Artist Spotlight

Malachi Floyd

Malachi Floyd is a multidisciplinary artist working in paint, glass, and clothing design.

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In my own work I’m currently doing a lot of drawing, observational, and still life practices. I pull a lot from life around me and the spiritual energy that is directing me at this point, whether I acknowledge it or not. I’ve always been guided by the practices my mom introduced to me: African dance, Egyptian theology, and Sankofa, a concept that emphasizes the importance of learning from the past to inform the future.

When I first started glass blowing, it was almost a tribal communal experience. I entered the hot, dark shop and my mentor was almost shaman-like, pulling this rod of molten lava, having to keep it on center. It was like alchemy or magic, and glass blowing became spell-casting for me. You practice this spell over and over again through repetition, and if you cast the spell wrong you create this misshapen object.  

The routine has been therapeutic for me. When I pour fresh water into a bucket to wash my brushes before I begin painting is all a part of this spiritual practice for me. 

But I’m not always seeking perfection. When I make a mistake, I’m looking at it as an opportunity—of what could be if I choose to change the spell. Discovery is what inspires awe within me, and what I hope visitors will experience when they enter Ministry of Awe.