The Wardrobe is proud to present a fitting event for the season: “Insects and the Art of Being Beautiful”; on Friday, June 14th from 7-9 pm. This event is free and open to the public, as part of the Second Friday Art About in Davis. For more information, call The Wardrobe at 530.756.1128 or email staff@thewardrobe.com.

The evening will feature the ethereal artwork of Yolo County artist Shelley Lafreniere along with Emmet Brady, Cultural Entomologist and host of the Insect News Network multimedia and radio program. The Wardrobe will also showcase pendants sustainably crafted from real butterfly wings.

Emmet will give a brief talk at 8pm about the powerful influence that insects have had on some of the most famous and influential works of creativity in the human world: fine art, dance, musical composition, graphic arts, cinema and more. Included will be MC Escher, Romeo and Juliet, Salvador Dali, Charles Darwin, Vladimir Nabakov, and Peter Jackson. He will also explain with detailed images that show some of the most remarkable creatures on the planet.

Lafreniere’s artwork involves an intricate process of layering colored stencils on top of one another in a process she calls “stencil and gesture.” Her imagery extends to all aspects of nature and is inspired by the art of the natural world. As she explains:

“I have always had a visual connection with an audio landscape. Living in a rural setting, I hear seasonal compositions tirelessly performed by the natural world. Roosters, hens and songbirds open my day, winds come, leaves flicker, the meter of chickens scratching, dragonfly shadows swirling, rhythms are all around. Movements contrast the stagnant landscape. These are the patterns I seek to express in my paintings. I use water based paints and stencils to create multi-layered pieces that hint at psychedelia.”

About Shelley Lafreniere:
Shelley is a renaissance artist, who runs her own independent chicken farm in addition to her artwork. A native to Yolo County, she attended California College of the Arts with Honors, where she was a Louis Macouillard Scholarship and a Peter Shoemaker Scholarship recipient. Shelley was Appointed a Member of CCA President's Circle, and won the Whole Earth Festival Logo Contest, Davis and won Best of Show by Security Pacific Bank in Davis. She was also an integral member of the Blue Mango Restaurant community during the 1980s.

About Emmet Brady:
Emmet is a professional lecturer, media host and entertainer. He created the Insect News Network in 2010 and launched the radio program one year ago, to focus on the emerging discipline of Cultural Entomology which explores the parallels, connections and influences between insects and humans. He has a BA in Biology from Hiram College, USA and is a certified BaDT (Biologist at the Design Table), with an emphasis on invertebrate zoology and cultural entomology. His professional expertise lies in strategic business development, with a focus on sales, marketing, market research, training and infrastructure development. Emmet is completing a book “The Insect Tribe: Who? What? Why?” to define the global community that has a curiosity, an affinity or an obsession with the Microcosm. Emmet is also the co-producer of “The Sound of Fashion” multimedia enterprise. He can be reached at info@insectnewsnetwork.com.

About Butterfly Artworks:
No butterflies are harmed in the creation of their jewelry. The butterflies come from tropical butterfly farms where they live out their natural lives and are then collected. This helps preserve natural butterfly populations and provided much-needed income for the farmers.