Made in collaboration with Bryce Arroyos
Sweet Home
2023
Abby Hollis is a spinner and weaver working primarily with Ozark wool and advocating for the revitalization of local fiber systems through Ozark Fibershed. Bryce Arroyos is a fashion designer transforming discarded textiles into unique garments informed by their past wear. Their individual craft practices have an emphasis on the history of materials, whether from the Goodwill bins or the Ozark hillside. Building upon this idea, Arroyos and Hollis have constructed a barn quilt out of found materials inspired by crazy quilts of the late nineteenth century. Crazy quilts were inspired by the asymmetrical art seen at the Japanese Pavillion at Philadelphia's 1876 Centennial Exposition. Originally, these quilts were made of fine materials and served as a way for wealthy women to show off their luxurious materials and skilled needlework. By the twentieth century, crazy quilts had made their way beyond the homes of the urban upper class and were being made nationwide with scrap materials and in a more utilitarian style. These later quilts tell the stories of their makers. Sweet Home, made of materials from an Ozark home carefully selected, denailed, cut, painted and placed by Hollis and Arroyos, tells a story of its makers and their region. The artists assert that understanding the origin of materials builds a deeper connection to our product and place.