Teri Greeves facts for kids

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

Teri Greeves' Early Life and Learning

Teri Greeves was born in 1970 on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. A reservation is a special area of land set aside for Native American tribes.

Learning from Family and Community

As Teri grew up, her mother, Jeri Ah-be-hill, owned a trading post on the reservation. A trading post is like a store where people buy and sell goods, often including Native American art and crafts. Teri learned a lot about different beadwork styles by listening to her mom talk to customers.

Teri learned beadwork from her mother, who learned from her own mother (Teri's grandmother) and her aunt. Teri says her grandmother is a big inspiration in everything she does. Teri was already a skilled beadwork artist by the age of eight! She also learned from other artists like Zeedora Enos (from the Shoshone tribe) and Calvin Magpie (from the Cheyenne tribe).

Her College 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 Greeves Creates Her Art

Teri Greeves uses many different ways to create her beadwork art.

Beadwork Techniques

She first learned a method called the "lane stitch" technique. This is how she attaches beads onto animal hide, like deer skin. She learned this from her aunt. The lane stitch technique is similar to an older art form called quill-work. It creates designs with many rows of stitches. It also uses "negative space," which is the empty area around the design, to make the art stand out.

For beaded bracelets, she often uses a loom. A loom is a tool that helps hold threads tight while you weave or bead. For her bigger art pieces that tell stories, she stitches beads onto brain-tanned deer hide. This special hide is often mounted onto wood or other structures. For example, for a special award-winning piece in 1999, she beaded a parade scene onto hide stretched over an old umbrella frame.

What Her Art Is About

Teri Greeves' art tells stories and shares important ideas.

Sharing Kiowa Culture and Modern Life

She wants to show what life is like for the Kiowa people today. She also shares her own experiences and uses images from popular culture. For example, in her artwork 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 in the modern world. This mix of old and new materials highlights the differences between Native American and non-Native experiences in America today. Teri is very well known for her fully beaded tennis shoes. These shoes often have pictures on them, with solid beaded backgrounds. Her art also often shows her sense of humor.

Connecting to Her Ancestors

Teri Greeves feels a strong connection to her ancestors. She once said that a long time ago, a Kiowa woman started beadwork for her people. This woman wanted to express herself and her life as a Kiowa woman. Teri's grandmother was also a beadworker who expressed her life through beads. Teri feels she must also express her experience as a 21st-century Kiowa person through beadwork, just like the artists before her.

Teri Greeves' Writing

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

Teri Greeves' Family Life

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

Where You Can See Her Art

Teri Greeves' artwork is displayed in many public collections. This means her art is kept in museums and other places where people can see it. Some of these places include:

• British Museum
• Heard Museum
• Montclair Art Museum
• Museum of Arts and Design
• Brooklyn Museum
• Denver Art Museum
• National Museum of the American Indian
• New Mexico Museum of Art
• Museum of Indian Arts and Culture

Special Art Shows

Teri Greeves' art has been shown in many special exhibitions (art shows). Here are a few:

• 2022: Radical Stitch at MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina
• 2019: Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists at Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN
• 2018: Beadwork Adorns the World at Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM
• 2017: Stepping Out: 10,000 Years of Walking the West at Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe, NM
• 2014: State of the Art at Crystal Bridges Museum, Bentonville, AR
• 2011: Tipi: Heritage of the Great Plains at Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
• 2011: Storied Beads: The Art of Teri Greeves at O'Kane Gallery, University of Houston, Houston, TX
• 2009: Treasures: The World's Cultures from the British Museum at Royal British Columbia Museum, Canada
• 2009: The Perfect Fit: Shoes Tell Stories at Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
• 2005: Our Lives at National Museum of the American Indian, Washington DC

Awards and Honors

Teri Greeves has received many awards for her amazing work in Native American art.

• In 1999, she won "Best of Show" at the Santa Fe Indian Market.
• She has also won awards from the Heard Museum, Indian Market, 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.

Other Recognitions

• 2007: Artist in Residence at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
• 2003: Signature Artist at the Heard Museum Fair, Phoenix, AZ
• 2002: Her work was featured on the cover of Ornament Magazine in Spring 2002.