Handweaver Allison Grove uses Montana wool yarns and plant dyes to portray nature in her art. Grove has a 25-year career in animal science research, but she found her way to weaving after her sister started spinning and sending her exquisite handspun yarns. This rekindled her love for the weaving traditions of the desert southwest and awakened a desire to learn how to weave herself. Initially self-taught, she learned to weave from books. Later, experienced weavers shared their knowledge and introduced her to the Montana weaving community.
Grove grew up in southwestern Colorado and draws inspiration from the American West – a landscape shaped by mountain peaks, agriculture, wildlife and resilient people. She uses a drawloom, tapestry, and other hand-picked techniques to weave pieces that are a combination of geometric patterns, wildlife, and western motifs.
She enthusiastically searches for plants, lichens, and rocks to use in making color while enjoying the outdoors. Sustainably foraged plants are put immediately into the dye pot, frozen, or dried for later use. Her “Montana Palette” includes goldenrod (yellow), chokecherry (light red), lichen (rusty orange), black hollyhock (fern green), and elderberry (lavender). She also started a weaver’s garden which includes traditional dye plants like dyer’s coreopsis (orange), dyer’s chamomile (yellow), Japanese indigo (blue), and madder (red). Dyeing with plants and weaving with wool yarns from sheep raised in Montana keeps her connected to the land and her agricultural roots.
Grove completed the Montana Artrepreneur Program (MAP) offered by the Montana Arts Council in 2020 and completed the certification process in August 2022. She also received a Strategic Investment Grant from the MT Arts Council to purchase a new loom. She was part of three group exhibitions with her MAP Cohort at the Bozeman Public Library (2021 and 2022) and the Zoot Gallery. Her most recent solo exhibition was at the Broadwater County Library in Townsend. Two of her handwoven pieces were selected for the “Montana Fiber Traditions” exhibit at the Holter Museum of Art in 2019. Grove has been a vendor at the Helena Holiday MADE Fair and The Great Western Show. She can be found online at allisongrove.com.