Charlie de Lacey
Sora
1 to 15 June 2024

Open Studio Friday & Saturday

The Sora project combines traditional artistry with digital art and textile design techniques. The Project title, ‘Sora’, means ‘Sky’ in Japanese and depicts native European butterflies. Watercolour and photographic studies will be used to dive into their incredible patterns and intricacies. A geometric design will be sketched and transferred to digital drawing software. This will be combined with freehand drawings to form the framework and give the impression of motion and flight. The final design will be printed on silk, a textile which gives iridescence and fluidity to the butterflies' wings.

Butterflies have an association in many cultures of beauty, wonder and the soul and this is what Charlie wishes to convey through the 'Sora' project.

The residency will provide the creative space to explore the interplay between asymmetry and symmetry as a technique indicative of motion. The fine line between constraint and freedom, the symmetrical beauty of the butterfly versus its asymmetrical erratic flight.

One element I explore in my art is representing a subject in a spectrum ranging from realism to abstract. In this work I wish to combine both.

During this residency I would like to show how digital art and design is influenced by traditional artistry. To engage with and learn from other artists and inspire creativity in others in the community. As an Ullumni of the Guerrilluinns Group at Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre I am keen to help the young artists in our community try new digital techniques and enjoy being creative. Also, to encourage knowledge of European Butterflies and appreciation of our natural environment for all who come to visit the studio.

Brought up in West Cork, Ireland, I studied Art and Photography at Kinsale College and botanical illustration with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Scotland. I am Creative Director of the de Lacey brand which is registered with the Design and Crafts Council Ireland. My studio, set in a Rose Garden between Lough Hyne and Baltimore, is where I design and produce the artwork for silk scarves, botanical watercolours, pen & ink portraits, and acrylic on canvas. The inspiration for the designs is organic form and the influence of patterns in nature.

delaceyireland.com

WCAC acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Council and Cork County Council in making these residencies possible.