SILLY RABBIT
Silly Rabbit was constructed from antique steel canapé pans—forms originally intended for baking. The work emerged as both a reaction and a provocation: at the time, Phillips was sharing a studio with painters who consistently dismissed her work as craft, deeming it decorative and lesser than art. This piece became an experiment in pushing boundaries—both materially and conceptually.
Welding the steel forms together and incorporating enameled decals typically used to warn of lead in glaze Phillips leaned into jewelry’s unique ability to carry a message, adopting the humorous, subversive, and direct voice.
Wearing Silly Rabbit to the openings of those same painters was a strategic act of playful defiance meant to draw attention away from the walls and onto the body, where commentary could be worn rather than hung.
The enameled works in this series question the hierarchies between art and craft, challenging the perception of craft as holding a lesser cultural or critical value. Through wit and ornament, Silly Rabbit reclaims visibility, asserting that surface and substance are not mutually exclusive.
Silly Rabbit, 2002
Steel, enamel, decal, cable, silver.
6” x 5” x .5”
Pantaloons, 2002
Enamel, decals, copper, elastic.
28” x 3” 2.5”
Cruciform, 1997
Electroformed copper, enamel, steel, sterling silver. 3.5” x 3.5” x 1”
Sterling and fine silver, enamel, steel cable.
36” x 4”
Suspend, 2003
Electroformed copper, enamel, steel, gut, seeds, sterling silver. 6.5” x 2” x .5”
Stasis, 1997
Steel, electroformed copper, enamel, stainless steel finding. 5” x 1.5” x .5”
Bursa, 1997
Cocoon, 2000
Plaster, steel, enameled copper, stainless steel.
3” x 1” x .5”
Rusted, 2003
Enamel, steel, sterling silver finding.
4” X 4” X .5”
Electroformed copper, enamel, steel, stainless steel.
5” x 2” x .25”
Breath, 2001
Reminder #1, 2003
Electroformed copper, enamel, sterling silver, steel, 18t plate. 4.5” X 1” X 2”
Rimmon, 1997
Steel, gut, pomegranate seeds, sterling silver.
3.25” x .5” x .5”
Brooch with housing.
Electroformed copper, enamel, steel
6” x1” x .5”
Regenerator, 1999
Lief, 2000
Steel, electroformed coppe, enamel.
4.5” x 1” x 1”
Electroformed copper, enamel, copper, brass, stainless steel.
3” x 1.5” x 1”
Petra, 2002
Cast Silver, electroformed copper, enamel, stainless steel. 4” x 1.75” x .5”
Wane, 2004
Copper, enamel, steel, silver.
34” x 1.5” x.25”
Extend, 2000
Electroformed copper, enamel, sterling silver, steel, 18t plate. 4.5” X 1” X 2”
Reminder #2, 2003
Anomalous, 1997
Steel, sterling silver.
3.5” x .75” x .75”
Toy, 2001
Electroformed copper, enamel, steel, stainless steel. 4” x 1.5” x .25”
Debris, 2003
Electroformed copper, enamel, silver finding.
6” x 1” x .5”
Recollect, 2003
Electroformed copper, enamel, sterling silver, pencil.
4.5” X 2.5” X .25”