she is ever present was developed with generous guidance, support and assistance of many people. Much gratitude to the Tides Institute & Museum of Art for hosting and supporting this project. Immense thanks to Sarah Bartlett for tirelessly working from above/below/around/on the ground/and in the air. Her determination, enthusiasm and youth led us to the finish line.
Much gratitude for your efforts and support: Lenfrey Young, Ryan Newell Construction (especially Devon and John), Kristin McKinlay and Hugh French, Sue Cobb and Deane Perkins, Laurie Hoover, Pete Froslie, Sallie Findlay, and the welcoming community of Eastport.
This project is dedicated to my mother, Mersha Ann Hewitt Phipps.
i feel like i’m on the precipice of madness
all of the time
there is only a narrow gap between me and no connection
or maybe it’s someplace else
i can’t see it
can hear it
it doesn’t make sense to me
she believes everyone is confused
as confused as she is
it’s been a year of this fragile passage
staring
haunting
sometimes calling
beckoning
but i have things to do
where you see the abyss
when you feel the gap
when you can map its edges
there is no boundary
she's ever present
works included in she is ever present:
Temple Frieze, 2018, 48” x 79” x 3”, Woven, stitched and crochet threads, yarn, mylar, fabric, flag tape, trims, beads, sequins
Smells Like Joy, 2017, 97” x 42” x 26”, Woven and drawn yarns, trims, pompoms, beaded trim, flag tape
Blue Staff, 2016, 41” x 4” x 10”, Woven and stitched fibers, crystals, dirt, frankincense oil, silly putty and window blind roller
Sarah’s Staff, 2016, 30” x 4.6” x 6”, Wrapped wood with rope and beaded trim
Womanspreading, 2018, 34.5” x 41” x 28”, Stitched and stuffed torso with legs, draped fabric
Arcane Fetish, 2016, 5.5” x 2” x 1.5”, Ceramic and plaster
Dionysus (the god of wine, dance, irrationality and chaos), 2018, 109” x 45”, Woven and stitched yarns, trims, beads
Goddess on a Pink Platter, 2016, 41” x 9.5” x 20”, Plaster and wax figure on mirrored plexiglass on cloth.
My Kind of Milagro, 2017, 33” x 6” x 6.5”, Woven rawhide, beads, carved crystal, stones, threads and cord
Thigh Gap, 2017, 117” x 29” x 3”, Woven fringe, pompoms, mylar streamers, fake fur, flag tape and yarn
she’s ever present, 2018, variable dimensions (figure 54” x 42” x 22”; weaving 14’ x 32”; stage 7’ diameter), Woven tapestry using fake fur and metallic yarns; Sculpted and stuffed figure in haberdashery ribbon; Stage upholstered in sequin ribbons; Hundreds of threads and sequins attached to beads strung to the church bell tower.
Red Velvet Seer, 2016, 59” x 15” x variable, Sculpted, stuffed and stitched bronze, plaster, wax, mylar, trimmings, table legs and velvet
