Ellicott

Ephrem Kouakou prefers to work while the world sleeps. The artist says that in the dead of night, absent the sound of any human voice or music, he can best hear the "spirits" talking. He says he's been hearing the spirits steer his brush since he started painting as a boy in Ivory Coast - a fact that alarmed the elders, who apparently thought he was practicing witchcraft. Now 50, the artist left home decades ago, but the inner voices and traditions born there traveled with him from West Africa to Algeria to France to Washington to Baltimore, where he lives now. Folkloric images that have sprung from these voices - vividly colored masks and magical animals, lush foliage, big-eyed human figures staring straight at you in dreamy landscapes - are on display in a new exhibition at the Still Life Gallery on Main Street in the historic section of Ellicott City.

Soccer registration The coed Elkridge Youth Organization spring soccer program is accepting registrations for ages 4-18. No tryouts are required, and all players receive substantial playing time. Games are played at Rockburn Park. Registration ends Thursday, Feb. 28. For more information, go to eyosoccer.org or send an email with "EYO" in the subject field to eyosoccer@verizon.net . Around town Blood pressure screenings Stop in from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesdays at the Ellicott City Senior Center, 9401 Frederick Road, for free blood pressure readings by a registered nurse.

For Maureen Burke, “gluten-free” is not just the latest diet trend -- it's a way of life. Since being diagnosed with celiac disease in the late 1980s, Burke has wrestled with her intolerance of gluten. And now, as chef and owner of One Dish Cuisine, in Ellicott City, she shares the fruits of her labor over the past two decades with others who suffer from food allergies and intolerances: a restaurant that serves food they can eat. Burke, now 49, was diagnosed with celiac disease and lactose intolerance when she was 25. Back then, celiac disease was relatively unheard of and there weren't many options.

The Rev. Gertie T. Williams feels very much at home when she volunteers at the restored Ellicott City Colored School on Frederick Road. The Howard County native's ease in her surroundings is for good reason: From grades one through seven, she attended a nearly identical two-room schoolhouse for African-American students, located in Elkridge. So when county officials hit upon the idea of holding an open house Jan. 21 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the Ellicott City facility - the first Howard school for black children built with county funds - Williams was the obvious choice to give the invocation, said Jacque Galke, supervisor of the county's heritage program.