Calendar of Events

A show with works by former Knox County art instructors: Charles “Chico” Osten, Suzanne Jack, Sue W. Lane, Christine Harness, Judy Jorden, Rikki Taylor, and Owen Weston. Rikki specializes in some of the best decorative pottery anywhere in the United States. The rest of the magnificent seven will be showing works in oils, watercolors, mixed media, and in Owen’s case, stunning nature photography.

Simultaneously showing at the Art Center will be transparent watercolors by the art students of Mary Baumgartner’s Wonderful World of Watercolor and handmade books by the students of Bob Meadows.

Exhibit Reception - August 16, 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 Art Market Gallery will present a special memorial exhibition in celebration of East Tennessee’s history and in conjunction with the East Tennessee History Center’s History Fair on August 17. This show will display several works by Patricia Sprouls, who passed away in 2011 at the age of 90. One of the first members of the Art Market, she was well known in the Knoxville area for creating complex but delicate watercolor and pen-and-ink paintings illustrating local historic buildings replete with people of that time period.

Patricia Sprouls was born in The Bronx, NY, moving for health reasons to the Isle of Capri with her mother and sister as a young child. She spoke four languages: English, Spanish at home and German and Italian while in Italy. She remained fluent in Italian into her later years. A lifelong fine-art career began under her mother’s tutelage. She was awarded "Best Foreign Art Student" in all of Italy, winning a full four-year scholarship to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Naples. Trapped there during World War II, and surviving their apartment’s bombing in an air raid shelter, Patricia and her family never gave up hope and were able to return to the United States in 1947. She married in 1948, raised a family in New Jersey, and continued her art career. She exhibited in New York City, and in New Jersey, where she was president of the state chapter of the American Artists Professional League, a board member of that national organization, and a past instructor at the Ridgewood Art Institute of New Jersey, considered one of the nation’s best community art associations. Also serving on the board of the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club in New York City, Patricia Sprouls was one of the first women to become a member of the exclusive and prestigious Salmagundi Club in New York City, the nation’s oldest art club. She exhibited in many national shows and had several solo shows in the metropolitan area. Moving with her husband Joe to Tennessee and settling in Norris in 1987, she continued painting with local art groups and, five years after its establishment for the 1982 World’s Fair, was juried into The Art Market Gallery, where her work was shown for more than 20 years.

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

The play is a fun and rollicking adaptation of the classic novel by Mark Twain. When Tom and his best friend Huck witness a violent crime committed by Injun Joe, they flee their hometown of St. Petersburg, Missouri and hide out on an island in the Mississippi River. Injun Joe escapes capture by the authorities, and the boys fear for their safety. How Tom and Huck become heroes after a thrilling chase in the caves below town is a thrilling and funny ride to the final curtain.

Friday 8/16 at 7 PM, Saturday 8/17 at 1 PM & 5 PM, Sunday 8/18 at 3 PM
Thursday 8/22 at 7 PM, Friday 8/23 at 7 PM, Saturday 8/24 at 1 PM & 5 PM, Sunday 8/25 at 3 PM
Thursday 8/29 at 7 PM, Friday 8/30 at 7 PM, Saturday 8/31 at 1 PM & 5 PM

TICKET PRICES: $12. SPECIAL RATE: Any adult & Child entering together = $10 each

Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-599-5284, www.childrenstheatreknoxville.com. Reservations: tickets@childrenstheatreknoxville.com

The Summer Movie Magic Series has arrived!

The Godfather Part II: Friday, August 16 at 8 p.m. & Sunday, August 18 at 2 p.m.
National Lampoon's Animal House: Friday, August 23 at 8 p.m. & Sunday, August 25 at 2 p.m.

Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information: 865-684-1200, www.tennesseetheatre.com.

Fox has Idol. NBC has The Voice. Athens has The Arts Center. Countless local musicians have started their careers on The Arts Center stage – who will be the next regional star? Area musicians are invited to perform at our Open Mic on August 16th, during which the audience and a panel of judges will vote to decide the top three acts. Those top three acts will then be considered for a featured show in the House Blend Concert Series, which means the chance to headline a concert in our area’s one-of-a-kind music hall.

Admission to the Open Mic on Friday, August 16th is free! If you haven’t seen a concert in The Arts Center’s Black Box Theatre, you are missing out on the best music venue in our area. Come to the Open Mic to experience a night of local music in an intimate, world-class setting – plus you’ll get to cast a vote to decide which three acts will be considered for a headlining gig in the House Blend Concert Series.

The Open Mic is in The Sue E. Trotter Black Box Theater at The Arts Center. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Seating is general admission and concessions are available for purchase. To learn more about this event and our other arts programs visit www.athensartscouncil.org, call 745-8781, or drop by The Arts Center at
320 North White Street, Athens, Tennessee.

(Recommended for Adults) Join us for an evening of refreshing summer sangrias as we mix up tasty, fresh-from-the-garden wine cocktails. We'll select season fruit and herbs to create a variety of sangria cocktails with different wines. What better way to get a little summer refreshment than a fresh wine punch? The fee for this program is $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Pre-payment is required for this program in order to guarantee materials. Please call (865) 577-4717, ext. 130 for payment and registration.

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Grounds and trails open during daylight hours. Call for Visitor Center hours. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

Freckle In My Eye is a one-woman show written and performed by Ashley Wilkerson. Freckle is the poignant, shocking and sometimes humorous story of Shesee Jones, a young woman living on Texas’ Death Row. Lisa Becky Kelly Pierce, an over-imaginative little girl; Madame CJ, a flamboyant beer and wine distributor and Lil Crazy, a volatile teenage boy are only a few of the characters that inhabit Wilkerson as she takes the audience careening through this provocative journey. The stories and voices of the incarcerated are mostly silenced by the very act of incarceration. Rarely do we get an opportunity to hear about the personal lives of prisoners, where they come from or the set of circumstances that resulted in their incarceration. Freckle humanizes both crime victims and those incarcerated through telling a story about the life of a deprived young woman’s struggle to survive.

Price- $15 advance (via www.KnoxTIX.com), $20 at the door
At "My Place" Performing Arts, 734 N. Hall of Fame Drive, Knoxville, TN 37917; Phone: 865-898-4604

Information: 865-544-0447, www.carpetbagtheatre.org

Representatives from the Tennessee State Library and Archives and the Tennessee State Museum will be in Knoxville to record and digitize Civil War memorabilia owned by local residents for an exhibit titled “Looking Back: The Civil War in Tennessee.” Archivists will be at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, in Knoxville on August 15th from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and August 16th from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. During that time, they invite area residents to bring in original photographs, documents, and other artifacts related to the Civil War. The archivists will scan or take digital photographs of the materials, some of which will be featured in the exhibit, located online at www.tncivilwar150.org. The archivists will not actually take possession of the items from their owners. Individuals may call (615) 741-1883 or e-mail civilwar.tsla@tn.gov to schedule a reservation with the archivists. Reservation forms and available times may be found on the State Library and Archives’ section of the Office of the Secretary of State web site at http://tn.gov/tsla/cwtn/cwtn_events.htm.

Attendees at the event will receive copies of the digital photographs and tips on how to preserve their Civil War memorabilia. Archivists plan to visit as many of Tennessee’s 95 counties as possible in search of material for the exhibit, which commemorates the Civil War’s 150th anniversary.

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org

People's Choice Exhibit at the Denso Gallery
Reception on September 27, 5-8 PM

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

Javier began photography years ago as a hobby; however, it quickly turned into a passion that he has pursued with ambition and talent. Much of Javier's work draws inspiration from nature, showcasing the beauty and wonder in a world that often goes by unnoticed. His photography has been featured at The Frist Center, Palette Gallery, Fire Hall Gallery, Williamson County Library, Cheekwood Museum, Knoxville Museum of Art, and other group shows throughout Nashville.

Gallery hours: M-F 10-5. HoLa Hora Latina: 865-335-3358, www.holafestival.org

Recent works by potter Linda Sullivan of Oak Ridge and paintings by Linda Johnson of Loudon will be featured during the month of August at the Art Market Gallery in downtown Knoxville.

Linda Sullivan, who received her MFA in Ceramics from Northern Illinois University, will exhibit recent clay pieces. She likes to alternate between making wheel-thrown and hand-formed stoneware and porcelain work, and fires both types to 2300 degrees in electric kilns to achieve a clean, bright look.

On a whim, Linda Johnson took a painting class 12 years ago while living in California, and has continued learning at workshops around the country. It was a natural fit for someone who likes working with her hands, from gardening to cooking. “I fell deeply in love with expressing myself through the vibrant colors, delicate lines and curves of flowers in God’s magnificent world about us,” she says. Her medium is watercolors and her preferred subject matter children and flowers. She belongs to the Tennessee Watercolor Society, Southern Watercolor Society and the Tellico Village Art Guild.

An opening reception for the exhibit will be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m., Friday, Aug. 2, during Knoxville’s monthly First Friday Art Walk. There will be complimentary refreshments and easy-listening American music and vocals in a Southern style by Elijah Harris on guitar and drums, and many member artists will be on hand to meet and mingle with patrons.

Owned and operated by more than 60 professional regional artists who also run the gallery, the Art Market is located at 422 South Gay St., a few doors away from Mast General Store, and next to the Downtown Grill & Brewery. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, and 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday. The gallery is handicapped accessible and parking in the abutting garage is free after 6 p.m. and on weekends. For more information, call 865-525-5265, or visit artmarketgallery.net, or facebook.com/Art.Market.Gallery.

Bliss Home is pleased to present Knoxville artist, Erika Smith, for August's First Friday. Bliss Home, located at 29 Market Square, will host an opening reception on Friday, August 2nd from 6pm to 9pm. Complimentary Steamboat Sandwiches will be provided and Erika's art will be featured the whole month of August.

Erika's mixed media collage style has been largely self-taught and inspired by the world around her. She sees the appeal of not only the typical sense of beauty, but the life and splendor in decay as well. One man’s trash is Erika’s treasure, as she can be found rooting through the discarded to incorporate antique photos and paint with broken glass, rusty nails, cast away doll parts, and a myriad of elements that seem unnatural but work so well together with Erika’s touch.

Bliss Home 29 Market Square Knoxville, TN 37902