LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - It started with a blanket for a sick husband and a broken sewing machine. Now, Jeanette Floyd’s handcrafted quilts are hanging on the walls of the Black Heritage Gallery and drawing attention from across the country.
Floyd, an Ohio-born artist who has called Orange County, California, home since 1988, is the featured artist in the gallery’s newest exhibit, _“Threads of Hope.”_ The solo showcase opened Friday as part of the Black Heritage Gallery’s 25th anniversary series.
Floyd has been creating art for more than 30 years, working across mediums that include painting, sculpture, jewelry making, knitting and crochet. Her journey into quilting began in 2015 and was deeply personal.
“My husband, back in 2015, he had contracted a rare form of cancer,” Floyd said. “He was cold and he wanted a blanket, and he loves Cleveland Browns.”
That first attempt at a quilt led Floyd to dust off a decades-old sewing machine from her garage. When it broke, she bought a new one and never looked back.
She soon connected with a local quilting guild, where she learned the craft and discovered a new artistic calling. What began as a labor of love for her husband grew into a full creative practice that now spans more than a decade.
For Floyd, quilting has never been just about the finished product. It has always been about people.
Over the years, she has donated handmade items to hospitals, military organizations, churches and individuals in need. She has made blankets for NICU patients and “angel baby” items for families who have experienced infant loss.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she turned her sewing machine toward the community once again.
“I felt that I had to do something,” Floyd said. “That’s when they started talking about, ‘Well, you can do cloth masks.’ I made over 400, and I gave them all away. I was not going to buy or sell anything.”
Floyd’s work has been featured in museums and major exhibitions across the country, including the International Quilt Festival, the Pacific International Quilt Festival, and the Atlanta Quilt Festival. Her quilt _Handsome_ was requested for inclusion in a Smithsonian-affiliated exhibition.
Her work has also appeared in multiple publications, including _Inspired Archetypes_ and _Creative Strength Training_.
Despite the national recognition, Floyd remains grounded in her purpose.
“I believe in hope,” she said. “If you don’t have hope, you don’t have anything, right? So I was like, ‘That’s exactly what I do. I want people to smile. I wanted to touch them. I wanted to prick their hearts.’”
Black Heritage Gallery Executive Director Janine Blaney says she first noticed Floyd’s work during a previous exhibit at the gallery specifically, a quilt called _Praise and Worship._
“In that piece of artwork, it spoke because the way that the skirt on the lady flowed out, and it spoke volumes to me about the praise and worship,” Blaney said. “Because in our culture, praise and worship, it’s a big thing that we do in the church.”
Blaney reached out to Floyd shortly after and invited her to be the featured artist for the gallery’s 25th anniversary series.
Spotlighting Black artists with diverse skillsets is central to the gallery’s mission, Blaney said.
“Although we don’t always have a big audience to where we can display our work, here at the Black Heritage Gallery, I want the artists to always feel at home to where they can showcase their artwork,” she said.
Floyd says every piece in _“Threads of Hope”_ was created with a single goal to move you.
“I want everybody who walks back out that door to go, that was wonderful, that made me cry, that cracked me up, it touched me it hurt me to the point where it broke my heart because of the topic or the subject of it,” she said. “I want the emotions from the experience to walk out that door with them, whatever that is.”
The _“Threads of Hope”_ exhibit is on display at the Black Heritage Gallery inside Historic City Hall through September 25th. Floyd will also be available for a gallery talk and a quilt giveaway.
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