Calendar of Events

Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders are more evident in our society than ever, with an annual growth rate of 10-17% accounting for as many as 1 of 70 boys and 1 of 110 girls. For families and caregivers, the diagnosis can mean a significant change in lifestyle and personal outlook. Knox County Public Library is pleased to partner with three authors of a new book, I might be … you, to present a monthly series on Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders. The series, which begins Monday, August 15 at 6:00 p.m. at Lawson McGhee Library, 500 W. Church Ave, is designed specifically for caregivers, families, educators, and practitioners. Each session will include three 30-minute presentations given by each author, who has a different view of Autism: a parent, a woman diagnosed with Autism, and a practitioner. Refreshments will be served, and there will be time for a brief question and answer period at the end of each program. The series is free and open to the public. For more information, please call (865) 215-8767.

Schedule and Program:
The A Word: What is Autism? August 15
“Inside Autism” Mary Donnet Johnson
An experiential exploration that offers novel ways to understand both the challenges and strengths of people with autism through the use of interactive props and exercises.

“Justice for All” Barb Rentenbach
I am not here to convince you that I am here. I am here that you may hear, “I might be…you.”

“What We Know from Those We Know” Lois Prislovsky, Ph.D.
Practical implications for parents, teachers, practitioners and those who struggle with ASD. Rethinking roles, expectations, intervention strategies, and empowerment.

The Diagnosis - September 19
“Learning to Breathe Again (Resilient Reactions to a Serious Diagnosis)” Mary Donnet Johnson
Find the flipside of challenges and create true happiness out of even the darkest moments. Learn how to get back in touch with your own precious life force and joy. Breathe. Laugh. Discover new coping techniques in an instant that can last for a lifetime.

“Purpose and Perseverence” Barb Rentenbach.
Know your part. Be your part. Play your part with pride and conviction. Hold your head up and project your voice.

“Transitioning from Overwhelmed to Overcome to Overabundance – Training for the Triathlon of Parenting a Child with ASD” Lois Prislovsky, Ph.D.
Exercises and discussions promoting self care to maximize the mind-body connection to improve stamina, the immune system, relationships, alertness, joy, and overall
quality of life while decreasing anxiety and depression.

Your Team -- October 17
“Make Every Team an A-Team” Mary Donnet Johnson
When working with a child with special needs, even the most well-intentioned team can become divisive and ineffectual. Yet, within every challenge there is almost always an opportunity to build and/or re-energize a team and boost a child.

“Teacher, please” Barb Rentenbach
An insider’s perspectives on the dos and please don’ts of teaching students with autism

“Treat Me” Lois Prislovsky, Ph.D.
Encouraging psychologists and other practitioners to adapt best practices for ASD treatments that include transparency, accountability, mental freshness,
humility, and collaborative equality with families and individuals with ASD (empowering parents to be more informed psychoeducational consumers).

Life Everlasting -- November 21
“Here Come Hormones!" Mary Johnson
Coping with a Teen on the Autism Spectrum” Mary Donnet Johnson
Eating, sleeping, privacy, self care, exercise, self-image, social life, age-appropriate activities, aggression, meds, and backtalk (even from nonverbal children). Learn how you can guide your child with autism through the agony of adolescence and live to tell the tale.

“Connection” Barb Rentenbach
Overcoming communication, behavioral, and isolation difficulties – a plan for living with autism and everyone else.

“Finding Purpose Through Service Evaporates Isolation” Lois Prislovsky, Ph.D.
Pity is not empowering. Let it go. Connecting with individuals with ASD to help them visualize and actualize their highest potential. Non-patronizing, respectful approaches to communication, motivation, and goal setting are highlighted.

Details TBA

Located at 800 Tyson Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-599-5284, www.childrenstheatreknoxville.com, info@childrenstheatreknoxville.com.

Booder Barnes is the featured artist this month at Union Avenue Books. There will be a reception on Friday, August 5, at the bookstore 5-9pm. His work will be on display through the end of the month.

517 Union Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902. 865-951-2180

“Enlightenment”, a juried exhibition developed to allow regional artists to compete and display work at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville. The exhibition is hosted by the Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville and coordinated by Carole Truelove and Shawn Kincaid with juror Mark Hall of Maryville College. The selected art will feature contemporary 2- and 3-dimensional artwork that is spiritual, metaphysical, or energy-based. A reception and presentation of awards takes place on First Friday, August 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM.

Bliss Home will feature Ryan Blair for August’s First Friday. A reception will be held at Bliss Home, 29 Market Square, from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, August 5. Blair not only devotes his time to painting on his own, but also teaching. “When not in the studio, he teaches art full time to 650 local elementary students.” His inspiration comes from the imagery of Tennessee. Living in the foothills of East Tennessee provides some of the best shapes and colors to mirror in his work. He pulls from adventures such as exploring the local mountain sides, streams or paddling his canoe.

24 Market Square, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: anne@shopinbliss.com, 865-216-1237, www.shopinbliss.com, www.ryanblairart.com

First Friday, August 5, 6:00-9:00 PM featuring local artist, Kelle Jolly
Images will be available for viewing all month.

Through social media, I invited friends to share stories of being "uprooted". These images and stories were full of emotions, like hurt and despair. But feelings of relief and gratefulness were also clear. I listened to these stories and allowed my mind to wrap itself around the feeling. And soon, the images grew from hands into shapes and forms of mesh and fabric. I decided to use wire mesh and plastic mesh because the loose ends resemble the wild roots of uprooted trees. Semi-transparent, wire mesh is the perfect canvas for weaving images. It gave me the option of adding to the surface by painting directly on it or adding materials by hand-sewing through it. A music composition was created with the stories that were left by voice mail. The recordings of the stories encourage the viewer to continually explore the feeling of being uprooted.

Kelle Jolly is an artist, actress, designer, educator and musician. She has created all of her life. "My earliest memories are of cutting up my baby clothes, to make doll clothes.", she says. Kelle enjoys using her hands to manipulate fabric, especially. In 2011, she was awarded the EMERGING ARTIST AWARD by the Dogwood Arts Festival for her line of wearable art "SUSHI DRESSES". Finding ways to combine her talents of designing, sewing and performing keep her motivated. Kelle says, "I want my memories to documented through the art I create."

URBhana, 115 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-951-5454, www.urbhana.com

The Tennessee Reiki Connection is pleased to present “Enlightenment”, A Metaphysical, Spiritual and Energy Art Show and Holistic Fair hosted by the Arts & Culture Alliance at the Emporium Center, opening Friday, August 5, at 5:00 PM in the main gallery of the Emporium Center. Twenty artists will showcase works in the following media: encaustic, steel, clay, mixed media, acrylic, watercolor, colored pencil, photography, digital art, and more as juried by Mark Hall, Professor of Art at Maryville College. All works were created within the past two years and will be available for purchase. The mission of the Tennessee Reiki Connection is to promote Reiki within their communities and to be a resource and support for Reiki Practitioners of all lineages and schools. For more information on TRC, visit www.tennesseereikiconnection.com.

The First Friday reception on August 5 will feature holistic healers demonstrating their healing modality free of charge, drumming, belly dancing, acoustic guitar, and more.

“Enlightenment” will be displayed in the main gallery of the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, from August 5-26, 2011. An opening reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on August 5 from 5:00-9:00 PM with complimentary hors d’oeuvres. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, August 6, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. For more information: 865-523-7543, www.knoxalliance.com

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a new exhibition of mixed media works by local artist Diana Rogers on the north side of the Balcony at the Emporium Center. The exhibition is essentially a public diary of current events, popular culture, and personal nostalgia that have served as sources of inspiration to Rogers, whose nearly 30 works will include watercolor, acrylic, pencil, and India ink. “In much the same way that a Facebook user posts status updates to a profile to create a personal news feed, the pieces in this exhibition became a way for me to document my day-to-day life and catalog my personal interests,” says Rogers. “Social media influenced both my choice of subject matter and the manner in which I presented the work.”

Knoxville native Diana Rogers is a graduate of Mars Hill College in North Carolina and holds a BA in Studio Art and English. In addition, she has furthered her studies in a variety of subjects, including drawing, photography and printmaking at Penland School of Crafts, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and Shakerag. Rogers operates a shop on Etsy.com where she sells small prints, paper goods, and the occasional piece of original art. She also maintains a blog where she chronicles her artistic endeavors, baking exploits, gardening misadventures, and keeps track of the movies and television shows she watches. Locally, Rogers has exhibited at Tomato Head, Bliss Home, Marble Slab Creamery, and The Birdhouse. For more information on Diana Rogers, visit her web site at www.howlwithme.com.

“A Day in the Life: Observations & Obsessions” will be displayed in the Balcony at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street. An opening reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on August 5 from 5:00-9:00 PM with complimentary hors d’oeuvres. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, August 6, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. For more information: 865-523-7543, www.knoxalliance.com.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a new exhibition of more than 40 watercolors, oils, and acrylics by the O’Connor Senior Center Painters entitled “Painted Memories”, opening Friday, August 5, at 5:00 PM in the Balcony of the Emporium Center. Twelve artists from the O’Connor Painters will display work in this exhibition. Each Wednesday, the O’Connor Painters meet at the O’Connor Senior Center to learn, work, and share under the tutelage of local artist Ann Birdwell, who teaches watercolors, oils, and acrylics. For several of the O’Connor Painters, attending class and seeing their work come to life from a blank canvas is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Others have come to class to refine their technique and to learn from Ms. Birdwell while sharing life experiences with the group. Fall painting classes at the O’Connor Senior Center will begin on Wednesday, September 7, and continue for 10 weeks. Please call 865-523-1135 for class information and to register.

“Painted Memories” will be displayed in the Balcony at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street. An opening reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on August 5 from 5:00-9:00 PM with complimentary hors d’oeuvres. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, August 6, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. For more information: 865-523-7543, www.knoxalliance.com.

A mural featuring pre-Columbian art and Mayans, Incas, Aztecs, and Cherokee art. Featuring work by Bogachan Akyildiz, Cristina Cox, Stephanie Steren-Ruta, Harley Diamond, Natalia Velasquez, Carlos Bermudez, and more. Opening August 5, 5:00-9:00 PM in the offices of HoLa Hora at the Emporium, 100 S. Gay Street, Suite 109, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: dinaruta@gmail.com; 865-335-3358, www.holafestival.org

Knoxville artist Joe Letitia will open his mixed media works show at the Clayton Center for the Arts. Didymus is inspired by Caravaggio’s painting of The Doubting Thomas. The artist’s process begins with a clear and singular image, which is a symbol of an action. The works are made by the repeated replication of this core image. In some works, the gesture is isolated and in some pieces, there are many layers with transparent glazes painted over them to push each layer back, creating a deeper sense of depth and space. Other paintings focus more on the negative space and shapes, as well as the fragments created by the intersecting lines of the images. The works include, oil on canvas, painting on paper, silk screen and ceramic. The artist has included scripture in reference and inspiration to his paintings including John 20:24-25.

Joe Letitia lives and works in Knoxville, Tenn. He received his Master of Fine Arts in painting and printmaking from the Yale University School of Art. Letitia has received several awards and grants to pursue his work, most notably the Biennial Grant from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation. Mr. Letitia teaches Art at Webb School.

An Artist reception will be held August 26 6-8 PM. The Blackberry Farm Gallery is open 10-5 daily and during Clayton Center for the Arts events.

In the Blackberry Farm Gallery of the Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Hours: M-F 10-5. Information: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

Opening reception on July 22, 6:30-8:30 PM. Also showing oils by the students of Aurora Harrison Bull.

Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 9AM-5PM; Wednesday & Friday, 10AM-5PM; Saturday, 9AM-1PM. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartctr.org