Work — annie evelyn

LET THEM EAT CAKE

We scroll Instagram or Facebook, looking at other people’s vacations, relationships, and professional accomplishments. We scan Zillow, imagining what we would put in that extra closet space. We walk past storefronts, longing for tantalizing baubles displayed in the windows. Whatever the temptation, we find ourselves wanting more than we have. But with each goal achieved and each milestone met, our desires still don’t seem to abate.

“Let Them Eat Cake” gives you access to only the simple utilitarian chair outside. But you can take a picture and imagine yourself amidst gaudy excess just out of reach behind the glass, like so much else in our lives.

The chair's backrest is hand-carved and upholstered. The silk fabric is diamond-tufted with crystal buttons and lit by LEDs, and the wood frame is gilded with gold leaf.

Installation at The Center for Craft in Asheville, NC

Funded by Dash Studio

Photographed by LOAM

MEANDER

THE VIRGIN WINDSOR

Ash, milk paint, and gold leaf.

Virgin Windsor

Year: 2022

Materials: Ash, gold leaf, milk paint

Dimensions: 42” X 24” X 52”

photos by LOAM

Since starting the Static Adornment series, I have spent a lot of time thinking about the difference between how we present ourselves and who we truly are. The Virgin Mary keeps coming to mind as an unattainable ideal. The virgin mother.

The Virgin Windsor is an homage to all of us who constantly feel like nothing we do is ever good enough. But you can sit here and instantly be ideal.

WHAT IS REAL?

2022

Materials: Plywood, poplar, silk, and foam

Dimensions: 8’ X 4’ X 12”

photos by LOAM

Sitting alone making fun of myself.

I have been working on Static Adornment since 2018. The first pieces I made were not “real” furniture. I thought of them more as studies. So for the last few years, I have been making “real” furniture. This includes the Red Diamonds train, a “real” furniture version of the Catherdral Train Chair. In ‘What is real?’ I am examining why I needed to make the “real” version of essentially the same chair. I am a furniture maker. I am an artist. They are not always harmonious bedfellows.

RED DIAMONDS

WALNUT, SILK, FOAM

2021

PHOTOS BY LOAM

Diamond-tufted red silk upholstery is the epitome of extravagance. By combining that with an oversized train and dark, rich walnut, I wanted to imbue the sitter with power and glamour. This piece was a “fine furniture” remake of the Cathedral Train Chair. (See "This is Real” to see how that went. hah)

HYPERALLERGIC ARTICLE

SIT LIKA A GRRRL

PLYWOOD, FABRIC, PAINT

18”X24”X18”

MODELED BY SHAE BISHOP and ANNIE EVELYN

PHOTOS BY LOAM

The title is a nod to Riot Grrrl, the early 1990s third-wave feminist movement. Third-wave feminism embraced individualism and promoted that there is no right way to be a woman. The two chairs explore the way that women and men are often taught to sit. The girly fabric forces your legs apart in one chair and pushes them together in the other.

I am shown in this photo with my partner, Shae Bishop. He and I are often on opposite sides of where our genders are “supposed” to be. I am older, am the primary income earner, and dress pragmatically. He is a ceramic and fiber artist, dresses like a dandy, sews me dresses, and makes my dinner almost every night. So, who gets which chair?

THE AUDREY

Photos by Loam

2022

White oak, vintage jewelry findings

19” X 19” X 34”

Dressing up, wearing a costume, or putting on a wig can transform your persona by giving you a sense of power and anonymity. The static Adornent Series aims to channel that power.

As a chairmaker, my work involves interaction with the human body. And yet, though I consider comfort in my furniture, I often design for the absence of the body. In this series, I flip that by making objects that adorn the user- treating the chair as fashion or jewelry and focusing on the spaces around the body. The Audrey is an ode to the fashion icon Audrey Hepburn, whose style impacted my perceptions of fashion as a child.

WINDSOR FLOWER CHAIRS

40”X28""X26"

ASH, GLASS VIALS, FRESH CUT FLOWERS

2021 photos by Rhoda Baer

2018 photos by L Gnadinger

modeling by L Gnadinger and Danae

When my older sister got married, she let me do the floral arrangements for her wedding. It was a second marriage so no one cared too much if I screwed it up. Afterward, I couldn't believe how good it made me feel to work with such amazing material. I was enamored with the softness, scent, and delicacy of fresh flowers. In the Windsor Flower chair, I bring these flowers to the sitter. I want them to be framed in a field of flowers and feel the soft petals against their face and breathe in the aromas.

I chose the Windsor-style chair as the canvas for this piece because they are simple, iconic chairs that often utilize the technique of steam bending, which I used to create the stems.

GOLDEN WINDSOR FLOWER CHAIR

FAUX GOLD LEAF, ASH, GLASS VIALS, FRESH CUT FLOWERS

2019

photos by Mark Serr

CATHEDRAL TRAIN CHAIR

62”X28""X96"

DUPIONI SILK, FOAM, WALNUT VENEERED BENT PLYWOOD

2018

photo by Jim Escalante

THE HIDEOUS BEAUTIFUL NEW REALITY

WOOD, FOUND CHAIR, FOAM, FABRIC, METAL SCALES, FAUX GOLD AND COPPER LEAF, ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS, AND RIBBON.

THE INTERNET HAS CHANGED THE WAY MOST PEOPLE INTERACT WITH MY WORK FROM PHYSICAL TO DIGITAL. AND I, UNKNOWINGLY AT FIRST, HAVE BEGUN CHANGING TOO.

‘THE HIDEOUS BEAUTIFUL NEW REALITY' EXAMINES PHYSICAL OBJECTS IN THE DIGITAL WORLD BY POKING FUN AT SOCIAL MEDIA PERSONAS.

IT IS "PRETTY" AND "SELFIE-WORTHY" ON THE FRONT AND INTENTIONALLY UGLY AND POORLY CONSTRUCTED IN THE BACK.

2019

OSHIBANA

36"X36"X32"

HANDMADE PAPER FLOWERS, SILK FLOWERS, FOAM, WOOD

2017

photo by Mercedes Jelinek

BUCHER BENCHES

COLLABORATION WITH SHAE BISHOP

34"X24"X48"

SAPELE AND PORCELAIN TILES

2018

photos by Scott Cartwright

Static Adornment

The spaces between and around.

Jewels coming out of her everywhere

Flowers Everywhere

The Virgin

FLOE

COLLABORATION WITH ARTIST IAN HENDERSON

SAPELE AND WHITE CEMENT

47"X34X19"

2015

photos by Mercedes Jelinek

SCALE LOUNGE

FOAM, FABRIC, AND NICKEL SCALES

46"X46"X28"

photo by Scott Cartwright

NEST

PAINTED STEEL VINTAGE JEWELRY FINDINGS, LEATHER, & FOAM.

32"X36"X36"

Photos By Mercedes Jelinek

MAGIC TABLES

COIN OPERATED VIBRATING TABLES

ASH, STEEL, MOTOR, ELECTRONICS, LED, TCHOTCHKES

14"X14"X30"

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW

magictables

TAIL FEATHERS

PAINTED POPLAR, FOAM, FABRIC.

20"X30"x30"

2020

Available for purchase at Reeves Art and Design

SQUISHY STICKS

FEATURED ON THE COVER OF AMERICAN CRAFT MAGAZINE

LACQUERED POPLAR AND HOLLY STICKS

19"X32"X19"

photos by Chad Whitaker

ASH SCOTTY

FEATURED IN 2015 IKEA TREND REPORT

COLLABORATION WITH SCOTTY ALBRECHT

ASH

19"X32"X19"

photo by Cian O'Donague

TABLE FIGHTS

COLLABORATION WITH ARTIST SHAUN BULLENS

TABLE FIGHTS IS A FURNITURE PERFORMANCE EVENT. A DIVERSE GROUP OF ARTISTS AROUND THE COUNTRY BUILD FULLY AUTOMATED, REMOTE CONTROLLED, FIGHTING TABLES THAT COMPETE FOR ULTIMATE SUPREMACY IN A SPLINTER THIRSTY SHOWDOWN OF FURNITURE MAYHEM.

COMPETITIONS HAVE BEEN HELD AT:

MAGNAN METZ GALLERY (2008-2012) NEW YORK, NY

FURNITURE SOCIETY CONFERENCE - MIT (2010) BOSTON, MA

YELLOW PERIL GALLERY (2012) PROVIDENCE, RI

RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN, RISD - TAP ROOM (2009) SHAUN BULLENS, CALEB LARSON, AND ANNIE EVELYN TAUGHT TABLE FIGHTS AS A COURSE AT RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN