About Minnesota Artist Kylie Rieke
Art has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember.
In elementary school, I would ask my teachers if I could stay inside from recess to color or finish art assignments,... and sometimes they let me.
The small schools of Greater Minnesota were not funded well enough to offer art classes in high school, but it didn’t discourage my inevitable path toward an art career.
As a child, I was constantly in the middle of multiple art projects and there never seemed to be enough time for all of them.
I attended Augsburg University in Minneapolis,
and I knew from my very first day of Ceramics 101 that
I graduated in 2004 with a BA in Studio Art and roamed around the Twin Cities for a few years trying to find my place in the art community.
the Potters’ Wheel was made for me.
From 2008-2010 I served in the Peace Corps El Salvador, where I incorporated art into projects focused on general health, while teaching art classes and painting several murals.
After returning to rural Minnesota, I worked as a Production Potter, became a founding member of the T-Bird Community Arts Board, participated in community art shows, volunteered whenever I could be involved in the arts, and was awarded regional and state art grants. I live and work on our family farm in rural Minnesota with my husband and two daughters. In 2020, I started my own pottery business and I now have a studio located right on our farm site.
My partner Jake and I had a dramatic self-development journey throughout 2022. It took our lives (and my pottery studio!) in a new direction. We are documenting the entire clay process on our new YouTube Channel:
With Jake's vision and support, two very powerful parts of my life collided.
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I have an insatiable need to create.
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I'm in a constant search for well-being and inner peace.
When I allow my two truths to learn from each other, I find a depth of meaning to life and art that I never knew existed. I use the potter’s wheel to turn my emotions and thoughts about my journey into physical objects. The forms represent my challenges and life lessons, but also contain the energy of my hands and spirit in the process.
I believe that artwork has a magnetic pull to the soul and creates meaningful healing. It opens the awareness of our shared humanity, and the unique journey we all face to find harmony. My goal is to allow the Universe to shine through me and spread more love and good energy into the world.
Kylie Rieke is a fiscal year 2021 recipient of a Creative Support for Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature; and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
