Museum of Arts and Design to Present Exhibition Dedicated to the Ephemeral Art of Floral Design
Flower Craft investigates floral artistry as an overlooked chapter in the history of craft and design. It features the creative visions of six botanical artists working at the forefront of contemporary floral design. Inspired by nature’s ephemerality, the artists engage with stages of the plant life cycle, from seed to germination to decay, to interpret nature in sculptural form. On view May 14 through June 26, 2022.
Join me on Saturday May 21st for two mixed media workshops at the Center for Contemporary Art; 2020 Burnt Mills Rd, Bedminster, NJ 07921
Register for my class online by clicking here or call 908-234-2345.
Joyful Resistance… Create a self-portrait, an autobiographical composition unifying diverse materials to illustrate Joy. Consider what brings you joy and what may be standing in the way of you being joyful. With this as your guide, collect autobiographical images, sketches and textiles for your story that provide context and bring them to the workshop.
Overview:
The visual fusion of diverse materials describes the mixed media process. The juxtaposition of “found” things (recycled fabric and plastic waste), mixed with art materials create visual tension.
We’ll explore diverse materials, memory and the processes used to create rich juxtapositions and powerful compositions.
Mixed Media processes enlist a variety of mediums to bind different papers, fibers, textured and 3D materials & paints together.
Use a mixture of color relationships, shapes and found images to create a figure with abstract pattern and color.
Consider the contrast of complimentary colors; Red/Green, Blue, Orange, Yellow/Violet…
And contrasting shapes: geometric against more organic shapes, rectangles, circles, squares, maps, stamps, music score…
Or the use of meaningful words laser printed in various fonts/sizes layered in the background.
Collage materials are important ingredient for your compositions- Bring a variety of images from different sources (magazines, old books, postcards, photos (laser prints work best in mixed media works).
Checklist:
Personal Objects: Please bring items that are unique to you and will help tell your story. Bring photographs, laser printed images or drawings in pen, pastel, charcoal, colored pencil to be incorporated into larger works.
Materials to Share: Please bring 10-15 scraps of paper, a magazines, fabric, plastic, or other materials to share with other members of our group. Bring things that are interesting, and things that are not so interesting for negative space. Recycle items from your everyday life.
Substrate: We will focus on 2D and 3D compositions. Layering and a denser relief will be demonstrated.
Paper: Please bring whatever paper, old books, torn maps, stamps, paper currency, tissue paper, newspaper, magazines or any other kind of paper that you might like to use. I use a lot of tissue paper to layer and obscure images.
Acrylic Paints: If you want special colors bring it with you.
Brushes: Please bring brushes. They do not need to be expensive. Two Home Depot 1”flat and 2” flat (soft, flexible brushes), and one nicer #7 or #8 round (also soft, flexible, white or gold nylon) are great tools for your mixed media kit.
Pencils: You may want to bring drawing materials, pencils, colored pencils, etc.
Pens: Bring a couple of your favorite pens. My favorites are Uni-ball Signo, Faber-Castell PITT, gel pens, acrylic markers, and Sharpies of various sizes.
Glitter & Confetti: Craft glitter, confetti or shredded paper can be interesting.
3-D Objects: Small beads, buttons, metal parts, plastic bottle caps, broken jewelry, small beads. shells, watches, found objects etc.
Glue: Regular matte medium (NOT FLUID) and YES paste.
5 Minute Epoxy: To apply heavier items, E6000 is my favorite. You can find this at Home Depot and Amazon.
Scissors & Knives: A pair of scissors and an X-Acto knife.
Rulers: Rulers, triangles and other drawing/drafting tools may also be useful.
Gloves: You may want to wear gloves. I use non-latex gloves.
Clothing: Old clothes or aprons may be in order. You know your own working style and comfort needs. Dress accordingly.
If there are specific tools or materials you do not have, do not stress. Someone will likely share what you need. I have a large tub of scrap paper, tissue paper, deli paper you can use. I will also prepare some other materials you can play with too.
My piece, “Lady Whistledown” chosen by juror, Margaret M. O’Reilly, the Executive Director and Curator of Fine Art at the New Jersey State Museum., in the upcoming exhibit 2022 New Jersey Arts Annual: Reemergence.
This open call invited a range of artistic practices and media to explore the theme Reemergence.
The opening reception is Thursday, June 16 , 6:30- 8:30pm
2022 New Jersey Arts Annual: Reemergence will be on view from June 18, 2022 through April 30, 2023.
Location: New Jersey State Museum; 205 West State Street Trenton NJ
On April 30th, 2022, the world unites in celebration of sculpture during the 8th annual International Sculpture Day!
Sky Garden Gallery invites you to play with Theda Sandiford’s Emotional Baggage Carts. Interact with the cart and leave behind any emotional baggage you are carrying.
Power Puff with Black Racing Stripes
Power Puff, Black Racing Stripe Baggage Cart
Theda Sandiford
Bike reflectors, paracord, Fresh Direct bag yarn, doggie poop bags, plastic newspaper bags and plastic grocery bags woven on gold spray painted recovered shopping cart.
36 x 40 x 24 in
2021
Joy is a form of resistance.
We all carry emotional baggage Naturally; these manifests differently for each of us. Some of us push shopping carts of pain and bitterness while some of us just have a backpack. I carry a lifetime of racial trauma.
Being alive means having the capacity to carry past experiences and learn from them. But there’s a point when this baggage becomes too much. Carrying too much emotional baggage can literally stop us from being open to new experiences, intimacy and growth.
How we choose to handle our baggage makes a difference. We have the choice to let it define us or to let it go and move forward.
Vintage silk ties and leather belts, paracord, black zip ties & ribbon, LED strip lights, mesh on recycled commercial fishing net and gold spray paint on recovered shopping cart
I am so sorry to have to cancel the opening of our rooftop garden to visitors today. The plants are planted but with this slow to start Spring the plants are not splendiferous yet.
I also have an opening in New Canaan CT, and I’m trying to swing by Art House Productions’ Snowball gala tonight.
I promise to open the garden and emotional baggage cart display for frolicing later this Summer when the lavender is blooming.
International Sculpture Day is being celebrated on Governors Island today. My emotional baggage cart “Donda Donda Deluxe” in honor of Kanye West’s relationship with his Mother Dr. Donda West is on display all Summer at Art Crawl Harlem’s house 406b. Stop in and take a photo.
I have two Emotional Baggage Carts included in this Online Exhibition Juried by Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy
About the Exhibition: The artists whose works are assembled all take the mantle of exploring the potential of multiple mediums at once. The possibilities opened by this project multiply wonderfully, as seen by the diversity of works on view, all of which find an expression of vitality through their mediums. Perhaps these artists working with mixed media are finding a way to reaffirm our bodily connection. They have a way of bringing out the physicality of their materials in the medium’s interactions, in divergent forms. We find surprising juxtapositions or forms springing out of their prior uses. Though in different ways, the works presented allude to the body: the presence of the artist’s hand in placing objects just so; suggestive forms; organic and inorganic decay; human detritus, and more.
Power Puff with Black Racing StripesI Can’t Breathe
While at Expo Chicago I met so many interesting people and organizations creating social practice art and making a difference in their community.
This is one of my favs…
Black Creativity
Let me find out that the Black Creativity program at Museum of Science & Industry has been celebrating African American achievement in science, technology, engineering, art and medicine for 50 years.
Free Your Mind is a textile public art installation aiming to collect, embed and release personal narratives about Microaggressions.
Microaggressions are subtle, intentional — and oftentimes unintentional — everyday interactions or behaviors that communicate hostile, derogatory or negative racial messages or assumptions toward historically marginalized groups.
The weight of these daily interactions underpins very real consequences… stress, anger, frustration, self-doubt and ultimately feelings of powerlessness and invisibility.
Free Your Mind intends to expose these interactions and provide a release for the participating individuals. Participants have the feeling of being seen and acknowledged while interacting with the installation.
The installation evolves with each new ribbon, keeping a public record of disempowering interactions, that can be exposed and addressed.
Last year, Free Your Mind toured, collecting story ribbons in Bayonne NJ, Jersey City NJ, and during Miami Art Week. This summer at Governors Island, Free Your mind is documenting your story.
#freeyourmindart
Free Your Mind
You Are So Articulate
In this weaving, each piece of yarn is representative of a conversation where I was acknowledged for being able to express my thoughts and ideas. Being told I’m well-spoken often comes off as a backhanded compliment. It carries problematic connotations that, it is unusual for someone of my race to be intelligent or eloquent.
The completed weaving is displayed on a DYI loom, as if the work is still in progress because some version of this conversation, continues still…
The assignment… collage one iPhone photo, to pass the time while riding NJ Transit 123 bus from Union City NJ to NYC the summer of 2015.
Have you ever had someone put their hands in your hair without asking first?
This was a regular occurrence for me while riding the bus or subway… before the Pandemic. This is not ok. Please don’t pet me like a dog because my hair fascinates you.
Today, I rarely use public transportation and work mostly from home. I wonder, has social distancing caused a shift in this behavior?
