Sherry simms
crochet tires, 2025
ABOUT THE exhibition
“In the early decades of the 20th century, millions of men and women began ‘The Great Migration’ north from the Deep South and Appalachia for work in growing industrial cities. Among those who left their homes, hundreds of thousands migrated to Akron, Ohio, ‘the Rubber Capital of the World’.
My four grandparents were among those migrants that came to Akron in the late 1920s from rural, economically depressed regions of Appalachia in hopes of creating a better life by working in the rubber factories. Along with strong work ethics, perseverance, ingenuity, and dreams of a better life, they possessed skills that allowed them to create and sustain their families. They crafted all aspects of their lives by resourcing land and reusing discarded materials to make clothing, furniture, quilts, farming machinery, and even their homes.
My grandmother, like many Appalachian women, was skilled at crocheting and making doilies. This labor-intensive process required precision, patience, and creativity, and was a mark of craftsmanship and domestic accomplishment. Women often repurposed old thread or used scraps to make the doilies, which were used to bring beauty to often poor and depressed living conditions. In a region where economic hardship was common, the ability to create beauty from inexpensive materials was not just a hobby—it was a necessity and a point of pride.
This installation was supported by a Knight Foundation Art Challenge Grant and a University of Akron Myers Grant. It was created to celebrate my grandparents and the thousands of Appalachian migrants who helped to build the rubber industry in Akron.”
ABOUT THE artist
Sherry Simms is a mixed media artist who creates jewelry and sculptural objects that challenge cultural notions of craft, jewelry, and ornamentation. She is an Associate Professor of Art and the Coordinator of the Metalsmithing and Jewelry area at the University of Akron’s Myers School of Art. Simms holds an MFA in Metalsmithing from the State University of New York at New Paltz and a BFA from The University of Akron.