Artist's Statement
Joseph Cornell said that collage is the work that comes from “the sacred search”; the seeking and finding of used and abandoned materials.
For example, during a recent visit with her daughter in California, Ms. Floyd found small plastic bags of Japanese kimono scraps for sale. Those cloth bits, along with odd crochet pieces, a Chinese doily, and the corner of a discarded paint drop cloth became a collage. From something old came something new. This transformation is her work.
Ms. Floyd’s process begins with the search, opening her eyes to see the beauty of discarded fabrics, papers, rusted metal, scraps of wood, even buttons and feathers that can be rescued and restored. Then follows the mysterious puzzle of fitting the parts together, using a background of foam core or plywood instead of canvas, and paste and polymer rather than paint.
The materials themselves are Ms. Floyd’s inspiration. She does not aim to make a realistic “picture”. Her goal is to honor the materials with a new identity while retaining the elements of their old life.
Creating the collage with its bits and pieces, textures, and colors, is Ms. Floyd’s joy.
As a working artist who lived in Hartford for over 20 years, Floyd continues to work in her studio in the Arbor Art Center in Hartford.
Artist's Reception
Please join us on October 7, 2011 (6 p.m.–8 p.m.) to celebrate this new exhibition in the ArtWalk at Hartford Public Library, located in the heart of the city at 500 Main Street.
