Let ‘Color Play’ a role in lighting your mood
Artists Brooke Lambert and Tarja Cockell celebrate bright colors in their new show, “Color Play.”
Guaranteed to lift spirits, the exhibit combines Cockell’s quilts and textile collages with Lambert’s painted collagraphs.
The show is on view Feb. 5-28 at Loading Dock Gallery at Western Avenue Studios and Lofts,
122 Western Ave., Lowell.
Cockell uses dyeing, painting and other mixed media to create intricate, textured surfaces in her textiles.
She often adds stitching to enhance organic shapes and textures in her pieces.
“I want to cherish the playfulness of color,” says Cockell, a native of Finland who lives in North Andover and works out of a WAS studio in Lowell.
“In this work, I explore abstract colorations and dreamscapes with a hint of reality and a lot of space for imagination,” says Cockell, who has a degree in textile and design, with a major in weaving, and is a juried member of the New Hampshire Craftsmen’s League.
Lambert makes original collagraphs inspired by the ocean and the light within it — the light coming out of the cracks and crevices on the ocean floor, within the waves and life beneath its surface.
“Even on the darkest days, the ocean has light,” says Lambert, who grew up in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and now lives in Lowell. “This light, for me, represents hope.”
Cockell and Lambert agree that it is important to hold on to moments of hope, appreciate nature’s beauty and share art — especially during this difficult time.
They hope those who see their work have an emotional connection to the colors and forms that their works explore.
The gallery is open Fridays and Sundays, from noon to 4 p.m., and Saturdays, from noon to 6 p.m. Call 978-596-1576 or visit www.theloadingdockgallery.com.
Gallery notes
QUARANTINE ART: People have turned to art to find solace and escape during the pandemic. Burlington Public Library will showcase work by community members in a virtual exhibit.
Donna Manoogian, head of reference at the library, developed “Quarantine Community Art Project” after seeing how public libraries in Waltham and Williamsburg, Va., had created exhibits to showcase community members’ reflections and experiences as they quarantined to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Submissions are being accepted from community members, and numerous items have been submitted already, including needlework, photographs, drawings, paintings, origami, a poem and an original song.
Manoogian hopes it will be a positive experience after the prolonged quarantine.
“Sharing art may be a good antidote to the pandemic’s gloom and doom,” she said. Submissions are being collected through Monday, Jan. 31, from people of all ages and abilities.
To submit work, email a photo or video of the art to dmanoogian@burlingtonpl.org. The collection
will be displayed virtually beginning in February at www.burlingtonpubliclibrary.org/302/Quarantine- Community-Art-Project.
ALL RIGHT: Arts League of Lowell puts a different spin on love this year as February — and Valentine’s Day — approach. “Shelter: The Art of Caring,” running Feb. 3-28, is a community exhibit to benefit the Lowell Transitional Living Center
More next week on the show.
The gallery, located at 307 Market St., Lowell, is open Wednesdays through Sundays, 1-4 p.m., and follows all COVID-19 guidelines, including mandatory masks and social distancing, Visit www.artsleagueoflowell.org.
STAR POWER IN CONCORD: Samantha Power, a Concord resident and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Barack Obama administration and President Joe Biden’s nominee to direct the U.S. Agency for International Development, was filmed recently for a Concord Museum forum that will air Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. Power, currently a professor at Harvard, will discuss her memoir, “The Education of an Idealist.”
As part of the talk, she will participate in a Q&A with four Concord students — Beau McKenna and Anna Park from Concord- Carlisle High
School; Megan Ding from Middlesex School; and Nancy Onyimah from Concord Academy.
The program is virtual. To sign up, go to www.concordmuseum.org to receive a live link before the program airs.
It’s free, but donations are welcome and will help .support museum education initiatives.
SUPER SOAP: The Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton remains closed until March 5, at the earliest.
But it’s hosting virtual events in the interim.
Upcoming is a virtual lecture Sunday, Feb. 7, 1-2 p.m., before the Super Bowl, entitled “Russian Alternative to French Perfume — The History of Soap Making in Russia.” Call it the Soaper Bowl. Marina Smirnov, creator and owner of Finist natural beauty products, is the speaker.
Members are free; nonmembers $8.
Registration required by Saturday, Feb. 6, at www.museumofrussianicons.org/event/soap-making-in-russia.