A Soft Place to Land features the work of Olivia Mills in collaboration with fiber farmers in the greater Kansas City area and community focused designer Lasse Elsenburg. This exhibition presents regional stories of our wool economy alongside the tangible manifestations of taking solace in textile tradition. Using wool and plant dye all within a 70 mile radius of the Kansas City metropolitan area, the artistic and functional pieces exhibited showcase the transformative practice of making works from scratch.
Getting dressed was once an agricultural act, but to many the origins of cloth are now mysterious. A Soft Place to Land seeks to rekindle the experience of developing intimate connections to the physical objects around us. By unveiling the thoughtful, commonly hidden process of raw wool becoming woven fabric, and the names of plants used to make color onto cloth, reciprocity between maker and material is shown. Proximity of origin to the raw materials enables local stories of the sheep, farms and people from which the wool comes to be shared.
The practice of slow making brings delight and detail into the work, contrasting the typical fast and distant relationship we have with the belongings we own. A Soft Place to Land celebrates cultivated materials from the local landscape by intertwining them with one another; creating heirloom pieces of artwork for the home and body.
Olivia would like to thank Brian and Sharon Hiems of Manna Meadows Alpacas, Caryn Miller, Debbie Buddish of Walking Sweater Farm, Debbie Tindell, R and K Alpacas, Rodger and Penny Minniear of MM Fiber Mill, Ruth Hawkins of Little Hawk Farm and Tom and Amy Gray of Cannington Farms for their generosity in providing wool, stories and integral contributions to this exhibition. Without their support the authenticity of locality and resilience in this show would not be possible.
Olivia Mills | Artist Statement
My process-led practice is informed by personal engagements with the local landscape. Employing natural fibers and plants I use slow processes such as dyeing, weaving, spinning and stitching to celebrate regionality and craft. Textile tradition and tactile knowledge becomes tangible in my practice through handspun yarn, woven threads, and quilted cloth.
Taking solace in the process of foraging local materials, I see my works as an act of resistance to the fast paced economy and objects made with planned obsolescence. By collecting materials from my local environment like raw fleece, plant matter, and reclaimed garments, I seek to create thoughtful, functional, and artistic forms that serve as heirloom pieces for the home and body.
