Theda Sandiford: Big Mouth

Exhibition Run Dates: September 6- 29th

LOCATION: Art House Productions; 62 17th St, Jersey City, NJ

JC Friday Preview: Friday, September 6, 5:00-8:00pm

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 7, 5:00-8:00pm

Artist Talk & Yarn Wrapping: Sunday, September 15, 1:00-3:00pm

Artist Talk & Yarn Wrapping: Saturday, September 21, 1:00-3:00pm

Big Mouth is a collection of one-sided conversations. As a woman, I find it is often easier to make my way in the world by keeping my mouth shut. To simply grin and bare it when haters, well-meaning friends or co-workers say or do something insensitive.

As a child, my father would say to me, “Better to be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt”. So in keeping my mouth shut, I learned, to be seen, and selectively heard.

With ‘Big Mouth’, I am all of it. The sass, the crass, the erudite and more than that aware. Aware of the language used to quiet me down. To remind me of what is, and most importantly, what isn’t being said. 

Thanks to Big Mouth… look who has the last word now.

“Neon Auto Tune” Theda Sandiford Digital Collage on Metallic Photo Paper, AP 14″x11″m 20″x16″ framed
  • “Stay Woke” Theda Sandiford Golden High Flow acrylic, Golden Soft Gel Gloss acrylic skin, Tulip dimensional fabric paint, gesso, Montana Gold spray paint, recycled envelops, fabric squares from a quilt, tissue paper, felt from post consumer recycled fibers, glitter stars on canvas. 20″x20″x1″
  • “Me Too” Theda Sandiford Golden High Flow acrylic, Golden Soft Gel Gloss acrylic skin, Tulip dimensional fabric paint, gesso, Montana Gold spray paint, recycled envelops, fabric squares from a quilt, tissue paper, felt from post consumer recycled fibers, glitter stars on canvas. 20″x20″x1″
  • “Wakanda Forever” Theda Sandiford Golden High Flow acrylic, Golden Soft Gel Gloss acrylic skin, Tulip dimensional fabric paint, gesso, Montana Gold spray paint, recycled envelops, fabric squares from a quilt, tissue paper, felt from post consumer recycled fibers, glitter stars on canvas. 20″x20″x1″

Women of Wonder: Artist Talk March 12

Join me at One River this Tuesday March 12th @ 6:30pm for a talk about my Women of Wonder series, a pure celebration of expression, music, femininity, and belief in oneself.  A confirmation of life repeated as a cannon of ‘I am who I am.’

DATE & TIME: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 from 6:30-7:30pm

LOCATION: One River; 292 Millburn Ave, Millburn, NJ 07041

We often travel to the corners of the planet looking for safe places to BE. When what is actually necessary is a declaration: “We are our own selves!” There is a place for all of our being; the sexy, the demure, the loud and the reticent.

On our own terms of being in our own skin when and how we need to be…

Ella, Eartha, Grace, Diahann, Billie, and Nina (YES! Nina) taught us and made way for the Cardi’s, Beyonce’s and Nikki’s of this world. We all fit and there is plenty of room for us. When we make room for ourselves.

I Only Move Forwards, Never Backwards, Darling 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

MoCADA’s Give Me Body! Conversation at Brooklyn Museum

On Saturday (3/2), I will be participating in a conversation about gender, woman, femme, and feminism today at the Brooklyn Museum.. Please join me.

Social norms have long dictated gender, from their public facing meanings to their private impact. Mother. Shorty. Wifey. Bitch. Woman. Trans. Feminist — and other various descriptors for the female sex gradient, also come diabolically attached to a long antiquated idea of femininity, whose trappings and boundaries suffocate rather than uplift. This is especially true for women of color, whether cis or non-binary, who most often face the corrosive extremes of these imposed values at either end of the spectrum.
Through MoCADA’s next exhibit, Give Me Body! Femme Re-divined, MoCADA seeks to unravel how far society has come in our understanding, recognition, and celebration of the femme form –mind, body, and soul– as a spiritual rite. Our greatest wish is to further unpack and expand this necessary conversation to deliver a new vision for the future. 


Date: Saturday, March 2, 2019

Time: 6:00-7:30pm

Location: Brooklyn Museum: 200 Eastern Pkwy, Brooklyn, NY 11238


Coming Up In January…

Yarn Wrapping: Sewing Circle
There is something cathartic about wrapping yarn and rope. The yarn in my hand. The dexterity of my fingers. My failing eyesight…

If you join one of my upcoming sewing circle sessions, we will wrap rope and embellish the rope with pony beads, garland and pink army men. No experience necessary.

Saturday Jan 12th 12-3pm RSVP here
Saturday Jan 26th 12-3pm RSVP Here
LOCATION: Garden Level Gallery 315 3rd Street, Jersey City, New Jersey 07302

 

Rope Work In Progress. Ready for the next layer of yarn.

Fall Exhibitions Last Look and Artist Talk
On Sunday, January 27, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey will hold a “last look” reception and informal artist talk for the closing of their three fall exhibitions Kevin Blythe Sampson: Black and Blue, Messages from the Interior, and me Stair-gazing: Theda Sandiford. Sampson, Sandiford, and Fred Scruton will be in attendance and each will discuss their work, process, and answer questions from the audience. Join us from 3–5 PM.

January 27th, 3:00-5:00pm
RSVP Here
LOCATION: Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, 68 Elm St, Summit, New Jersey 07901

Wonder Women Stair Gazing

Later on
I’ll be showing at 14C Art Fair with Calabar Gallery.

March 15-17
Friday 4–9 (VIP only)
Saturday 12–8
Sunday 12–7
LOCATION: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 2 Exchange Place Jersey City, NJ 07302