Calendar of Events

The sessions are open to any and all who wish to play and are hosted by Vance Thompson, Jamel Mitchell, Keith Brown, Clint Mullican and Nolan Nevels. Bring your axe and sit in, or just have a seat on one of the comfy couches and take it all in. It's free either way.

Upcoming dates (select Sundays): January 3 & 17; February 7 & 21; March 6 & 20; April 17; May 1 & 15; June 5 & 19

Located in the Black Box of The Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Knoxville Jazz Orchestra: 865-573-3226, www.knoxjazz.org

The Choirs of Ascension will be featured in a service of readings and music of Appalachia. Evan Carawan will play the hammer dulcimer. Dinner catered by The Entertainer following the service.

$15 per adult & $6 per child under 11 years old. Maximum of $40 per family.

800 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919. (865) 588-0589 or www.knoxvilleascension.org

Eun-Sook Kim of Oak Ridge and Harriet Smith Howell of Rutledge will be featured artists for January in the Art Market Gallery’s historic space at 422 S. Gay St. The opening reception during downtown Knoxville’s traditional date for the First Friday Art Walk will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 2, with light refreshments and Bluegrass music performed live by Caring Committee.

Kim and Howell share certain attributes. While their styles and interpretations may differ, both are award winning versatile artists who look to nature for inspiration. They teach and conduct art workshops, have exhibited widely, and were juried into this cooperative in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional mediums, a feat accomplished by just a handful of current active members. For this exhibit, Eun-Sook Kim, who also works in clay, will be showing her paintings, and Harriet Howell, who also creates paintings, will show one-of-a-kind silk scarves as wearable art.

Eun-Sook Kim’s primary medium is ceramics, in which she has a MFA from the University of Tennessee, but this former gallery owner in Oak Ridge considers herself a painter first. “Through brushwork, I feel in harmony with nature,“ she says of her Chinese brushstroke watercolor paintings. “Like a speck in the landscape of a classical Chinese painting, I am infinitely small, yet essential in nature. Interweaving different strands from different cultures and countries, my art reflects the multicolored pattern of my life.” Kim’s works have been exhibited and collected regionally, nationally and internationally, particularly in Korea and Japan, where she has had educational collaborations. She is a supporter of the Knoxville Area Korean-American Association.

Harriet Howell, past president and signature member of the Tennessee Watercolor Society, uses color and movement to capture the images and emotional content of nature. “I’ve always loved fabrics, and used to make all of my own clothes,” she says. “Painting on scarves allows me to play with color and natural shapes and then turn the art into something wearable.” Starting with stretched silk, she uses brushes to apply successive layers of fabric dyes. Sometimes, a resist is used or a hand-cut stencil. Other times, the dye is applied wet-in-wet. Finished scarves are then steam set, washed, ironed, and sewn. This former Arrowmont instructor and longtime Howell Graphics owner earned a BFA in watercolor and graphic design from the University of Tennessee.

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

Bliss Home is pleased to present photographer, Phil Savage, for January's First Friday. Bliss Home, located at 29 Market Square, will host an opening reception on Friday, January 2nd, from 6pm to 9pm. Complimentary refreshments will be provided and Phil's art will be featured for the month of January.

Phil Savage was born in Mexico City and is a world-traveler, which has helped him hone his ability to "turn the ordinary into the extraordinary". Phil loves to explore the endless possibilities that photography has to offer, by embracing black and white panoramic photos with hand-tinted touches. Phil's First Friday exhibit aims to challenge viewers to rediscover the beauty and complexities that can be found all around Knoxville.

Bliss Home, 29 Market Square, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-329-8868, www.shopinbliss.com

This 30-minute documentary, filmed and produced by Jupiter Entertainment, begins in 2009 as Richard Jolley began work on what would become "Cycle of Life, Within the Power of Dreams and the Wonder of Infinity".

Every Saturday & Sunday at 3 PM.

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

Marble Springs State Historic Site is the last remaining home of John Sevier. Born in Virginia in 1745, John Sevier made a name for himself as a Revolutionary War Hero during the Battle of Kings Mountain (1780), a key player & Governor of the short-lived State of Franklin (1784-1788), and ultimately was elected to serve as the first Governor of the State of Tennessee (1796). Marble Springs was the approximate 350 acre farm that Sevier lived on from 1801-1815, the last years of his life. Sevier named his farm Marble Springs because of the Tennessee Rose Marble that was quarried on site and the natural springs that flowed on the property. While visiting Marble Springs, you will have the opportunity to tour several historic structures that are designed to represent various aspects of John Sevier’s life & times. These structures include: The Tavern, The Loom House, The Smoke House, The Spring House & the John Sevier Cabin and detached kitchen.

Tours: Wednesday – Saturday, 10:00am to 5:00pm and Sunday, 12:00pm to 5:00pm (or by appointment)
Info: 865-573-5508, 1220 West Gov. John Sevier Highway Knoxville, TN 37920. www.marblesprings.net

Saturdays at 12:30 at 4th and Gill park

Wednesdays at 12:00 at The Birdhouse
http://www.birdhouseknoxville.com

Instructor: Karl Hess, $5-20/class
Contact: https://facebook.com/knoxvilletaichi

Metamorphosis: Angel-Phoenix Figures
Art By Theophilus
The Literacy Imperative Arts Reception:
December 11, 2014 4PM to 8PM
Exhibit: December 11, 2014 to January 31, 2015
Burlington Library, 4614 Asheville Hwy, Knoxville, TN 37914
(865) 525-5431

Grade-school students from the Stanford Eisenberg Knoxville Jewish Day School are building a canned food sculpture, featuring the school’s name and ram mascot, for a “STEAM Out Hunger”. The project is inspired by Knoxville’s Holiday Canstruction® event hosted by Messer Construction. ConAgra and Bush Beans donated the 1,440 canned-food building blocks for the sculpture. The Besmann Family Fund for Social Justice and Spiritual Enrichment of the Knoxville Jewish Community Family of Funds also provided support.

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

Artists throughout history have found inspiration in the form of birds. Man imbued birds with mystical and religious meaning due to their fascinating ability to exist in two worlds – the earthly world, and the sky, or heavenly realm. Drawn primarily from the Ewing Gallery’s permanent collection, Of a Feather features works from historic and contemporary artists who represent birds in a diverse assortment of styles. While some artists approach the bird as studies of simplified form others utilize strategies of space and distance to take a more poetic or analytical look at the economic and social issues attached to birds. Works range from hyperrealism to whimsical to abstract. This exhibition incorporates a number of artists of artists from New York and Chicago including Keith Haring, Michael Kirk, Keith Long, Diane Churchill, and Laurie Hogin; regional artists, Howard Finster, Todd Johnson, Kelly Hider, Heather Middlebrooks, Gary Monroe, and Richard Jolley, as well as distinguished faculty from the University of Tennessee – Jered Sprecher, Diane Fox, Beauvais Lyons, Marcia Goldenstein, Don Kurka, Bill Kennedy, Clark Stewart, and Byron McKeeby. The artworks on display consider themes of scientific inquiry, symbolism, environmental consciousness, and the rituals of birding, among others. The exhibition is organized by Sam Yates, Director and Curator of the Ewing Gallery, in tribute to the late artist, Ellen Lanyon, who often used images of birds in her art. Two of her works will be on display. Of a Feather will be on view at UT’s Downtown Gallery December 5, 2014 through January 15, 2015.

UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Wednesday-Friday: 11AM - 6PM, Saturday: 10AM - 3PM. Information: 865-673-0802, http://web.utk.edu/~downtown

The exhibit will showcase interesting artifacts from the museum's permanent collection that have not been displayed in many years or have never been on display. Spanning numerous decades, featured items include personal household items such as electronics, tools, clothes, hats and hat boxes, children's toys, and more. In addition, the vignette in the Doris Woods Owens Gallery will display furniture and household items from an 1890s-era bedroom.

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

Knoxville Zoo is partnering with YP® to extend the popular “Buy One, Get One Free” admission ticket offer through February. Knoxville Zoo and YP® are offering buy one, get one free tickets to make visitors aware that the winter season is one of the best to see animal activity. On days when the temperature drops below 40 degrees, some animals will be moved indoors, but guests can still see many of their favorite animals, including elephants, gorillas, penguins, chimpanzees and reptiles, in their indoor viewing areas.

Buy one, get one free tickets can be purchased at the zoo ticket window during regular zoo hours. Discounted admission tickets must be used by Feb. 28, 2015, and cannot be combined with any other promotion, discount, or coupon.

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