Calendar of Events

Historic Homes of Knoxville Celebrate Statehood Day on May 23, 24, 30, 31, and June 6

June 1, 2015 marks the 219th anniversary of Tennessee’s admission as the 16th state in the union. East Tennessee’s most important cultural heritage sites are partnering to celebrate Statehood Day on Saturdays, May 23, May 30, and June 6 as well as Sundays, May 24 and May 31. The sites include places of historical significance in the exciting journey from the creation of our country to the founding of our state. The Historic Homes of Knoxville include: Blount Mansion, Crescent Bend, James White’s Fort, Mabry-Hazen House, Marble Springs, Ramsey House, and Historic Westwood. Each site will have individual ways of celebrating the birth of Tennessee. This is a free museum day to the public.

+ Crescent Bend House & Gardens (Saturday, May 30, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM)
Crescent Bend House & Gardens is one of the Southeast’s finest house museums and gardens. Built in 1834 by Drury Paine Armstrong, Crescent Bend was once a 900-acre working farm and so named for its prominent setting overlooking a majestic crescent bend in the Tennessee River just west of downtown Knoxville. Hosting free admission.
2728 Kingston Pike Knoxville, TN 37919. Information: 865-637-3163, www.crescentbend.com

+ Ramsey House (Saturdays, May 30 & June 6, 12:00 PM)
Ramsey House was built in 1797 by Knoxville's first builder, Thomas Hope, for Francis Alexander Ramsey, one of Knoxville’s first settlers. In celebration of Statehood Day, Ramsey House will host Vintage Baseball on May 30 and June 6. This year Historic Ramsey House will be hosting two Knoxville teams: the Knoxville Holstons and Emmett Machinists. Come and enjoy a day of history and fun for all ages. There is no admission charge for the games. Food and beverages will be available for purchase and all proceeds will benefit Ramsey House.
2614 Thorngrove Pike, Knoxville, TN 37914. Information: 865-546-0745, www.ramseyhouse.org

+ Marble Springs (Saturday, May 23, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Sunday, May 24, 12:00-5:00 PM)
Marble Springs was the home of John Sevier (1745-1815), Tennessee’s first governor and Revolutionary War hero. Marble Springs State Historic Site will commemorate this occasion with a weekend of Living History. Walk amongst Living History interpreters in 18th Century clothing portraying life on the frontier, encampments, and more. Children’s activities include falling into a militia drill and playing with period toys. Blacksmithing, weaving, and open hearth cooking will be demonstrated all weekend. Details are subject to change. This event is free and open to the public. Donations are appreciated.
1220 West Gov. John Sevier Highway, Knoxville, TN 37920. Information: 865-573-5508, www.marblesprings.net

+ Blount Mansion (Saturday, June 6, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM)
Construction on Blount Mansion began in 1792. The restored mansion was open for tours in 1930, making it the oldest museum in Knox County. Commemorate the creation of the state of Tennessee and celebrate the pioneers who settled and transformed the southwest territory into the vibrant state of Tennessee. Hosting free admission.
200 W. Hill Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-525-2375, www.blountmansion.org

+ James White’s Fort (Saturday, June 6, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM)
Built in 1786, James White’s Fort was home to the founder of Knoxville. More than 10,000 visitors tour the Fort each year and experience the frontier lifestyle through hands-on interpretations. Celebrate at James White’s Fort and learn about open hearth cooking and blacksmithing. Free admission, and donations will be gladly accepted.
205 E. Hill Ave, Knoxville, TN 37915. Information: 865-525-6514, www.jameswhitefort.org

+ Mabry-Hazen House (Saturday, June 6, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM)
Built in 1858 and housing three generations of the same family from 1858-1987, the Mabry-Hazen House served as headquarters for both Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War. The Civil War, a gunfight on Gay Street in 1882, and a Breach of Promise lawsuit in the early 1930's are only a few stories that bring life and color to those who visit the museum. Hosting free admission.
1711 Dandridge Avenue, Knoxville, TN, 37915. Information: 865-522-8661, www.mabryhazen.com

In addition to the Historic Homes of Knoxville, Sequoyah Birthplace Museum and Crockett Tavern Museum will also host Statehood Day events.

+ Crockett Tavern Museum (Saturday, May 30, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM)
The Museum, located in Morristown, was built on the site of the boyhood home of Davy Crockett. It is a reconstruction of the 1790's John Crockett Tavern. Open with free admission.
2002 Morningside Drive, Morristown, TN 37814. Information: 423-587-9900, www.crocketttavernmuseum.org

+ Sequoyah Birthplace Museum (Sunday, May 31, 12:00-4:00 PM)
The mission of the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum (Vonore), a property of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, is to promote the understanding and appreciation of the history and culture of the Cherokee Indians in Eastern Tennessee, particularly the life and contributions of Sequoyah. The Museum will collect, preserve, interpret, and exhibit objects and data that support this mission. Free admission. Demonstrators will be on hand throughout the day.
576 HWY 360, Vonore, TN 37885. Information: 423-884-6246, www.sequoyahmuseum.org

About the Historic Homes of Knoxville
The Historic House Museums of Knoxville is a partnership that shares resources from each historic site in presenting the history, culture, and heritage of Knoxville and East Tennessee: www.hhknoxville.org. More info: (865) 523-7543 or rp@knoxalliance.com

Opening Reception on Friday, May 22, 2015, 5:30 - 7:30pm in the Geoffrey A. Wolpert Gallery.

The exhibit features expressive woodworking by artist and professor, Kim Winkle. The opening reception and exhibition are free. Community members are encouraged to attend with their family and friends.

Kimberly Winkle uses hardwood to create unique forms based on traditional wooden utilitarian objects, and then activates the surfaces with paint and graphite with varying arrangements of lines and dots. “My interest lies in the pursuit and potential of the medium as an expressive device,” states Winkle about her work. This results in playful objects, characterized by a sense of spontaneity and calculated gesture.

Kimberly Winkle is an Associate Professor of Art at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN. She has a BFA in Ceramics from the University of Oklahoma and an MFA in furniture design from San Diego State University. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, and her work has been included in a number of publications, including Fine Woodworking and Woodworker magazines, and books—500 Tables, and 500 Chairs. She was awarded artist residencies including the Windgate Artist Residency at SUNY Purchase, and the International Turning Exchange at the Center for Art in Wood in Philadelphia. She was also awarded a State of Tennessee Individual Artist Award in 2011, and the Society of Arts and Crafts (Boston) John D. Mineck Furniture Fellowship in 2014. To see more of Winkle’s work, please visit her website: www.kimberlywinkle.com.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Gallery hours: M-F 9AM-5PM, Sa-Su 10AM-4PM. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts invites the public to the Opening Reception of the 2015 Instructor Exhibition, June 5, 2015, 7:00 to 9:00 pm in the Sandra J. Blain Gallery.

The Exhibition showcases the work of over 100 Arrowmont instructors who are teaching during the 2015 workshop season. Both the opening reception and the exhibition are free and open to the public. Community members are encouraged to attend with their family and friends.

“The Instructor Exhibition is an annual Arrowmont tradition and offers the work of nationally and internationally recognized artists who make up Arrowmont’s faculty. They come from across the globe to share skills and ideas, foster new thinking, artistic growth and creative camaraderie. We are pleased to provide the community with the opportunity to view these outstanding works of art,” Bill May, Arrowmont Executive Director said.

The exhibit features a wide range of diverse media including woodworking, glass, ceramics, painting, fiber and textile work, metals, jewelry, book arts, photography and printmaking. The show celebrates Arrowmont’s instructors and functions as an educational tool, demonstrating the skills and techniques that the instructors focus on in their workshops.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is a national arts education center. The School offers weekend, one- and two-week workshops for the beginner to advanced artist, taught by national and international practicing studio artists and university faculty. Students work and learn in professionally equipped studios on a 14-acre residential campus in Gatlinburg, TN. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the workshop immersion by registering for on campus housing and meals offered by Arrowmont.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Gallery hours: M-F 9AM-5PM, Sa-Su 10AM-4PM. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Darkhorse Entertainment, LLC invites you to go back in time at the Tennessee Medieval Faire. The Grand Opening is the last three weekends in May, including Memorial Day, in Harriman, TN. It’s a new tradition – Joust for You! “The Medieval Faire has something for everyone,” said Barrie Paulson, VP-Manager & Entertainment Director. “The Faire is fun and family-friendly – and includes plenty of theatrical violence,” she said with a grin.

The rock stars of the Faire perform The Royal Joust in the tournament arena. There will also be Warriors’ Chess where the characters fight to take over the square. Warhorse rides will be offered between arena shows. Rotating on the stages will be professional, interactive, comedy shows. These include The ridiculously dangerous Fire * Whip * Sword Show; The Steele Sisters; Fantasies, Fables & Fortunes; and Albi Belly Dancers. There will also be Celtic musicians, interactive folk dancers, puppet shows, games, and The Royal Players whose characters include young King Henry VIII. Period crafts, food and beer will be available.

The Tennessee Medieval Faire will run the last three weekends in May, including Memorial Day: May 16-17, 23-24-25, 30-31. Hours are 10-5 EDT. Ticket prices are $14.95 for ages 13 and up, $7.95 for ages 5 to 12, free for ages 4 and under. Free parking is included. The festival is located at 550 Fiske Road, Harriman, TN. For more information, please visit the website: www.TMFaire.com. Please like us on Facebook. A New Tradition -- Joust for You. Fun for the Entire Family!

The Town of Farragut Arts Council presents Carol Erikson as the featured artist for May and June. Located at the Farragut Town Hall, the exhibit highlights her photographic art, titled "Images that Inspire."

A New Jersey native, Erikson's exhibit features a mix of customer favorites and her newer work, including birds in South Texas, the Tybee Island lighthouse, and angel statuary from cemeteries in Savannah and Ohio. Her photography focuses on local nature images, especially waterfalls, wildflowers, old barns and landscapes. Mainly self-taught, Erikson has taken non-credit photography and editing courses at the University of Tennessee. A Rutgers University and University of North Carolina graduate, she works as an analytical project manager in Oak Ridge, supporting the ongoing decontamination and decommissioning work on the Oak Ridge reservation.

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.

Showing work by Athens’ Mayfield Dairy entrepreneur, Goldie Mayfield. The exhibit is scheduled at The Arts Center, 320 North White Street, Athens, Tennessee. AACA invites community members with original work by Goldie Mayfield to loan pieces to this special exhibit. Goldie Mayfield, one of Athens’ most prolific local artists, is among the women fundamental in bringing the visual arts to our community by teaching and supporting other local artists and by starting our Community Artist’s League. Her work was often featured in Mayfield Dairy’s Christmas cards in the 1980s and early 1990s. She used various mediums and is known for her expert use of watercolor.

Goldie was known for graciously giving away her work to friends and family. Community members who loan work to the exhibit will be duly credited as donors.

The exhibit reception is Friday, May 22, 2015 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. Mayfield’s friends and family will be on hand to informally discuss her art. The reception will include light refreshments and is free and open to the public.

Athens Area Council for the Arts, 320 North White Street | Athens, TN 37303. Info: 423.745.8781 or www.athensartscouncil.org

This exhibition is the first major U.S. one-person presentation of Evan Roth’s pioneering multi-faceted and interactive installations, custom software, prints, sculptures and websites. Roth, a self-professed “hacktivist” artist, is interested in uses of technology in popular culture and the urban environment. He inventively combines elements from the disparate worlds of computer programming and street culture. Evan Roth//Intellectual Property Donor offers a unique opportunity to understand the artist’s approach from analysis and archiving to experimentation through to the final—and in the artist’s mind— most important step, opening it up to the world for participation. Blurring the line between artist and hacker, the exhibition challenges gallery visitors to consider how everyday life intersects with virtual reality and how viral media can become fine art.

Evan Roth is an American artist based in Paris. His notable pieces include Graffiti Taxonomy, Multi Touch, EyeWriter, Internet Cache Portraits. He also collaborated with Jay-Z on the first open source rap video. Roth worked at the Eyebeam OpenLab, an open source creative technology lab for the public domain as a Research and Development Fellow from 2005 to 2006 and was a Senior Fellow there from 2006 to 2007. Evan Roth co-founded the Graffiti Research Lab in 2005 and the Free Art and Technology Lab (FAT Lab), an arts and free culture collective, in 2007. Born in 1978 in Okemos, Michigan, Roth currently lives in Paris with his wife and daughter where he maintains a studio and is represented by XPO 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 Knoxville Watercolor Society will have an all water media exhibit at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Gallery. A reception will be held on Friday, May 8th from 6:00 pm. until 7:30 pm. Included in the reception will be artist talks beginning at 6:30 pm. This event is free and open to the public.

The Knoxville Watercolor Society began in 1963, when a group of Knoxville artists was invited by the late Kermit (Buck) Ewing, Head of the University of Tennessee Art Department, to participate in an exhibition of watercolor paintings at the University's McClung Museum. During the opening reception, Mr. Ewing noted that the Knoxville area did not have an organization for artists who share a common interest in painting in aqueous media. He suggested that those artists exhibiting in the McClung show could be the nucleus for such an association. From that suggestion, the Knoxville Watercolor Society began, with Laura Bagwell serving as the first president. The purpose of the organization is to educate the members as well as the community about watercolor as a significant art form. New artists are invited to apply for membership, determined by a jury process, and can find complete details on the Knoxville Watercolor Society website: www.knxvillewatercolorsociety.com

Knoxville Watercolor Society members also exhibit with the Tennessee Watercolor Society, other state watercolor organizations, the Southern Watercolor Society, Watercolor USA and the American Watercolor Society and consistently win regional, state and national awards. Annually, the KWS also provides a scholarship for a University of Tennessee student who is majoring in watercolor painting, donates to the UT Ewing Gallery and maintains membership in the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Greater Knoxville. The organization has also provided grants to the Arts Council of Greater Knoxville, the Knoxville Museum of Art, the Tennessee Resource Center and the Tennessee Art Association High School Scholarship program.

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Gallery hours: Monday-Thursday 9AM-5PM, Sunday 9AM-1PM. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org

Recent works by Inna Nasonova Knox and Mary Saylor, both of Knoxville, will be on display during the month of May at the Art Market Gallery. An opening reception for the featured artists will be held during Downtown Knoxville’s monthly First Friday Art Walk, beginning at 5:30 p.m. May 1. There will be complimentary refreshments and live music performed by "Poiesis", with Kelvin Walters on the alto saxophone and Jeremy Wright on guitar.

Inna Nasonova Knox was born in in Kazan Russia, and came to the United States in 2000. She now is a dual citizen. Her educational training in Russia includes fashion design, graduating with honors in interior design and, in the United States a degree in graphic technology design at Gateway Technical College in Racine, WI. During her years of studies she has shown and sold her work at numerous art galleries and exhibitions. Nasonova Knox creates her images with a vivid and rich use of color. Drawing on a fascination with new art ideas and her varied educational background, Inna likes to use different oil painting techniques and styles. Her wish is that the viewer's eye sees the dramatic hues and feels her passion for art.

Mary Saylor has created art for as long as she can remember and grew up in a household with artistic parents. Born in Eastern Kentucky and raised in Columbus, Ohio, she earned a BFA from Ohio University and taught art in middle school for some time. She worked in a variety of media and materials through the years, but this now-full-time health professional recently has focused on creating unique paper mache sculptures from found and recycled objects. A love and appreciation of all animals serves as her primary inspiration for these whimsical creatures which often are imbued with humor and warmth. As Saylor's sculptures transform from rough to finished painted pieces, each comes to life with its own story to tell.

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 Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House in April 1865 may have legally ended the Civil War, but it did not end East Tennessee’s bitter internal war. As Union and Confederate veterans returned home, fierce partisanship and settling of old scores often continued. Some Confederates, feeling unwelcome in their own homeland, left the region, many never to return. Yet, as the months and years passed, the vast majority on each side began to work together to mend their differences and to rebuild their war-ravaged lives and communities. The new exhibit Memories of the Blue and Gray: The Civil War in East Tennessee at 150 will explore early attempts at reconciliation and how we as East Tennesseans continue to remember the Civil War 150 years later.

The exhibition will feature more than 125 artifacts from the collections of ETHS, Gerald and Sandra Augustus, Drs. Anthony and Jill Hodges, and others, highlighting reconstruction, reunions, the Sultana disaster, cemeteries and monuments, commemorative art, educational institutions, collecting of artifacts and memorabilia, and state and local preservation efforts. Clothing varying from period gowns to a Ku Klux Klan uniform to a Confederate reunion frock coat will be on display, alongside a brush believed carried by a soldier who survived the explosion and sinking of the Sultana, a piece of furniture made by the former slave Lewis Buckner, and the diaries of Ellen Renshaw House. Featured Civil War Reunion memorabilia will range from 1881 to 2013 with the 150th anniversary of the battle of Fort Sanders. The “Looking Back” Civil War artifact documentation program of the Tennessee State Library and Archives will be represented with an odd-shaped shoe, fashioned by the Union for a Confederate soldier from Grainger County who lost half his foot in the Battle of Franklin. In addition to artifacts, the exhibition will include a video of Civil War collectors Gerald and Sandra Augustus and a slide show highlighting East Tennessee’s Civil War cemeteries and monuments.

The exhibition is presented in conjunction with the Blue & Gray Reunion and Freedom Jubilee to be held in Knoxville, April 30-May 3, 2015. Four days of special programming highlighting Knoxville and the region’s Civil War history begins with the state's Civil War Sesquicentennial Signature Event with lectures by nationally recognized speakers, a performance by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Civil War artifact documentation by the Tennessee State Library and Archives, student and teacher programs, a Blue & Gray Dinner, and more. Weekend activities include music, vintage baseball games, bus tours to historic homes, forts, and cemeteries, living history, heritage groups, exhibits, a service of remembrance, a Peace Jubilee, fireworks, and more. For more information on the programs of the Blue & Gray Reunion and Freedom Jubilee, please visit www.eastTNhistory.org/BlueGray.

The Museum of East Tennessee History is open 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday; 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Saturday; and 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, Sunday. Museum Admission is $5.00 for adults, $4.00 for seniors, and FREE for children under 16. Each Sunday admission is FREE to all and ETHS members always receive FREE admission. The Museum is located in the East Tennessee History Center, 601 South Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37901. For more information about booking the exhibition, scheduling a school tour, or visiting the museum, call (865) 215-8824, email eths@eastTNhistory.org, or visit www.easttnhistory.org.

Where: Downtown Knoxville and McGhee Tyson Airport
When: April 4, 2014-March 20, 2015
How Much: Free

Art comes in all shapes and sizes. We invite you to experience some of the larger variety with Art in Public Places, an annual event featuring large-scale outdoor sculptures in Knoxville’s downtown public spaces and also at McGhee Tyson Airport. These larger scale pieces are thought provoking and awe-inspiring.

By displaying these works outdoors, we celebrate not only the art of sculpture but Knoxville’s natural beauty during this year-round outdoor exhibition.

The exhibition presently on view, an interesting and inspirational collection of works by sculptors from across the nation, was selected and awarded by noted sculptor Kenneth M. Thompson. Kenneth holds a Master of Liberal Studies in Sculpture from the University of Toledo and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Siena Heights College, in Adrian, MI. While many of his sculptures are in Ohio and Michigan, Thompson’s work can be seen in other states. He has done 41 pieces of public sculpture across the country. Ken has been making sculpture for over thirty years out of his car-dealership-turned-studio in Blissfield, Michigan. From this facility he operates Flatlanders Sculpture Supply and Art Galleries as well as Midwest Sculpture Initiative, which provides exhibitions that feature outdoor sculpture. Fourteen shows are planned for next year, he says. He also serves or has served on numerous arts-oriented boards.

The Art in Public Places Knoxville program, the 2015-2016 year being its 9th is a featured presentation of Dogwood Arts in partnership with the City of Knoxville Public Art Committee. The 2014-2015 Art in Public Places Knoxville Co-Chairs are Bart Watkins and Jason Brown.

To purchase a sculpture, please call [865] 637.4561.

Dogwood Arts: 865-637-4561 www.dogwoodarts.com

Dennis Sabo, a Loudon, TN resident, is an internationally honored photographer specializing in contemporary abstract, landscape, and seascape photography. His award-winning work has appeared in various publications, television, the Internet and institutions. among them National Geographic, NOVA, PBS, and Blue Planet.

His exhibit, titled “Meadows and Mountains,” will be on display from April 1 to June 30th at Rarity Bay Community Center, Vonore, TN. The main exhibit hall is accessible Monday through Friday, 9AM to 4 PM which displays 12 of his pieces. Visitors should call ahead if they want to see the entire exhibit to assure that the conference room is not occupied with an event.

For more information, directions, or to check exhibit availability contact the Community Center at 423-884-3800
Viewing on weekends by special arrangements can be made by contacting Becky Kosalac at 423-884-3614 or Jean Porter at 423-744-4166.