A gift

To see the sculptures was more than an honour – it was a gift. – Dee dee NiHera

Still Sane had a deep and broad impact in feminist, queer and mad communities. Responding to a San Francisco slide presentation of their work by the two artist-authors, Jenny Miller wrote in the American women’s publication Hurricane Alice, “Everyone seemed to feel that Sheila and Persimmon’s work represents a new dimension in the creation of “mad culture,” and that its effects would be felt for a long time to come.” Nora Randall wrote in Herizons after she saw the art show that, “The story is horrifying. Once in its own right and doubly so because it is so clearly not a “descent into madness” but a descent into the mental illness system.”

Noting that Sheila and Persimmon’s mix of feminist, lesbian and mad politics was not an obvious or comfortable combination for everyone, lesbian and mad activist Dee dee NiHera commented, “Though I’ve been involved in mad culture for some time, I’ve never seen anything like Still Sane…. To see the sculptures was more than an honour – it was a gift.”

Just when I think nobody knows about it anymore, I’m at a thing and someone comes up and says, “I remember a show that you and Persimmon Blackbridge did that really meant a lot for me.” – Sheila

I am completely and always proud of Still Sane. – Persimmon