art for life
LORSHA
Resident TEXTILE DESIGNER
Loretta Gallagher is a talented Irish textile designer & artist working since 1992 under the Lorsha design label. The inspiration for the Lorsha range comes from a study of both ancient Celtic culture and ethnic arts from around the world, creating an exciting collection of timeless designs mixed with a vibrancy of colour, which makes every piece a visual and tactile feast. Her Celtic history and love for exquisite, custom made design sets Lorsha apart as an exclusive Irish textile designer in Ireland. This has been proven by the unrivalled success of the Lorsha design label, not only in Ireland but around the world. Lorsha currently exports to more than 20 countries including Australia, the USA and Sweden.
The huge Irish ex-pat communities around the world are now able to have the traditional Irish textiles and fashions that they miss from home. The 09/10 Lorsha collection will be focusing on custom made christening robes and First Holy Communion dresses. These are personalised with the child’s name and date of birth, creating a timeless family heirloom. Later this year Lorsha will also be launching her ‘Light boxes’ putting a unique twist on the traditional Irish textile work that she has become renowned for.
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alacoque davey
EXHIBITING ARTIST
Alacoque Davey was born in Newry in 1970. She moved to Liverpool in 1990 where she lived for 8 years gaining her BA Hons Fine Art from John Moores University in 1995. In 1996 she gained the City and Guilds Adult Education Teaching Certificate from City of Liverpool Community College. In 1998 she moved to Belfast and resumed study at University of Ulster completing her MA Applied Art in 2000. In 2002 she joined Queen Street Studios Belfast where she is currently based.
My intent as an artist is to draw the viewer into the work so that on inspection the layering of colour and subtle use of mark making and motifs can be seen in detail while at a distance the work remains quietly still. It is a sense of order and balance, an aesthetic poise which I pursue in my work, building layers of thinly applied paint overlain with drawn motifs and symbolic representations of everyday objects and using elements of collage so that the image emerges and is partially obscured again by more layering. The themes of my work revolve around everyday objects, vestments, daily rituals and routines. I aim to venerate the commonplace and the domestic, creating beauty using compositions directly related to our shared rituals - pots in the sink, flowers in a jug, cups set aside, empty chairs, clothes hung up, children’s little dresses and boots. It is these quiet places that I aim to reach in my work.
