From April 4 through 26, the Rockport Public Library will host an uplifting show of artwork by award-winning author/illustrator and surface pattern designer Rebekah Lowell. Lowell will also be presenting her new picture book, Catching Flight (Doubleday Books for Young Readers), at the library on Wednesday, April 26, at 6:00 p.m.
Lowell’s show, entitled “The Art of Nature”, is meant to spotlight how art creates an ongoing narrative with the wild spaces around us. “As children, we have a sense of wonder that often fades as we grow,” says Lowell, “but my passion is to keep that youthful spirit of discovery alive through the process of observing and creating.”
She continues, “By looking closer, and by sharing our experiences with the natural world, we show others to love nature — and a love of nature encourages empathy.”
Lowell’s new book is already garnering notable praise. “Catching Flight is a beautiful and poetic breath of wind beneath the imaginative wings of any child who reads it,” says Scott Weidensaul, New York Times bestselling author of A World on the Wing and Living on the Wind. Ending on the optimistic note of a new day, the book is a parable about enduring life’s setbacks, as well as a glorious celebration of the outdoors.
Lowell has a BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Children’s Literature and Illustration from Hollins University. Her artwork has been featured on the Maine Duck Stamp five times. Lowell’s illustration, Monarchs and Milkweed, was recently selected as the winning image to appear on the 2023 promotional materials for the MOFGA Common Ground Fair.
Copies of Catching Flight and Lowell’s debut YA novel, The Road to After, will be available at the April 26 author event. For more information, visit Rockport.lib.me.us.
