Abby Hollis is a fiber artist and craft community organizer in Fayetteville, AR working toward the revitalization of local fiber systems. In her own craft practice, she spins and weaves using predominantly Ozark wool. Her work places emphasis on material processes, object memory, and relational skill sharing over finished product and often questions the way that modern western society values (or fails to value) textiles and their makers.

After growing up in Fayetteville, AR, Hollis attended the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) where she received a BFA in Fibers and Design for Sustainability. During and after her time at SCAD, she studied textile systems in Northwest Arkansas, Coastal Georgia, Hong Kong, Northern India, and south-central Peru, striving toward cultural literacy and an understanding of the global impact of art and design. She has worked as a product designer for LIVSN Designs, Darcy Apparel, Nativ, Sequoyah Collective Inc, Awamaki, and JOYN Bags and has been featured in the CFDA Fashion Future Showcase, the Interface Uplifted by Design Exhibition, and Sustainable Fashion Week. She currently works as an arts educator, an apparel design consultant, and a fiber artist. Hollis is the Chair of the Fayetteville Arts Council, serves on the Ozark Folkways board of directors, and is a co-founder of Ozark Fibershed

Bryce Arroyos is a local fashion designer who turns overlooked donated clothing into wearable pieces of “art”.

His process of transformation begins by finding inspiration from different cultures, eras and his own life. All of his materials are found secondhand. Through his process and little bit of love each unwanted garment is given more life. Which in turns creates more life for him. 

Abby Hollis’ and Bryce Arroyos’ individual craft practices have an emphasis on the history of materials, whether from thrift store bins or the Ozark hillside. Building upon this idea, they have constructed a barn quilt from found materials inspired by crazy quilts of the early twentieth century. The red screws reference the “tie” quilting technique, in which the three layers of the quilt are tied together with a visible yarn knot, instead of being stitched together, allowing for thicker and warmer (although less intricate) quilts.

Bryce Arroyos is a fashion designer transforming discarded textiles into unique garments informed by their past wear. Abby Hollis is a spinner and weaver working primarily with Ozark wool and advocating for the revitalization of local fiber systems through Ozark Fibershed. 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.

ABOUT THE QUILTERS