Calendar of Events

Friday June 15, 6-9pm
Class Fee: $30 ($20 if you bring your own bisque-fired pot)
Class Maximum: 10 Students

Friday July 13, 6-9pm
Class Fee: $30 ($20 if you bring your own bisque-fired pot)
Class Maximum: 10 Students

All ages and experience levels are welcome to participate in this event. This is a fun family event. Kids love the Raku process. Or it could be a great ''date night'' event. Plus, you will be taking home a beautiful piece of art to decorate your home that you helped create! Hope to see you there! The $30 fee includes your choice of one handmade bisque piece, use of our studio raku glazes, glazing instruction and the firing. We do ask that participants stick to a three piece maximum per person to allow everyone a chance to fire their work in a timely manner. For more information about our Raku firings, visit our website.

http://www.mightymudclay.com/raku

Myth Adventures Performing Arts Day Camp
June 11-15 & 18-22 and July 9-13 & 16-20

Classes available for Ages 6-7, 8-10 and 11-14
Each week, campers will use various art forms to explore the stories of classic mythology; MYTH ADVENTURES will stimulate the imagination; encourage creativity and develop critical thinking.Working together to produce an original twist on a classic myth for performance at the end of each week will encourage teamwork, time management and development of social skills.
Our staff of professional teaching artists provide opportunities to explore ALL the arts bringing music, movement, theatre, play making, comedy improvisation and stagecraft to campers of all levels of experience from beginners through those who desire more challenges.
Early Registration through May 25, 2012
Tuition: $150 per week/camper
$175 per week/camper after May 25, 2012.
$50 deposit per week/camper
After care may be available at additional cost.
For more information and registration forms go to www.claytonartscenter.com or call 865-981-8589

Clayton Center for the Arts will have free Swing Dancing on the Plaza beginning Monday, June 4 and continuing June 11, 18 and 25 from 6:30-9:30 PM. Live dance music will be provided by Ensemble Swing Time.

Ensemble Swing Time has been a favorite at the Clayton Center for the Arts, playing to enthusiastic and full crowds in the Summer Music and Cozy Winter Nights Music Series. Executive Director Robert Hutchens and Jim Colegrove of Ensemble Swing Time put their heads together and decided Swing Dances would be fun and offer another opportunity for people to enjoy the band and the Outdoor Plaza at the Clayton Center.

Clayton Center for the Arts
www.claytonartscenter.com
502 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway
Maryville, TN

Athens Area Council for the Arts announces its upcoming exhibit “CLASSWORK: ADULT STUDENTS OF THE ARTS CENTER 2011-12”. Exhibit dates are June 8 – August 24, 2012. AACA has been offering classes in the visual and performing arts at The Arts Center for children and adults since opening in 2005. This exhibit is intended to showcase works by adult students who have taken classes in the past year. A variety of media has been taught by an impressive array of instructors, including this year’s instructors Sandy Brown (watercolors), Joy Merckson (acrylics and drawing), Billie Stevens (stained glass), and Andy Phipps (clay). Many of the students were beginners who had never had a course in their chosen medium, while others have taken many classes at The Arts Center and other venues. A sampling of their works that were either done in class or while taking a class will be on display to show the impact The Arts Center has had on their art. Landscapes, abstracts, portraits, and other subject matter will reveal the extent of their training, as some of the students had never picked up a paint brush before beginning classes here, while others enrolled to improve their skills and explore new directions.

The Arts Center invites you to view this exhibit and be as amazed and as proud as we are by the abundance of talent present in our community. The public, artists, family and friends are also invited to attend the opening reception on Tuesday, June 12, from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. The Arts Center instructors and many of the students will be on hand to talk about their experience and their art.

The Arts Center is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. For more information or directions, call (423) 745-8781 or visit our website at www.athensartscouncil.org. All programs of AACA are funded in part by the Tennessee Arts Commission.

Reception: June 8, 6:30-8:00 PM

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.com

The Knoxville Museum of Art presents Beverly Semmes: Starcraft June 8-September 9, 2012.

Semmes, a Brooklyn-based artist, is known internationally for her unique multi-media installations. She challenges the conventional definitions of craft and “women’s work” by creating completely non-functional pieces out of traditional materials such as fabric, clay and glass.

The KMA hosts a preview party Thursday, June 7, from 5:30-7:30pm. The party is free and open to the public and includes a cash bar. Semmes will host a gallery talk earlier that day at 4pm, and will attend the preview party as well.

The Knoxville Museum of Art is located in downtown Knoxville at 1050 World’s Fair Park and is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday 10 am–5 pm, and Sunday 1 pm-5 pm. Admission and parking are free. For more information, contact Angela Thomas at 865.934.2034 or visit www.knoxart.org.

Nikon Small World recognizes excellence in photomicrography, honoring images that successfully showcase the delicate balance between difficult scientific technique and exquisite artistic quality. Among this year's top five images, including the green lacewing larva, are a blade of grass, Melosira Moniliformis/living specimen; intrinsic flourescence in liverwort and a microchip surface/3D construction.

Additional information on this exhibition can be found at www.nikonsmallworld.com or follow the conversation on Facebook and Twitter@nikonsmallworld

The exhibit will run from June 1 through August 5, 2012.

The American Museum of Science and Energy, located at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge, is open Monday - Saturday from 9 am - 5 pm and Sunday 1 - 5 pm. Admission is Adults $5, Seniors (65+) $4, Students (6 - 17) $3 and Children (5 and under) no charge. For more information on AMSE memberships, exhibits, programs and events, visit www.amse.org To schedule a group visit, call AMSE at
(865) 576-3218.

The Frank H. McClung Museum will offer a new exhibit, "The Owl and the Woodpecker", which will introduce museum visitors to the most important species of owls and woodpeckers in North America, using spectacular photos, informative text, and evocative audio recordings to illustrate how these birds define and enrich the specific habitats on which they depend, and to highlight the critical importance of conserving those habitats.

"The Owl and the Woodpecker" is based on a book of the same title by Seattle photographer and author Paul Bannick, who is knkown for his intimate wildlife photography which supports environmental conservation efforts.

Frank H. McClung Museum, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9AM-5PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-974-2144, http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu

Knoxville Zoo offers one of only three chances to experience the zoo’s Close Encounters of the Wild Kind program this summer. Close Encounters of the Wild Kind gives visitors the chance to take an intimate behind-the-scenes tour and meet some high profile residents at Knoxville Zoo. Visitors can go off the beaten path to meet giraffes, penguins, or giant Aldabra tortoises during these special encounters. They also have the opportunity to touch or feed their new animal friend, talk with their keepers to learn about them and take a souvenir photo of their personal introduction. This Saturday, June 23rd, as well as Saturday, July 28th, and Saturday, September 1st, three different animal encounters will be offered; Giraffe Gatherings, where visitors can offer Jumbe, Lucille and Patches a leafy treat at 11:00 a.m., the Penguin Party which includes
a special appearance by Gypsy or Jello penguin at 1:00 p.m. and Tortoise Time, an encounter with loveable giant Aldabra tortoises Al, Stand-Up and Patches at 2:30 p.m.
Reservations are required for Close Encounters of the Wild Kind and can be scheduled by calling the zoo’s ticket office at (865) 637-5331, extension 361 or at the zoo’s ticket window upon arrival to the zoo. Each Close Encounter session is $20 per person, or $50 per person for all three encounters and reservations for each session are limited. Advanced reservations are highly recommended. General admission to Knoxville Zoo is not included in the price of each Close Encounter ticket.

Bliss Home will feature Stacey Fletcher for June's First Friday. A reception will be held at Bliss Home, 29 Market Square, from 6 to 9 p.m., Friday June 1st.

Stacey Fletcher hails from Georgia where earned her B.F.A. from Valdosta University. Stacey then moved to Knoxville, where she currently resides, to earn her M.F.A. Stacey is a cathartic painter, and her paintings illustrate her emotions and frustrations. Her current paintings are more energetic and playful, because her new source of inspiration, her baby Kable Grey, causes her to paint with more color and vibrancy. Stacey has shown her work nationally and internationally.

Stacey's new colorful exhibit is viewable beginning June 1st and will remain through the end of the month.

For more information, please contact Scott at info@shopinbliss.com

“Out of the Frame, Off the Wall”
Gallery 1010, 113 South Gay Street, Knoxville, Tennessee
Opening Friday June 1st 6-9pm

“Out of the Frame, Off the Wall” will exhibit artists whose work utilizes non-traditional forms of display that do not easily exist within the frame, or are of a sculptural nature, to create oversized or three-dimensional works of art. Each artist translated the use of paper in a unique way, and the exhibition will include: paper-casting, book-works, layered paper with cut-outs, 3D computer modeling, a wooden wheel that prints, preserved specimens, sewn paper, 3D optical images, matchboxes, and box designs.

“Out of the Frame, Off the Wall” integrates the print and paper work of University of Tennessee artists with international artists from Wales, Canada, and Mexico, as well as artists throughout the United States including New York, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Minnesota, Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. Curated by UTK Students Jennifer Scheuer, Allison Olmstead and Katie Woodby, the show was inspired by the curators’ interest in celebrating the three-dimensional construction of graphic works.

For further information or additional images please contact Jennifer Scheuer at jenscheuer@yahoo.com or by phone 320-333-0866.

Evelyn Bryant and Sharon Webb, both artists with the Townsend Artisan Guild will show their work in the Denso Gallery at the Clayton Center for the Arts the month of June. The Gallery is open 9-6 Monday through Friday. Bryant and Webb will be showing pieces inspired by their love of the Smoky Mountains. There will be a reception during Last Friday Art Walk from 5-8 pm.

Bryant’s sculptures represent the beauty and struggle of the mountains. She does stylized sculpture and enhances her work by making her own glazes and using Raku firing which adds more texture and indigenous colors found in the mountains. Bryant says, “ My work continues to change and mature as I learn new methods.” Some of her works include large mixed media ponies and Native Americans.

Webb is a wildlife and nature inspired artist in both sculpting and painting. Growing up in East Tennessee helped shape her artistic direction. Her goal with each sculpture is to express the feeling and presence of the animal while capturing a moment frozen in time. Some of her sculpture portrays the tension between wildlife and the viewer. A quirk of the head, an attitude or a glint in the eye gives life to the form and makes the sculpture realistic and appealing. “When I am hiking the trails of the Smoky Mountains or on a family camping trip, the artist in me is always on the alert for new inspiration.” says the artist.

Townsend Artisan Guild brings working professional fine artists and fine craftsmen together in Blount, Sevier, Knox, Sullivan and more Counties of East Tennessee. www.townsendartisanguild.net

Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Info: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com