Holiday Open Studios

Holiday Shopping at its Best!

Winter Lights V Art Exhibit Wednesday, November 28 - Sunday, December 30 The Loading Dock Gallery at Western Avenue Studios 122 Western Avenue, Lowell, MA

The opening reception for show participants will be Saturday, December 1, 5-7 pm, in and around the Gallery.

For the fifth holiday season, The Loading Dock Gallery at Western Avenue Studios presents the "Winter Lights" extravaganza of glittery, delight-filled works of art. The exhibit combines the talents of more than 20 Western Avenue artists, and runs from November 28 until December 30.

The main area of the gallery will sparkle with locally-made, affordable, and surprising works that cry out for you to match with the people on your gift list—or to cherish yourself.

The continuing success of "Winter Lights" in presenting wondrous, locally-made works to entranced shoppers reflects the growing "artisan holiday" movement across the country. Rather than hunting through a corporate catalog or buying gift cards, you can browse the walls and display cabinets at The Loading Dock Gallery and come away with giftable treasures.

While the first few "Winter Lights" events focused heavily on jewelry, each year brings a wider range of artworks from an expanding list of artists. Among the artists this year:

Tracy Lévesque is presenting small, vibrant acrylic paintings.

Paula Mingolelli offers hand-painted ornaments, and mini-paintings.

Jeanne Osborne is showing jewelry, and spirit-raising neck ruffles.

Bruce Wood presents a selection of polymer clay jewelry with embedded vintage objects. For the techies on your gift list, he has a selection of reanimated computer mouse creatures.

Tarja Cockell shares some of her remarkable shibori dyed scarves, and hand-woven table runners.

Jean Curley has a selection of mini-paintings, and elegant wine bags.

Linda Dunn joins in with luxurious, portable fabric art.

Rebekah Wetmore contributes some of her evocative, mysterious painted bricks, and festive, hand-painted placemats.
Muddy Girls Studio (Barbara Guilmet and Samantha Tucker) offer "funky and functional" pottery, as well as tea lights, magnets, and jewelry.

JJ Long presents miniature oil paintings, and handmade
giclee prints.

And Michal Truelson is exhibiting intimate, complex giclees of mixed media drawings. She says, "The drawings are the sort that begin with free mark-making and eventually develop to the point that imagery can be 'found' in them and pulled out into the foreground.

Winter Lights V
will show in The Loading Dock Gallery at Western Avenue Studios, 122 Western Avenue, 2nd floor in the A Mill, from Wednesday, November 28 until Sunday, December 30, 2012. An opening reception for show participants will be Saturday, December 1, 5-7 pm, in and around the Gallery.

Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am - 4:30 pm. For information about the exhibit, visit www.theloadingdockgallery.com or call 978-710-8605.