Art by Sarah Newsome
Size: 16″ x 9″ x 52″
Medium: Synthetic hair, reflective fabric, nails
Statement: “I make jokes about it, but it’s the truth that I kind of patterned my look after the town tramp. I didn’t know what she was, just this woman who was blond and piled her hair up, wore high heels and tight skirts, and, boy, she was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen. Momma used to say, ‘Aw, she’s just trash,’ and I thought, that’s what I want to be when I grow up. Trash.”
—Dolly Parton
Hailing from Wilmington, North Carolina, Sarah Newsome is a cross-disciplinary artist living in Portland, Oregon. Initially fueled by the desire to cope with a body that, at times, feels alien, Newsome’s work explores the use of artificiality as a means of authenticity. She received her MFA in Craft from Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland, Oregon, in 2019, and her BA from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 2015. Newsome has exhibited work in Oregon, Washington, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Idaho. She was the inaugural student member at Gallery 114 in Portland, Oregon, and is a regular visiting artist/critic at Pacific Northwest College of Art and Clark College. www.sarahnewsome.com