DeLacy carves beautiful and often humorous sculptures, sometimes transforming would-be rifle stocks into exquisite artwork. BIMA features DeLacy in her first solo art museum exhibition, with diverse carvings on two floors.

Marceil DeLacy’s love of carving began as a child living on the outskirts of Seattle. With a pocketknife, she first created images from ivory soap. She then carved letter openers from kindling wood, and then arrows from tree suckers. Finally, she ‘graduated’ to using chisel and mallet.

DeLacy notes that she learned her craft from the wood itself, letting it guide her eye and hand. In the early 1980’s she began serious fine art sculpting, winning awards in juried shows, and having her work shown in the Bellevue Art Museum. After a break to pursue other interests, she resumed her artwork on a full-time basis, working with wood salvaged locally in the Pacific Northwest.

Her lifelong affinity for trees and love of nature inspire most of her sculpted subjects. As human encroachment and climate change displace flora and fauna, her art serves as a way of giving voice to nature. To this end, she strives for simplicity of form and uses only a clear finish or no finish at all in order to let the natural color and beauty of the wood speak for itself. It’s a process she calls ‘listening to the forest’.

She has been featured in numerous regional juried arts festivals, including Bellevue Arts Museum’s ARTSfair and Art UnCorked (Mercer Island). This summer she exhibted at the Edmonds Arts Festival and the Anacortes Arts Festival.

She has also been represented by several regional galleries, including the former Northwest Woodworkers Gallery (Seattle) and Brackenwood Gallery (Langley, WA). Currently she is represented by Island Gallery (Bainbridge Island) and Smith & Vallee Gallery (Edison, WA). DeLacy’s work is included in many individual and corporate collections.

“I think of a tree as providing what I call ‘a space of grace’ for those who pause in its presence. My hope for the sculptures I create is that they, too, will provide such a space for the onlooker. In a world in turmoil we need to summon the tranquil places and the natural beauty of our planet. My sculptures are natural conduits of this message. I especially love to take a simple rough old hunk of wood and restore its natural beauty and character through sculpture.” – Marceil DeLacy