Rya Priede

Think of this as embroidery, with a twist. A lifelong love of sewing and textiles—passed down from a mother who sewed professionally—forms the foundation of this Minneapolis-based artist's work. Now a picture framer with a home studio, she brings that sensibility to a unique blend of image, text, and thread.

Several years ago, she discovered the Big Little Book series—small, 3x3-inch children’s books published from the 1930s to the 1960s. She was drawn to both the illustrations and the story captions, which—when taken out of context and viewed through a feminist lens—become unexpectedly witty, sometimes subversive, and always smile-inducing. Each book page is scanned, enlarged, and mounted on linen to create a strong enough surface for embroidery.

And here’s a little secret: the backs are just as fun as the fronts. With the illustration removed, what remains is soft, colorful thread on neutral linen—a quiet, abstract record of the sewing itself.