Calendar of Events

The strange narrative paintings of Julie Armbruster return to Knoxville this Spring! On Saturday March 6th, Julie Armbruster will debut her newest work at The Tomato Head in downtown Knoxville located at 12 Market Square. Drawing from three separate narratives, Julie Armbruster’s work exhibited in Doomed Mammals illustrates selections from the Potato Boy, Frog-Monkey, and DuckLips sagas. The three stories deal with volatile friendship, scientific mutation, and how to accept responsibility. The show is a retrospective of the most recent events unfolding within these stories, revealing some interesting twists that are sure to peak your curiosity. The show will be on display at The Tomato Head in downtown Knoxville until April 3rd and will then move to the Maryville Tomato Head from April 4th- May 2nd. A closing reception will be held Saturday May 1st from 3-5pm at the Maryville Tomato Head restaurant. At the reception, Armbruster will have a limited edition book relating the story of Potato Boy and his pet duck Elmore entitled “Idealism Requires Patience.” Julie Armbruster’s work has evolved to include much more intricate compositions and details. Her work is often realized through automatic drawing and then refined through layered rendering and delicate outlining. The landscapes seem oddly familiar and often directly reflect her surroundings in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. The world rendered in the paintings is set at a distance from the viewer with the addition of the resin surface and illustrative style. The shine and saturation of color give the work an inviting pull. The viewer is further entranced by the complexity of emotions conveyed by the characters that are often faced with some sort of weighty decision or traumatic occurrence. The narratives are realized through anthropomorphic characters that seem bewildered and internal. Her stories are both funny and dark and typically lack a straightforward resolution. Julie Armbruster’s work can be seen on her website www.JulieArmbruster.net and in her hometown of Asheville, NC at the Woolworth Walk and Honeypot Boutique.

At the Clayton Performing Arts Center. For information, call 865-689-8525.

Celebrate the coming of spring, join naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales on a twilight walk through the wetland to the woodcock display grounds at Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area near Ijams. With luck, we'll find a male woodcock twittering his flight call just after the sun goes down. Please dress for MUDDY conditions and bring a flashlight. Free for members, $5 for non-members. Call 577-4717 ext. 10 to register.

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Grounds and trails open during daylight hours. Visitor Center: Monday: by appointment only for tour groups and school trips; Tuesday-Saturday: 9AM-5PM; Sunday: 1-5PM (March 1 - November 30). For information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

Singer-songwriter: Born and raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Malcolm Holcombe is recognized as a performer of national stature, a guitarist/vocalist about whom Rolling Stone magazine says: “Haunted country, acoustic blues and rugged folk all meet [here]...” His newest releases is For the Mission Baby.

1538 Laurel Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37916. Information: 865-522-5851, www.KnoxTIX.com

Ages: 6 to 8-year-old with an adult. The change of seasons always brings unpredictable weather. Join educator Kara Remington and learn what makes March so lively. Fun, educational activities and experiments for your young meteorologist. To register, call Sheila at 577-4717 ext. 10.
Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Grounds and trails open during daylight hours. Visitor Center: Monday: by appointment only for tour groups and school trips; Tuesday-Saturday: 9AM-5PM; Sunday: 1-5PM (March 1 - November 30). For information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

The 7th year of bringing Knoxville the most highly rated wines and nationally recognized chefs, made possible by Blackberry Farm. Includes a wine auction and silent auction.

KMA Hours: Tues-Thurs 10-5; Fri 10-8; Sat 10-5; Sun 1-5. 1050 World’s Fair Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37916. 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org, info@knoxart.org

Instructor James Hooper, of Furniture Artistry (www.FurnitureArtistryTN.com) has over thirty-four years of experience in antique restoration and custom furniture building, and has been conservator of Ramsey House for many years. He was called upon to rebuild and restore many antique pieces from the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina. His specialties include traditional joinery, inlays, decorative veneering, carving, and turning. Participants are welcome to bring an antique piece to the workshop to discuss with Mr. Hooper. Fee is $25 per person. Reservations are required. Ramsey House Plantation, 2614 Thorngrove Pike, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open year around (except Mondays & Holidays). For information: 865-546-0745, www.ramseyhouse.org

Historic Rugby will present the Southern Arts Federation’s 3rd Annual Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival at the Rebecca Johnson Theatre in Rugby. Short Circuit is the only program that spotlights short films created by filmmakers living and working in the Southeastern United States. The Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival is comprised of 10 short films chosen for their artistic merit by a panel of media arts professionals. The engaging selections include fiction, animation, experimental and documentary films. From an ode to Georgia O’Keefe and an animated “monster movie,” to stock-car racing preachers, all 10 short films will be most enjoyed by teens to adults of all ages. The festival is approximately 2.5 hours long, and includes a brief intermission with complimentary hot chocolate. Film festival tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Call Historic Rugby at 1-888-214-3400 to purchase by phone. After-festival dinner at Rugby’s Harrow Road Café can be reserved, and overnight packages are available that include film festival tickets, dinner and lodging in historic buildings. Information: rugbylegacy@highland.net or www.historicrugby.org

The Museum of Appalachia will offer all-day entertainment Saturday as it holds auditions for its Tennessee Fall Homecoming. The Museum’s Heritage Hall will host performers vying for a slot on one of five stages during the second weekend of October. Music styles will include bluegrass, folk, old-time, and Gospel. As a special treat for visitors, Dixie Gray will make a special appearance at noon. Known for their hauntingly beautiful harmony, this group from Seymour is a Homecoming favorite.
For auditioning musicians and dancers, application fee is $10 per band. For others, auditions are included in the regular Museum admission; charge for auditions only is $5. Museum members are admitted free. A panel of judges will review performances, and audience members will have the opportunity to vote for their favorites. Those selected will perform at the Homecoming, Oct. 8-10. Visitors come from all of the continental United States and many foreign countries for Homecoming, one of the nation’s largest and most authentic music and folk festivals. The 31st annual Homecoming will include hundreds of demonstrators and artisans, Southern-style cuisine, and more than 400 nationally, regionally, and locally known musicians performing on five stages continuously for three days. The Museum is located 16 miles north of Knoxville, one mile east of I-75, exit 122. For more information, call 865-494-7680, e-mail museum@museumofappalachia.org, or visit the web site at www.museumofappalchia.org.

Talented emerging artists nationwide apply annually for Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts’ Artist-in-Residence program, a coveted opportunity of creative discovery for early career artists. Arrowmont’s four current resident artists will open their annual exhibition that showcases their talent and work created during their 11-month residency. The current residents are metalsmith Victoria Altepeter, ceramic artist Thaddeus Erdahl, clay artist Martina Lantin and wood artist Kent Perdue. Arrowmont's Artist-in-Residence program is designed to provide early career, self-directed artists time and space to develop a major body of work in a creative community environment of students and visiting instructors. Each resident is provided their own studio space in the Resident Studios Complex, which is a short walking distance from their living quarters on campus. Residents supply their own equipment, but are otherwise afforded a private and spacious studio to work in for 11 months.
In the Sandra J. Blain Galleries. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 576 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. For information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

The Bijou Theatre hosts a First Friday reception to kick off a two-month exhibit featuring the works of East Tennessee artist Betty Bullen. The reception will be held Friday, March 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the upstairs gallery of the U.S. Cellular Stage at he Bijou Theatre. Betty Bullen has studied with an exclusive list of world-class artists including David Leffel, Robert Johnson and Tom Browning. Her paintings are recognized for entertaining composition, confident brushwork, and masterful use of color, but it is her passion and dedication to the work that have brought her success. She paints from life as much as possible, capturing a moment in time, painting the ordinary in an extraordinary way. She has earned a reputation as an artist to collect who excels in still life and figurative as well as landscape painting. Bullen's subjects are scenes "from the heart." Her work has been exhibited in solo and juried group exhibitions and has won many awards. The general public is invited to participate in this reception and First Friday event. The show will be on display throughout the months of March and April for Bijou patrons and visitors to enjoy when the theater is open for performances. Visit www.KnoxBijou.com for a schedule of upcoming events
at the Bijou.

Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information: 865-522-0832, www.knoxbijou.com.

In the Loggia Gallery. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 576 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. For information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org