Conceptual Materials Social Practice Artist
I recently joined Bridge Arts Gallery for an Expressive Creative Soul artist talk.
It was a chance to share a little about the work behind the work—my materials, the stories woven into them, and how fiber becomes a language for memory, protection, and repair.
If you missed the live conversation, the replay is now available.
Pour a cup of tea, settle in, and spend a little time in the studio with me.
Bridge Art Gallery – Anniversary Opening, February 21
On February 21, Expressive Creative Soul celebrates its 10-Year Anniversary at Bridge Art Gallery, a milestone that means so much to me.
Although I won’t be able to attend in person, I will absolutely be there in spirit.
Bridge Art Gallery has been a meaningful supporter along my artistic journey. They have made space for work that is layered, socially engaged, and rooted in lived experience. They have believed in my voice and in the stories embedded in my materials. That kind of sustained support is not small, it is formative.
To be included in this anniversary exhibition feels like standing inside a shared history of courage and creative commitment.
I am honored that Wonder Women Tapestry and Wonder Woman Selfie will be featured as part of this celebration.
Created in 2018 through a series of sewing circles, Wonder Women Tapestry is a 120” x 96” collective offering. Friends, friends of friends, and even strangers off the street gathered to stitch beads, bottle caps, mirrors, and embroidered details into its surface.
The tapestry carries the energy of many hands. It honors Black womanhood not as fantasy, but as lived heroism—resilient, radiant, and communal.
Wonder Woman Selfie turns the lens inward. It is about self-representation and the power of claiming our own iconography. It asks what it means for a Black woman to frame herself as powerful—to define the narrative rather than inherit it.
Together, these works speak to community and self-definition, to gathering and to claiming space.
For ten years, Expressive Creative Soul has uplifted artists who lead with story, culture, and truth. That consistency matters. That commitment shapes careers.
I am deeply grateful to Christopher and Cheryl Mack for their vision and for walking alongside artists with integrity and heart.
While I may not be physically present on February 21, know that my gratitude, my spirit, and my celebration are fully there.
Congratulations to Bridge Art Gallery on 10 powerful years. May the next decade be even bolder.
With love and appreciation,
Theda Sandiford
Take A Virtual Tour of Bridge Arts’s Wonder Women Exhibition
I recently did an interview with Vitiello Communications to talk about my process, inspirations and motivation as an artist and business woman.
Read on https://vtlo.com/blog/wonder-women-theda-sandiford/
Curious about the inspiration behind the body of work Women of Wonder? Watch…
The opening of the Fall Exhibition Season at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey is this Friday September 28th from 6:30-8:30pm. I hope you can make it.
RSVP
My 10’x 8′ tapestry was installed last Friday. Here is a sneak peak of the process…
DATE: Sunday, September 30th
TIME: 4:00-7:00pm
LOCATION: LITM, 140 Newark Avenue, Jersey City.
From Manhattan take the Path to Groove Street and walk to Newark Ave pedestrian mall.
Size: 36 x 24 x 2 in
Acrylic paint, Xerox image transfers, stencil printed deli, paper, paper punched recycled envelops, tissue paper, buttons, glitter appliqués, glitter, embroidered collar on canvas.
February 2018
“For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is” – Yoda
Size: 12 x 12 x 1 in
Medium: Acrylic paint, Xerox image transfers, stencil printed deli, paper, paper punched recycled envelops, tissue paper, buttons, glitter appliqués, glitter, Diamond Dust on canvas.
July 2018
The inspiration for this ….
was Nina Simone’s – Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair
Wonder Women tapestry will make her debut at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey on Friday, September 28, 2018, 6:30-8:30pm.
If you participated in the sewing circle that brought this project to life, this is your opening reception too. I hope you can make it. The show will be up until January 27th, 2019.
DATE:Â Friday, September 28, 2018
TIME: 6:30-8:30pm.
LOCATION: 68 Elm Street, Summit NJ 07901
