teri feels her grandmother is a big part of everything she creates. She was already a skilled beadwork artist by age eight. She also learned from Zeedora Enos (a Shoshone artist) and Calvin Magpie (a Cheyenne artist).

Teri's Education

Teri went to the University of California, Santa Cruz. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies in 1995. She also studied at St. John's College and Cabrillo College.

How Teri Creates Her Art

Materials and Techniques

Teri Greeves uses many different ways to create her beadwork art. She first learned a method called the "lane stitch" technique. This is how she attaches beads onto animal hide. She learned this special technique from her aunt. The lane stitch is similar to old quill-work. It creates designs with many rows of stitches. It also uses the empty spaces in the design in a special way.

For beaded bracelets, Teri uses a loom. Her larger art pieces often have beads stitched onto deer hide. This hide is prepared in a special way called "brain-tanned." She then often puts these beaded hides onto wood or other structures. For a big award-winning piece in 1999, she beaded a parade scene onto hide. This hide was stretched over an old umbrella frame.

Themes in Her Art

Teri's art shows the real lives and oral history of the Kiowa people. She also shares her own life experiences. Sometimes, she includes popular images from today's world. For example, in her art piece called Kiowa Aw-Day, she uses materials important to her tribe's history. But she also includes a pair of Chuck Taylor sneakers.

Using Chuck Taylors shows that Kiowa culture is still strong and alive today. This mix of old and new materials helps people think about what it's like to be a Native American in modern America. Teri is well-known for her fully beaded tennis shoes. These shoes often have pictures on them with solid, lane-stitched backgrounds. Her sense of humor is clear in many of her artworks.

Teri thinks about her tribe's history when she creates. She said that a long time ago, a Kiowa woman used beadwork to share her experiences. Teri's grandmother also used beadwork to express herself. Teri feels she must do the same for her own time. She expresses her experiences as a 21st-century Kiowa woman through beadwork.

Writing and Personal Life

Teri as a Writer

Teri Greeves also writes. She is a regular writer for First American Art Magazine.

Her Family Life

Teri Greeves is married to Dennis Esquivel. Dennis is a painter and woodworker. He is a member of the Odawa and Ojibwe tribes. They have two sons. Teri's sister, Keri Ataumbi, is also a well-known artist. She creates jewelry, paintings, and conceptual art. Teri often travels back to Oklahoma. This helps her stay close to her Kiowa family and friends.

Where to See Her Art

Art Collections

Teri Greeves' artwork is displayed in many public collections. You can find her pieces in museums like the British Museum, the Heard Museum, and the National Museum of the American Indian. Her art is also in the Brooklyn Museum, the Denver Art Museum, and the New Mexico Museum of Art.

Exhibitions and Shows

Teri's art has been shown in many exhibitions. Some of these include:

• 2022: Radical Stitch at the MacKenzie Art Gallery
• 2019: Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists at the Minneapolis Institute of Art
• 2018: Beadwork Adorns the World at the Museum of International Folk Art
• 2017: Stepping Out: 10,000 Years of Walking the West at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture
• 2014: State of the Art at the Crystal Bridges Museum
• 2011: Tipi: Heritage of the Great Plains at the Brooklyn Museum
• 2009: Treasures: The World's Cultures from the British Museum at the Royal British Columbia Museum
• 2005: Our Lives at the National Museum of the American Indian

Awards and Recognition

Teri Greeves has received many awards for her dedication to Native American art. She won "Best of Show" at the 1999 Santa Fe Indian Market. She has also won awards from the Heard Museum and the Eight Northern Pueblos Arts and Crafts Show. In 2003, she received the Eric and Barbara Dobkin Fellowship from the School of American Research.

• 2007: Artist in Residence at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
• 2003: Signature Artist at the Heard Museum Fair
• 2002: Featured on the cover of Ornament Magazine