Textile Artist G. Roslie Runs Slo Curio With a Dye-Hard Minimalism

Textile works of all sizes depicting abstract landscapes hang around the high walls of the brightly lit gallery Slo Curio. Some depict Hawaiian beaches; others show Southwestern mesas — places that move artist G. Roslie, who runs the RiNo Art District shop with her husband, Ry Roslie.

“My husband and I feel most at home when we are in nature," G says. "Finding ourselves in the middle of a city and not having the time to head out to wild places since moving to Denver, I wanted to fulfill a desire to create both large and small landscape pieces as a reminder of some of my favorite natural settings.”

Slo Curio is also home to textile and ceramic pieces by Ry and other local creators. The textiles in the shop are all organically dyed and handmade, G says. The eco-conscious process of dyeing the fabric is a slow one and inspires the name of the studio.

G., who studied textiles in school, went on to enter the fashion business. “I quickly became disillusioned by what I saw as an incredibly wasteful industry,” she notes.

Ever since, she has been researching the best ways to be environmentally conscious both in her personal life and in her art.

“My husband and I strive to be as eco-conscious as possible in all the ways we inhabit our environment," she says. "We have been supporting organic farmers, reducing our plastic consumption, reusing, recycling and creating a non-toxic living and working environment for years now.”

Organic dye benefits the people wearing it in their clothes, she says, a lesson G. learned during her own personal battles with health problems. “Being conscious of what I put in my body also translated to what I am putting out into the environment as well as what I put on my skin.”

The benefit of hand-dyeing that G. appreciates the most, however, is its effect on mental health.

“The process of natural dyeing and handmaking takes an immeasurable amount of patience and slowing down,” she says. “I feel that in our current time of hyper-speed, disposable living and immediate gratification, it feels somewhat revolutionary to step outside of it. Handmaking and natural dyeing slow me down to a different rhythm, a place out of a hurried lifestyle, and I believe it’s powerful medicine.”

Slo Curio is open Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. at 3377 Blake Street.