Calendar of Events

The Knoxville Museum of Art presents Art by the Kids, For the Kids in the KMA Education Gallery. The exhibition showcases artworks created by the oncology and hematology patients of East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. Organized by University of Tennessee Dance Marathon, the exhibition is part of a year-long effort to raise funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer and other blood diseases. UTK’s Dance Marathon specifically benefits the oncology and hematology patients at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. For more information please visit activities.utk.edu/dance-marathon.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. For information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

Please join us for an afternoon of refreshments and fine art! Meet the artist, Wendy West, and see her show, “Then and Now: A Retrospective,” featuring her work in glass, pottery, and pastels at the Townsend Artisan Gallery from 4 to 6 pm on Saturday, August 13.

Townsend Artisan Gallery, 7277 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Townsend, TN 37882. Information: 865-448-8018, www.townsendartisangallery.com

Free and open to the public with an opening reception Friday, July 15, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; artists' talks at 7 p.m.

Carl Gombert, "Order" - Carl Gombert was born in Brimfield, Ohio in 1959. He started taking painting lessons at the age of 14 with money he earned delivering newspapers. He earned a BFA in Drawing from the University of Akron and an MFA in Painting from Kent State University. He worked as a stagehand before pursuing a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Fine Arts at Texas Tech University. He has exhibited in more than 150 shows throughout the country, and since 1993 has taught painting, drawing and art history at Maryville College in Tennessee.

Ricky Beene, "Salt of the Earth: The Petros Portraits"
Ricky Beene is a painter from Petros, Tennessee, a small town situated in the Cumberland Mountains. A native Appalachian and teacher by training, Ricky is a self-taught artist who works primarily in acrylics on gessoed hardboard. He has had previous exhibits at Carson Newman College, the Oak Ridge Art Center, and the Emporium Center in Knoxville. "For the last ten years I have been painting portraits of people from my home town in a series called Salt of the Earth:The Petros Portraits. These paintings, currently numbering near 150, depict a large cross-section of the people who live in Petros. I also have been working on a smaller series of brushed ink drawings that are called The Wide-Spot Suite. Together all these pieces represent a single vision of the people of our town. There is a shared bravery and trust poured into the making of these portraits, and I hope that they show something of the struggles and joys of life in a small Appalachian town".

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Gallery hours: Monday-Thursday 9AM-5PM; Friday 9AM-4:30PM; Sunday 9AM-1PM. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org

Korean artist Kwang-Young Chun (b. 1944) began work on his series of Aggregations in the 1990s. Today, he is recognized internationally for these sculptural forms. The basis of his work is individual, triangular, Styrofoam shapes. Individually, these shapes are minuscule. Taken together, however, their visual impact is immense. This concept of the aggregate is what drives Chun’s work.

The Styrofoam shapes are covered in Korean mulberry paper. In Korea, the paper is a mainstay and has many utilitarian uses from floor and window coverings to candy and medicinal wrappers. It also resonates with personal meaning for the artist, who recalls trips to an herbalist as a small child. Medicines wrapped in mulberry paper hung from the ceiling of the shop, the paper protecting the contents from dampness and insects.

Chun uses pages recycled from old books to cover the geometric forms. These pages are covered in Korean and Chinese characters, adding another layer of cultural and personal meaning. He hand ties the paper over each shape, twisting pages into string to complete the wrapping. In this way Chun is able to integrate traditional materials into a contemporary context.

There will be an exhibition preview party Thursday, June 9, 2011 from 5:30-7:30pm.
Curated by Susan Moldenhauer. Funded in part by the National Advisory Board of the UW Art Museum and the Wyoming Arts Council through the National Endowment for the Arts and the Wyoming State Legislature.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM; Friday, 10AM-8PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. For information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

Learn about the plants and animals that come out in the evening! Wear your walking shoes and let us guide you and your family through the Gardens during twilight.
Meet the Flowers - Tuesday, June 7, 6:30 p.m.
Explore your Senses - Tuesday, July 5, 6:30 p.m.
Taste Buds - Tuesday, August 2, 6:30 p.m.
Going on a Bug Hunt - Tuesday, September 6, 6:30 p.m.

Allowing guests to meet some of the zoo's favorite animals. Go behind-the-scenes to meet rhinos, giraffes, penguins, or tortoises. Have the opportunity to feed or even touch the animal. You'll also get to meet the animal's keeper and take a souvenir photo of you and your new friend! 10 person limit per session; $20 per person.

Tortoise Time - Saturdays at 11:00 AM
Penguin Party - Saturdays at 1:00 PM
Giraffe Gathering - Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 PM

Knoxville Zoo, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open every day except Christmas. Information: 865-637-5331, www.knoxville-zoo.org

Featuring nineteenth century Tennessee-made earthenware and stoneware
Tennessee Turned: Earthenware and Stoneware Made in East Tennessee 1800-1900 is a major exhibition of nineteenth-century pots made in East Tennessee. This once-in-a-lifetime grouping of more than 200 distinctive regional pieces will make for an unforgettable exploration of this chapter of Tennessee history.
“This pottery, of which we are justifiably proud, provides a unique link in the continuum of the American potting tradition as it spread across the United States.”

The exhibit will explore all aspects of nineteenth-century pottery production in East Tennessee, as well as featuring comparative examples from other parts of the state. Visitors will learn how to “read” a pot, how a pot was made in the nineteenth-century, the difference between earthenware and stoneware, and the importance of pottery for households.

On Friday, June 3, ETHS will host the Smoky Mountain Pottery Festival at the History Center for an opening reception, pottery demonstrations, and a viewing of the Tennessee Turned exhibit. Two special “Pottery Day” events to be held June 25 and September 17 will invite the public to bring in pottery objects they may have in their families for possible identification and to be documented photographically for historical purposes.

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: Monday-Friday: 9AM-4PM; Saturday: 10AM-4PM; Sunday: 1-5PM. For information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org

An exhibition of artworks by current workshop instructors that represents their most recent explorations or relates directly to the class they are currently teaching. The Instructor Exhibition augments classroom and studio experiences by providing examples of contemporary work by national and international visual artists. 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

Observe, investigate and experiment with fully functioning replicas of machines, structures and amusement park rides, when K'NEX: Building Thrill Rides at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.

Where does a Roller coaster car have the most Potential Energy and how is it converted to Kinetic Energy? This is just one of many questions that is answered in K'NEX: Building Thrill Rides, a special exhibition that captivates young visitors and provides them the opportunity to explore the science, math and technology behind hair-raising amusement park thrill rides.

There are 15 working thrill ride models, constructed solely from K'NEX rods and connectors, that combine the principles of geometry, physics, and mechanics. The realistic actions of the models bring scientific and engineering concepts to life for students, who can conduct simple experiments to explore physical forces such as potential and kinetic energy, and linear and rotational motion.

American Museum of Science & Energy, 300 S. Tulane Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Monday-Saturday 9AM-5PM; Sunday 1-5PM. For information: 865-576-3200, www.amse.org

Now in its fifth year, this world-class exhibition of 25 large-scale sculptures can be viewd in downtown Knoxville and the McGhee Tyson Airport. The 2011 exhibition juror will be John Henry and will feature up to 35 large-scale, outdoor sculptures. The selected sculptures will be exhibited in downtown Knoxville. For more information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com

History/Sightseeing, relaxing and enjoyable river cruises. Learn about area Civil War history, see beautiful homes and gardens with narration by the spirit of Sam Clemmons. Learn about early river steamboats that visited Knoxville. 90 minute trips Friday through Sunday at 3:00 and 5:15 plus Friday evening at 7:30. $16 Adult and $14 for children 5-11 with advanced paid reservations to 765-3407.

"Cold War Crisis: The U-2 Incident" exhibit details the story of Francis Gary Powers, a U-2 pilot flying photographic reconnaissance missions for the CIA. His plane was downed by a Soviet surface-to air missile on May 1, 1960 and he was convicted of being a spy and held in Russian prison until February 11, 1962, when he was dramatically exchanged for a Soviet spy in New York, in the first Cold War Spy exchange.

American Museum of Science & Energy, 300 S. Tulane Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Monday-Saturday 9AM-5PM; Sunday 1-5PM. For information: 865-576-3200, www.amse.org