Calendar of Events

205 East Hill Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915. Regular tour schedule: Monday - Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (April - December); Monday -Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (January - March). Information: 865-525-6514, www.jameswhitesfort.org, jameswhitefort@aol.com

August 2nd, marks author, James Baldwin's 86th Birthday. Knoxville-based artist, Gary Elgin is celebrating by donating his recent work: "James Baldwin, Always Welcome At The Table" to the Burlington Branch of the Knoxville Library system located at 4614 Asheville Highway. Elgin, who's work "Keegan Eating Biscuits" was recently featured as a finalist in the 1st Annual International Biscuit Festival art competion, is a new and fresh face on Knoxville's established art scene. The Burlington Branch Library will host Elgin's new exhibit "Familiar Faces: Old & New" in their media room/gallery. On Tuesday, August 10th at 12 noon, a special reception for the unique portrait exhibit will take place. The celebration will include readings from Baldwin's work, as well as a formal presentation of Elgin's Baldwin portrait to the Library. The Library hopes that this donation may be the start of a growing permanent collection by local artists. The "Familiar Faces" exhibit includes 12 works, from 1989 to the present, and includes a number of Knoxville's "familiar faces" as well as a few of celebrities, such as television's Queen of Comedy, Lucille Ball and comedian, Ed Wynn, but it will be Baldwin's portrait that will take center stage on Tuesday August 10th. The exhibit event is open to the public and free of charge. There will be refreshments as well as a birthday cake to help celebrate "Jimmy's" special day. For library/exhibit hours or information on this or other library events, please contact the Burlington Branch Library at (865) 525-5431. Gary Elgin can be contacted at (865) 803-9756.

Monday-Saturday, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Visit James White's Fort to experience what life was like in East Tennessee more than 200 years ago! James White’s Fort is the home of James White who settled in Knoxville with a 1,000-acre land grant from the state of North Carolina. Includes White’s first home, furnished with original tools and artifacts from the period. Penny Performance students may enjoy a self-guided tour of the Fort for free with paid Adult admission.
Advance reservations required? NO.
How to obtain admission: Admission is free. Groups of ten or more should call the Fort with advance notice.
Contact: Robert McGinnis, 865-525-6514, jameswhitefort@aol.com
205 East Hill Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915 | www.jameswhitesfort.org

The Clayton Center for the Arts on the Maryville College campus presents “Bain Butcher: Recent Paintings” through July 31. The exhibition in the Blackberry Farm Gallery in the Clayton Center’s Recital Hall building features oil paintings by Knoxville artist Bain Butcher. A reception will be held July 30 from 6-8 p.m., in conjunction with Maryville’s Last Friday Art Walk. “I explore conflicting notions of truth and reality,” said Butcher, a conceptual figurative artist who exhibits nationally and maintains a studio in Knoxville. Born in Kingsport, Butcher received his MFA in painting in 2006 from the New York Academy of Art, where he studied with leading contemporary figurative painters. Prior to that, he studied at Davidson College, the Pacific Northwest College of Art and the University of Cincinnati, where he received his MD degree. Butcher has received numerous awards and was recently named a semi-finalist in the 2009 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. He also teaches continuing education courses at the University of Tennessee, as well as private courses in his Knoxville studio.

Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Tickets are available at the Clayton Center Box Office M-F 10AM-6PM or by phone or online: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

The Clayton Center for the Arts on the Maryville College campus is hosting a unique exhibition featuring art created by local artists with developmental disabilities and physical limitations who have utilized groundbreaking techniques to express themselves on canvas. 24 oil paintings by seven local artists will be on display in the Clayton Center’s Denso Community Gallery. The artists will host a reception in the gallery on July 30 from 6-8 p.m., in conjunction with Maryville’s Last Friday Art Walk.
The artists are clients at Open Arms Care, a nonprofit organization that provides intermediate care facility services and an array of residential services for adults and children diagnosed with mental retardation and developmental disabilities in the state of Tennessee. Open Arms Care utilizes Art Realization Technologies (A.R.T), a program created in 1995 by artist Tim Lefens that gives those who previously did not have the ability to truly express themselves artistically the tools to create art. Open Arms Care is the first to bring A.R.T. training to Tennessee through the Knoxville-based “Personal Perspective” art program. The mission of the “Personal Perspective” art program is “to provide persons with disabilities the tools necessary to create meaningful and pure self-expression.” The A.R.T. training has resulted in “the emergence of self-expression previously unseen.” For more information about the exhibition, contact Nikki Miszkiel, day services area leader at Open Arms Care, at nmiszkiel@openarmscare.org or at 865.694.9964 ext. 10.

Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com. Hours of Operation are Monday-Friday 10am-6pm.

Featuring Terri Adkinson, George Allen, Bruce Busey, Julie Carroll, Dawn Hawkins, Tom McDaniel, David Pease, Lisa Wade, Christopher Yeatts, Miranda Yeatts, Terrie Boruff Yeatts

Regas Restaurant and The Gathering Place, 318 N. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37917. For information: 865-637-3427, www.regassquare.com

If you are a current dues-paying member of the Knoxville Writers' Guild, July 1st could be your chance to read from your work to a crowd of willing listeners. It will be on a first come, first signed up basis; you will probably have between 3 to 4 minutes; the work you read must be your own or another Guild member's (if that Guild member agrees); and we ask that it be suitable for a general audience.

KWG meets the first Thursday of each month at the Laurel Theater at the corner of Laurel Avenue and 16th Street (in Fort Sanders) at 7:00 p.m. Visitors are welcome, and a $1 donation is requested at the door. The building is handicapped accessible. For more information, contact Jeff Gordon, 865-330-3606, www.knoxvillewritersguild.org

The Hard Knox Blues Bash will be a celebration of this area’s blues music and heritage. Headlining the music on the Old City Courtyard stage, is Labron Lazenby & LA3, and Relentless Blues will open the festival. Both bands will perform with special guests, the Hard Knox Blues All-Stars in a showcase of many of Knoxville’s best blues performers and in combinations rarely if ever seen. The Tennessee Valley Jazz & Blues Foundation will have a display of some of the rich blues heritage of the Tennessee Valley. There will be a variety of food available from Southbound Bar & Grill and Davinci’s Pizza. No coolers or pets will be permitted in the Courtyard, but lawn chairs are welcome. The Tennessee Valley Jazz & Blues Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, promotion, performance and dissemination of jazz & blues music, with a special emphasis on the contributions of jazz & blues artists from the Tennessee Valley. Admission to the Hard Knox Blues Bash is $5 for adults, $2 for ages 13-17, and free for ages 12 and under. The Old City Courtyard is located at 106 South Central Street in Knoxville, directly behind Southbound Bar & Grill and beside Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria. In the event of rain, the event will be moved inside the Southbound Bar & Grill.

“Journey Stories of Tennessee” is an event made possible by the joint efforts of James-Ben: Studio & Gallery Art Center, the Nathanael Greene Museum, and Niswonger Performing Arts Center. “Journey Stories of Tennessee” is a multimedia performance and art exhibition featuring the works of Tennessee artists and artisans, poets, songwriters and musicians presented by James-Ben: Studio & Gallery Art Center at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Greeneville, Tennessee. Viewing hours are Monday through Friday, June 29th through August 7th from 9:30 until 5:00. The Exhibition is an adjunct event of the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit "Journey Stories" making its Tennessee premiere at the Nathanael Greene Museum. The concept of both exhibits is to celebrate the restless soul of America and its fiercely independent citizens, pioneers, and settlers. The traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian sets a wonderful stage for this idea while telling of the national journeys that have shaped our country. “Journey Stories of Tennessee” presents a sharper focus on Tennessee and its people, past and present. Our state is in itself a place of movement from east to west and is still referred to as “the first frontier”. Its unique shape and geography have made it a crossroads from our country’s beginning, a major player in its “second Revolution” during the Civil War, and a contemporary haven for modern-day immigrants seeking to uncover roots or plant them in the Volunteer State. Ultimately the most appropriate description of the exhibit is of a multi-media event because it brings together not only painting and sculpture but poetry and performance art as well. The artists participating encompass Tennessee’s traditional three grand divisions, West, Middle, and East. From Terri Asbury come two intricate corn shuck sculptures, including a haunting tableau of The Trail of Tears. The late Lynn Olka will be represented by her story portraits of Davy Crockett and Andrew Johnson. Paintings are also the chosen medium of Steven Cline, Marie Merritt, and Medha Karandikar, who also is presenting a book merging drawings by her son and her own paintings. Caroline Blanks titled one of her “Journey Stories” paintings “Marianne”, from a doll dressed for travel handed down from her great grandmother shown sitting in an antique chair from Caroline’s great, great grandmother. In addition to one of her pyrographs, Michelle Howe is showing her painting “The Pour”, depicting her father’s 40 years work with U.S. Steel handling molten metal. Uniquely captured moments in photographs will be offered by Amanda Asbury, the celebrated Sam Bass, and local legend Bob Hurley. From mother and son Mary and Martin Brownlow, paintings on loan from the Nathanael Greene Museum as well as Martin’s study of a family wedding held on the grounds of the Andrew Johnson Homestead. For further information on the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit “Journey Stories” and a full list of adjunct events by 21 Greene County civic organizations visit the website calendar at www.nathanaelgreenemuseum.com. Historic Morgan Square, 129 North Main Street, Greeneville, TN 37743. Info: (423) 787-0195

Art Market Gallery of Knoxville will spotlight the work of the following member artists: paintings by Sandra Abraham and Four for Fiber, a group exhibit featuring the works of Pat Delashmit, Elaine Fronczek, Harriet Howell and Carol Pritcher. The gallery will host a First Friday Reception for the Featured Artists on July 2 from 5:30-9 p.m. with light refreshments and live music performed by Wes Lunsford, playing jazz and blues.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11AM-6PM; Sunday 1-5PM. For information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net

1st and 2nd Grades. We'll look over, under, through, and on top of everything we can find to discover how many tiny creatures exist at Ijams. Join us and become an expert at all things tiny. To register call Sarah Brobst, 865-577-4717, ext. 24 or e-mail: sbrobst@ijams.org.

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

Reception June 25, 6:30-8:30 PM. Open to all artists and is both juried and judged with 10 or more monetary prizes in 2-D and 3-D categories. This year’s show was judged and juried by Adam Alfrey, Curator of Exhibits for the East TN Historical Society, the McClung Historical Collection, and the Knoxville Public Library.

213 Hotel Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37918. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityart.com