Weaving Resilience: Identity, Fiber & Transformation with Claudia Fuentealba

In this episode of Women United ART PODCAST, Mona sits down with multidisciplinary artist Claudia Fuentealba, whose powerful fiber-based works explore cultural identity, displacement, resilience, and the invisible structures that shape our lives.Born into a Chilean family and raised in Puerto Rico, Claudia brings a deeply personal perspective to her artistic practice, drawing from experiences of migration, belonging, motherhood, grief, and transformation. Through her acclaimed series Escala, she transforms humble materials such as wool, cotton rope, yarn, leather, and metal into sculptural landscapes that balance softness with strength, tension with healing, and vulnerability with resilience.In this inspiring conversation, Claudia shares her journey from a successful fifteen-year career in global trade to building a full-time creative practice under the name The Yin to My Yarn. Together, we explore how ancestral craft traditions can become a language for emotional storytelling, how art can help us navigate life's imbalances, and why softness may be one of the most powerful forms of strength.This episode is a thoughtful reflection on reinvention, creative courage, and the transformative potential of making something meaningful from life's unraveling threads.Whether you're an artist navigating change, someone exploring questions of identity and belonging, or simply fascinated by the power of material storytelling, Claudia's journey offers wisdom, encouragement, and a beautiful reminder that healing often happens one thread at a time.CLAUDIA FUENTEALBAwww.theyintomyyarn.designIG: @theyintomyyarnThis show is brought to you by Women United ART MOVEMENT, a global platform highlighting women in the arts through a wide range of opportunities such as solo and group exhibits, annual art prize for women artists, and quarterly publication.www.womenunitedartmovement.com@womenunited_art_movement@womenunited_art_magazine