Erin McGrath Rieke
Exploring how creativity helps us make sense of what we carry.
For more than three decades, Erin McGrath Rieke has been collecting fragments of a life. Journals. Photographs. Artwork. Stories.
What began as a personal practice gradually evolved into a body of work shaped by creativity, advocacy, and community. Through her projects, she explores how we make sense of difficult experiences and what helps us endure them.
I have never been very good at separating my life from my work.
For as long as I can remember, I have been collecting pieces of it. Journals. Photographs. Paintings. Stories. Questions.
Somewhere along the way, that habit became the foundation for everything else. The art. The writing. The advocacy. The communities I have been fortunate to build alongside others. Each has been an attempt to understand something more deeply and, in doing so, help others feel seen.
Featured Areas of Work
Writing & The Journals
A living archive of memoir fragments, reflections, meditations, and personal essays exploring memory, identity, trauma, recovery and reinvention
Creative Work
Abstract visual work exploring emotional landscapes, resilience, fragmentation, healing and human connection through layered materials and intuitive process.
Advocacy & Community
Community-centered initiatives focused on survivor advocacy, mental health awareness, addiction recovery, storytelling, and creative healing.
Academic Studies & Educational Training
Erin’s interdisciplinary studies include coursework and certificate programs in psychology, trauma studies, philosophy, sociology, addiction and recovery, and social advocacy through institutions including:
Yale University
Stanford University
University of Pennsylvania
Wesleyan University
Johns Hopkins University
I no longer believe healing arrives all at once. I think it returns. In memory. In art. In language. In the decision to remain.
-e