Calendar of Events

Alan Moore will be on view at the downtown Knoxville Tomato Head Restaurant from September 8th thru October 4th. He will then exhibit at the West Knoxville Gallery Tomato Head from October 7th thru November 3rd.

The Moores have recently embarked on their most ambitious exhibit schedule to date. Over 100 pieces of the Moore’s southern-fried folk art will be on display in three states over the next five months. Alan and his daughters Isabella (age 13) and Emma (age 11) have been creating their iconic bottle cap fish for their junk art tour they call “Catch!” – inspired by their two home states of Florida and Colorado. Recently the Moore’s went “paintless” in their folk art bringing all the color to their work through the medium of vintage soda/beer cans and bottle caps. The Moore’s new palette includes over 4000 soda and beer cans to choose from, all dating back to the 1960s and 1970s. Their studio also boasts of having over 60,000 neatly organized bottle caps-vintage and modern, domestic and international. It is not rare for Alan or one of the girls to make a fish with caps and cans from Germany, Russia, Canada, Thailand, S. Korea, the US and several other countries.

Tomato Head: 12 Market Square, Knoxville, 865-637-4067, www.thetomatohead.com

It is our immense pleasure to invite the community to the next First Friday Art Opening at the Blount Mansion Visitors Center. We are privileged to have acquired many wonderful pieces over the years, and now we are going to display them for our visitors. This exhibit will showcase some of the best art that the Blount Mansion Association has collected since 1926. These prints and portraits help to make the house truly an amazing experience and help to tell the story of Knoxville, Tennessee, and the United States. The show will include portraits of some of our most famous Tennesseans, such as Territorial Governor William Blount and his half-brother, Tennessee Governor Willie Blount, as well as Charles McClung and John Sevier. Visitors will also see great historical figures such as George Washington, Henry Knox, and Louis Philippe, King of France. Knoxville’s prominent citizens are featured here as well, with portraits of Charles McClung and Mary Boyce Temple. There is also a set of three John Catesby prints and other decorative pieces that will showcase the breadth of the collection here at the Governor’s House.

As part of the First Friday, the opening reception will be from 5:00 to 7:00 on Friday September 5th here at the Blount Mansion Visitors Center at 200 West Hill Avenue in Knoxville. There will be beverages and light refreshments available. This is a free event and all are welcome. Please come and enjoy the event and have fun!

info@blountmansion.org (865) 525-2375

Recent works by painter Victoria Simmons of Knoxville and jeweler Sissy Caldwell of Maryville will be on display at the Art Market Gallery for the month of September. An opening reception for this featured exhibition will be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Sept. 5, during Downtown Knoxville’s monthly First Friday Art Walk. There will be complimentary refreshments and live music by the Accidentals.

Victoria Simmons is an award-winning artist whose works are in private collections throughout the United States and abroad. Besides two solo exhibitions, her paintings have been juried into many regional and national shows. A long-time hiker and birdwatcher, Victoria has spent most of her life creating images from nature. Although dogs and horses remain her favorite subjects, she loves painting animals of all kinds, and wildlife and birds of the Smokies will be featured for this show.

Soon after retiring as an executive from TVA, Sissy Caldwell discovered a bead shop with exquisite seed beads and crystals that could be stitched into jewelry. Always having sewn and done embroidery, quilting, crocheting, and knitting, she took classes in off-loom bead weaving, andFeatherbells jewelry was born. Sissy’s artistic signature is a blend of various jewelry-making techniques, such as off-loom bead weaving with precious metal clay or glass, in order to create distinctive jewelry and gifts.

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

Event price per seat: $35

+ Wednesday, Sept. 3: Pink Path @ Don Pablo's
+ Wednesday, Sept. 10: Two Olives @ Armada
+ Monday, Sept. 15: Teacups @ Calhoun's Maryville
+ Wednesday, Sept. 17: Dragonfly @ Doc's All American Grille
+ Thursday, Sept. 18: Glass Half Happy @ Seasons
+ Monday, Sept. 22: Starry Night @ Crown and Goose
+ Tuesday, Sept. 23: Filtered Light @ Mimi's Cafe
+ Wednesday, Sept. 24: Sea Turtles @ Latitude 35
+ Tuesday, Sept. 30: Tuscan Valley @ Original Copper Cellar

Wine and Canvas: Wine and Canvas Knoxville LLC, 143 Manor Way, Suite J, Louisville, TN 37777, www.wineandcanvas.com/knoxville-tn.html

Now through November 30, 2014, visitors to the Museum of East Tennessee History will have an opportunity to view special items associated with the “Freedom Engine,” a tribute gift from East Tennesseans to New York City following the events of September 11, 2001. East Tennesseans contributed more than $940,000 to purchase and equip a 95-foot tower ladder truck for Harlem-based Ladder Company 14, helping the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) replenish the largest vehicles in the city's firefighting fleet. The so-called "Freedom Engine," went into service during March 2002 and was dedicated on September 11th of that year.

FDNY typically retires their trucks from regular service after about 10 years. The Freedom Engine went into reserve status in 2013. Upon retirement, several artifacts associated with the truck, including a bucket door, captain's helmet, memorial plaque from the people of East Tennessee, and a presentation plaque containing a piece of World Trade Center metal, were returned to East Tennessee and donated to the East Tennessee Historical Society. These items are currently on display through November 30, 2014, at the Museum of East Tennessee History, along with a video about the project. You may view the exhibit and artifacts online at the ETHS website at www.easttnhistory.org/exhibits/freedom-engine.

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: Monday-Friday: 9AM-4PM, Saturday: 10AM-4PM, Sunday: 1-5PM. Library: Monday-Tuesday: 9AM-8:30PM, Wednesday-Friday: 9AM-5:30PM, Saturday: 9AM-5PM, Sunday 1-5PM. Information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org

The Omega Gallery at Carson-Newman University presents re[creation], a solo exhibit by 1995 Art major alum Jan Bridwell Walker, who is now an Instructor of Art at Anderson University in South Carolina.

Closing Day Reception: Homecoming Saturday, October 25, 9:30AM-Noon.
The Omega Gallery at Carson University, Warren Art Bldg, corner of Branner St. and South College St, Jefferson City, TN 37760

The UT Office of the Vice President for Diversity is sponsoring this event as part of its engagement with the Latino community. Featuring works by Susana Esrequis, Silvia Calzadilla, Luis E. Velazquez, Dina Ruta, Hector Salvidar, Jorge Yances, and Antuco Chicaiza.

Opening Sept 11, 5:00-8:00 PM

UT Black Cultural Center, 1800 Melrose Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37996
Gallery hours: Mon-Fri 9 AM - 8 PM

The Exhibition in the main gallery is free and open to the public and includes 38 figurative sculptural works from Presenting and Invited Artists of the Figurative Association: The Human Form symposium, from September 10-13. Presenting artists: Robert Brady, Christina Cordova, Susan Hagen, Doug Jeck, Kris Kuksi, Elizabeth Higgins O’Connor, Bob Trotman, Christina West, Thaddeus Erdahl, Dustin Farnsworth. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Info: 865-436-5860 or www.arrowmont.org.

The Town of Farragut Arts Council presents Jackie Beckner as the featured artist for August and September. Located at the Farragut Town Hall, her exhibit features handmade sewing creations.

A Knoxville native, Beckner acquired her love of sewing from watching and learning from her mother as a child. When she became a mother, she made clothes for her two daughters, including prom dresses and eventually even a wedding dress. Today, Beckner enjoys sewing children's clothes, purses and other handmade items which she sells to raise funds for missions trips to Haiti. She volunteers with the One Vision International Children's Home in Haiti to teach girls the simple skill of sewing so they will have a means to provide for a family when they age out of the orphanage. Beckner is employed by the Knox County Public Building Authority.

Each month, the work of an artist or group of artists is featured in specially designed cases on the second floor of the rotunda in the Farragut Town Hall. For more information about this exhibit or to access a Featured Artist of the Month application, please contact Lauren Cox at lauren.cox@townoffarragut.org or 966-7057 or visit www.townoffarragut.org/artsandculture.

The Farragut Town Hall is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 11408 Municipal Center Drive directly across from the Farragut Branch Post Office.

This year, events get under way with the inaugural art exhibit at the Blount County Campus: “Quantum Confusion,” featuring the mind-bending artwork of Denise Stewart-Sanabria. The show runs Aug. 18-Oct. 18. The art will be on display in the lobby of the campus, 2731 W. Lamar Alexander Pkwy., during normal business hours, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. each weekday.

The exhibit will feature installations of large charcoal drawings on plywood that suggest the presence of portals, using existing walls and building spaces. Visitors and students will walk through the installation when they visit the Blount County Campus.

Exhibit Reception at Blount County Campus/Pellissippi State on Thursday, September 25 at 5:00pm

For more information about these and other events in the 2014-2015 Arts at Pellissippi State series, visit www.pstcc.edu/arts or call (865) 694-6400. To request accommodations for a disability, contact the executive director of Human Resources at (865) 694-6607 or humanresources@pstcc.edu.

Wednesday March 26, 2014 - Bob Patterson, Director of the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center and Don M. Alexander, Cades Cove Heritage Tour Manager announced the 2014 Cades Cove Heritage Tours schedule of specialty tours.

Advance reservations are required.
Limit of 17 guests per tour.
Call 865-448-8838 for reservations.

Randy McGinnis, Native American expert and Grammy nominated flutist will be your guide through the GSM National Park on your way to Cherokee, North Carolina for a fun and fact filled day learning all about Cherokee culture and history. The 8 hour tour is $100 per person and departs from the GSM Heritage Center at 9:30 am on these Saturdays: June 28, August 9, September 13, October 4.

The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center is a not for profit museum and is located between the traffic light and the national park entrance, on scenic Highway 73. For more information, please call 865-448-0044

Features artifacts from various branches of the military and numerous wars, including the Korean War, Vietnam War, World War I and II, and Desert Storm.

The Farragut Folklife Museum Committee will host a special reception on Veteran's Day - the final day of the exhibit - from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the museum. Local veterans are invited to attend to be honored, view the exhibit and enjoy light refreshments.

Farragut Folklife Museum, 11408 Municipal Center Dr, Farragut, TN 37934. Hours: Monday-Friday, 10AM-4:30 PM. Information: 865-966-7057, www.townoffarragut.org