Devoted fiber artist Sarah Stollack has taken knitting into the realm of rock and roll with her handcrafted guitars. Stollack has said, “My unique hand-knitted guitars are crafted to replicate some of the most iconic guitars in the world. These cozy creations are my ‘soft rock’ to the ‘hard rock’ the originals produced.”
Each of Stollack’s unique guitars draw inspiration from specific makes and models, rock icons, and cultural references. When awarded Austin Chronicle’s Best of Austin Shopping, they said, “She makes guitars out of whole cloth (yarn) with an astounding level of detail and witty cultural reference. There’s the award-winning custom Fender, detailed down to the logo; Jimmy Page’s double-neck SG; Jimi Hendrix’s Strat, on fire and strung left-handed. Zing, zing, zing go our heartstrings.” We couldn’t agree more, her guitars resonate on a personal level and are amazingly intricate.
Stollack’s guitars are unique masterpieces, because historically knitting has been seen as a decorative art relegated to handicrafts. Knitting, like crocheting and sewing, was a domestic chore, used to create necessary objects like clothing or blankets. According to the Brooklyn Museum, after the Women’s Liberation Movement, “feminist artists in particular sought to resurrect women’s craft and decorative art as a viable artistic means to express female experience, thereby pointing to its political and subversive potential.” Presently, knitting has a dual purpose: It can be used in instances of need, as well as an artistic outlet. By reclaiming the craft of knitting as an art form, Stollack has created guitars that have an accessible feel while being an authentic work of art.
Stollack’s fiber art practice, World on A String, operates out of Texas. Besides her one of a kind guitars, she also creates crochet jewelry, music, and interactive installations. On the weekends her work can be found at Austin’s South Congress Outdoor Market, and San Antonio’s Brick Marketplace.
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