Calendar of Events

The Cast List by Gayle Greene – Two star-crossed cast lists wreak havoc on a struggling community theatre’s ill-fated production of Romeo & Juliet.
2/7/15 2:30 pm at Fountain City Library
2/14/15 1:00 pm at Bearden Branch Library
2/28/15 3:00 pm at Lawson McGhee Library

The Third Proposal by Dennis Duff – Struggling against his feelings for neighbor Anna Wagner, Helmut can only watch as his two brothers vie for her hand, then fall as victims of WWII.
2/14/15 3:00 pm at Bearden Branch Library
2/21/15 2:30 pm at Fountain City Library
3/1/15 2:00 pm at Lawson McGhee Library

American Farce by Michael Reimann – A woman from Max’s past shows up at his door and claims he is the father of her 10 year-old son. Max soon devises a plot to use his estranged son’s uncanny ability to pick race horses to pay off a loan shark.
2/21/15 2:30 pm at Bearden Branch Library
2/23/15 6:00 pm at Fountain City Library
2/28/15 1:00 pm at Lawson McGhee Library
Tennessee Stage Company: 865-546-4280, www.tennesseestage.com

Recent works by architectural painter Dede Christopher of Maryville, and pen and pipe maker Ron Smith of Dandridge will be on display during the month of February at the Art Market Gallery. An opening reception for these featured artists will be held during Downtown Knoxville’s monthly First Friday Art Walk beginning at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 6, with complimentary refreshments and jazz/funk music performed by Alix DeAngelis.

Encouraged to paint and draw since early childhood by her artist mother, Dede Christopher has always been attracted to architecture, and in her artwork she strives to capture the beauty of a place or setting and how buildings interact with each other. “I decided to pursue architectural illustration as a career, believing it would lead me to a more artistic life and a more fulfilling occupation,” she says. With a BA and graduate degree in architectural design she has had her own architectural illustration business since 1989 and has been drawing and painting for clients and her own inspiration nearly every day since then. Recently, Christopher has devoted time to plein air and studio art, focusing on the beauty, light and detail in a particular setting or place, at different times of the day, year, and season.

Ron Smith never had formal art training in college and graduate school. Following retirement, however, he took classes at Walters State Community College. During a sculpture course he discovered an affinity for power tools and generating sawdust which, combined with his lifelong enjoyment of writing and pipe smoking, led him to further instruction at Woodcrafters in Knoxville and to renowned American pipe maker Tim West in Columbus, OH. The result: Smith’s pens that take a mostly traditional form, but with distinctive materials, colors, shaping and weight; while his pipes, created from ebauchon briar, are mostly free-form rather than classic shapes. “Pens and pipes are functional art,” Smith explains, “and to succeed, they require not only an appeal to the eye, but a comfort and feel to the hand.”

Owned and operated by 62 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 Thursday and 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.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present its National Juried Exhibition of 2015, a new exhibition featuring selected works from 31 artists in the Southeast region. The National Juried Exhibition was developed in 2006 to provide a forum for local artists to compete on a national scale and display their highest quality work. The exhibition encompasses all styles and genres from both emerging and established artists working in a variety of media such as photography, watercolor, oil, fiber, marble, ceramic, lithographs, and more and will be displayed in the Balcony gallery of the Emporium Center from February 6-28, 2015. Most of the works are for sale. A public reception will take place on Friday, February 6, from 5:00-9:00 PM with a brief awards ceremony at 6:00 PM in which over $1,000 in cash awards will be announced. The First Friday reception also features music by Cricket & Snail in the gallery; a flamenco dance performance by Pasión Flamenco from 6:00-6:30 PM in the Black Box Theatre; and a Jazz Jam Session hosted by Vance Thompson and Friends from 7:00-9:00 PM in the Black Box Theatre. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be available and chocolate fondue will be provided by the Melting Pot of Knoxville.

Stefanie Gerber Darr served as juror for the exhibition. “One of the greatest joys of being a curator/juror is the glimpses I receive into the minds of others through the works they put forth to the world,” says Gerber Darr. “Whether commenting upon our culture through ink on paper or capturing a fraction of a second in time in a photograph, artists illustrate a multitude of possibilities, remind us of ideas, and at times offer understanding of a situation through a new lens.”

The following artists’ works will be shown:

+ Ann Harwell of Wendell, NC
+ Catherine Haverkamp of Andersonville, TN
+ Brandon Douglas of Clinton, TN
+ Art Brown of Kingsport, TN
+ T.P. Dunn of Kingston, TN
+ Melinda Adams, Nicholas Bell, Jennifer Brickey, Bill Cook, Jr., Raluca Iancu, Roy McCullough, Clay Pardue, Norm Plate, Shawn Poynter, Chris S. Rohwer, Denise Stewart-Sanabria, Daniel Taylor, Marilyn Avery Turner, and Steve Zigler of Knoxville, TN
+ Susan B. Miller of Lenoir City, TN
+ Loretta Lee Edge and Dennis Sabo of Loudon, TN
+ Tatiana Potts and Brian Reid of Maryville, TN
+ Bill Long of Morristown, TN
+ Audry Deal-McEver of Nashville, TN
+ Danielle Winger of Piney Flats, TN
+ Cheryl L. Tarrant of Powell, TN
+ Lisa D. Line of Sevierville, TN
+ Chris Turnier of Talbott, TN
+ Tyson Smith of Townsend, TN

A gallery of images may be viewed at www.knoxalliance.com/album/juried_2015.html. The National Juried Exhibition of 2015 is on display February 6-28, 2015 at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Saturday, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Additional special hours are posted at www.theemporiumcenter.com/visit.html. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit the Web site at www.knoxalliance.com.

The Arts & Culture Alliance proudly presents the 2nd Annual “HandMade Here: A Tennessee Craft Chapter Exhibition,” featuring original works of basketry, clay, fiber, glass, wood, metals, leather, handmade paper, mixed media, fiber, printmaking, photography, and more by artists 18 years or older who are current residents of Tennessee. Craft artists from the East, Southeast & Northeast Tennessee Craft Chapters submitted their work for the exhibition. The purpose of the exhibition is to help promote inter-chapter activity and membership involvement and to strengthen Tennessee Craft’s presence in East Tennessee. Tennessee Craft celebrates their 50th anniversary in 2015, and this exhibition will launch Tennessee Craft into a year of celebrating handmade Tennessee Crafts. Frank Martin, Professor at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville School of Art, will jury the exhibition.

Works will be displayed in the main gallery of the Emporium Center from February 6-28, 2015. Most of the works will be for sale. A public reception will take place on Friday, February 6, from 5:00-9:00 PM. The First Friday reception also features music by Cricket & Snail in the gallery; a flamenco dance performance by Pasión Flamenco from 6:00-6:30 PM in the Black Box Theatre; and a Jazz Jam Session hosted by Vance Thompson and Friends from 7:00-9:00 PM in the Black Box Theatre. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be available and chocolate fondue will be provided by the Melting Pot of Knoxville.

Tennessee Craft champions the local fine craft movement by supporting growth and creative expression for all artists, building a platform for high-quality craftsmanship, and reinforcing the importance of fine craft for the entire community. Since 1965, they have preserved and advanced the rich history and tradition of Tennessee craft. While headquartered in Nashville, they strive to impact craft communities throughout Tennessee. The Tennessee Craft East Chapter welcomes artists from the following counties to participate in meetings and events: Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Scott, Sevier and Union. The Tennessee Craft Southeast Chapter is active and engaged. The SE chapter offers its members year-round opportunities to show, sell, and market their work. Chapter welcomes artists from Wayne, Perry, Hickman, Lewis, Lawrence, Giles, Maury, Marshall, Lincoln, Moore, Bedford, Franklin, Coffee, Marion, Grundy, Hamilton, Sequatchie, Bledsoe, Bradley, Meigs, Rhea, McMinn and Polk counties. The Tennessee Craft Northeast Chapter serves a variety of artists in the Tri-Cities area through innovative events allowing its members to show their work to members of the community and collectors. For more information on Tennessee Craft and its chapters, visit www.tennesseecrafts.org.

Many thanks to Jerry’s Artarama for their continued support of Tennessee Craft through gift certificates. Webbco Graphics donated the printing of the posters.

“HandMade Here: A Tennessee Craft Chapter Exhibition” is on display February 6-28, 2015 at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Saturday, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Additional special hours are posted at www.theemporiumcenter.com/visit.html. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit the Web site at www.knoxalliance.com.

OIL PAINTING for Beginners with Joan Burke

If you ever wanted to learn how to paint with oils but felt you didn’t know where to begin, this class is for you. Students will complete an oil painting in four weeks. No drawing knowledge is necessary. The students will discuss supplies needed to get started, learn basic colors and mixing, and learn placement of a subject on the canvas. The students will also learn basic care and maintenance of their painting supplies and equipment.
1st Class: Thursdays, February 5, 12, 19 & 26
2nd Class: Fridays, February 6, 13, 20 & 27
9:30 - 12:30 PM
$68/Members $88/Non-Members
Joan's home-based studio (address provided at registration)
A supply list will be provided when registering. Students who already have supplies should bring them, but those new to oil painting shouldn’t buy materials until after the first class. The class size is limited to five students.

The Art Guild at Fairfield Glade, 451 Lakeview Drive, Fairfield Glade,TN 38558
931-707-7249, www.artguildfairfieldglade.net

Location: Clayton Center for the Arts, Denso Gallery, Maryville College
Address: 502 E Lamar Alexander Pkwy, Maryville, TN 37804
Exhibit Dates: February 2, 2015 thru March 2, 2015

Details TBA.

Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Tickets are available at the Clayton Center Box Office M-F 10AM-6PM or by phone or online: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

February is FREE at the Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center in Townsend. The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center is a private non-profit museum located in Townsend, Tennessee,near the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center's mission is to preserve, protect and promote the unique history and rich culture of those that inhabited the Great Smoky Mountain region. In doing this, we wish to preserve and keep alive the history of the pioneers and Native Americans who lived in the East Tennessee mountain communities, reported Bob Patterson, Executive Director. Patterson commented that Free February is a different approach to sharing the resources of the museum with the region.

Join us at the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center to celebrate the cultural heritage of East Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains region. Our gallery exhibits, educational programs, demonstrations and festivals guide you on an historic journey through time to visit the diverse cultures of Townsend and Tuckaleechee Cove.

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 3/4 mile east of traffic light at the Highway 321 and 73 intersection towards the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Townsend, TN. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM. Information: 865-448-0044, www.gsmheritagecenter.org

This is the fifth installment of an annual group show of 3-4 artists living and working in East Tennessee. LIFT: Contemporary Printmaking in the Third Dimension examines the work of international contemporary artists who use a variety of strategies to bring a sculptural dimension to printmaking. Featured artists include Enrique Chagoya, Lesley Dill, Olafur Eliasson, Robert Gober, Red Grooms, Jane Hammond, Hideki Kimura, Nicola Lopez, Leslie Mutchler, Oscar Munoz, Marilene Oliver, Dieter Roth, Graciela Sacco, and Jonathan Stanish. This exhibition is the culmination of a series of lectures, demonstrations, studio visits, and the creation of an online video archive documenting each artist’s studio practice. The series is intended to garner support for contemporary art in East Tennessee, and is accompanied by an illustrated publication. Organized by the KMA. Located in the Hall & Rogers Gallery.

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

The work in this exhibition explores the non-objective and propositional quality that sculpture can have, and the ways in which we can understand something devoid of specificity and illustration. Presented on custom-built risers and linear structures, individual components are often physically or conceptually networked together with arrangements of objects ranging from the random and chaotic to the precise and articulate. Through careful positioning and intentional framing the works are suggestive of abstracted models and diagrammatic systems that allude to a sculptural logic that is both pragmatic and allusive at the same time.

Paul Sacaridiz will be lecturing at UT in room 109 of the Art and Architecture building on Thursday, January 22 at 7:30 PM. There will be an opening reception the following evening, Friday, January 23, with the artist at the UT Downtown Gallery from 5-9PM. We hope you can make it to these events.

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

Drawn from the McClung Museum is an innovative exhibition project involving 28 artists, each of whom will produce original prints in response to objects from the collection of the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture. The exhibition will pair the objects and the prints to address how we perceive and interpret art, science, and culture. Like the museum itself, the objects are varied, ranging from a mastodon mandible and an Egyptian ibis mummy, to a Victorian hair necklace and an Ojibwa men’s ceremonial dance apron.

The exhibition is being held in conjunction with the SGC International Printmaking Conference, which will bring 1,500 printmakers to Knoxville from the United States and abroad March 18–21, 2015.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 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

Arrowmont invites exhibiting artists and their families, members of our community and the public to the 17th Sevier County Biennial Juried Exhibition celebrating the creative talent within Sevier County. The opening reception will be held Friday, January 16 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM in the Sandra J. Blain Galleries and the exhibit will be on display through March 13, 2015. The Gallery is open Monday – Friday 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM and Saturday 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Tours are available by reservation, and can be arranged by calling 865-436-5860. The opening reception, gallery and tours are free to the public.

Arrowmont is grateful to Sherry Masters, owner of Art Connections in Asheville, North Carolina, who served as juror this year. With over 140 entries and 103 works of art accepted into the exhibition, this show is a glowing testament to the artistic talent and dedication of Sevier County residents. Of the works accepted, 13 were chosen to receive awards. The artists will be presented their awards on the evening of the gallery reception.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Free and open to the public - Opening reception January 16 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; artists’ talks at 6:30 p.m.

Claudia Dean - I Live in Knoxville Now
Through her watercolors, Dean tries to express Knoxville through images of its places. She begins with a photograph, which allows her to isolate and formalize the image before she draws. The photographs are "snapshots" of places that resonate for her and she wants to express the feeling of intimacy and significance in the image. She acknowledges her love of craft and repetition in the quilt pieces, which are intended to convey feeling or emotion in a more musical way than the representational images. She carries over discoveries and lessons learned in each type of work to the other. Dean was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and studied painting and printmaking at Kansas City Art Institute. She was a craft jeweler in Albuquerque for many years, selling work in craft galleries in the southwest and California. In 2003 Dean moved to Knoxville with her family and returned to two-dimensional artwork.

Mark Evans - En Plein Aire
Evans has always enjoyed taking pictures in national parks, and he likes to bring joy and beauty to the viewer. He entitled this show “En Plein Aire” because just as the invention of oil paints in tubes allowed people to work outdoors in the countryside and get the images they wanted, digital photography has allowed Evans to create the images he wants. He started taking photographs as a child with his father’s old camera. He shot black and white film and did his own darkroom work because he couldn’t afford color slide film. What he really liked was slide shows of people’s trips. Eventually he could afford slide film and he hasn’t been in a darkroom since. He’s been doing digital photography for five years. eBooks of Evans’ national park pictures can be found at marksparks.us.

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