Calendar of Events

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a new exhibition by Ryan Blair and Robin Surber entitled “Made in South Knoxville”. The exhibition features mixed media works and paintings by two artists who call South Knoxville their home and will be displayed in the Balcony gallery of the Emporium Center from June 5-27, 2015. A public reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on Friday, June 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM and features a Jazz Jam Session hosted by Vance Thompson & Friends from 7:00-8:45 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.

Ryan Blair is an artist and art educator creating since childhood and teaching since 2001. Blair graduated from Ball State University with a degree in Art Education and an emphasis in painting. When not in the studio, he teaches art full time to 650 local elementary students and has twice received Teacher of the Year honors. Blair’s current work consist of paintings and mixed media pieces based on his observations and experiences of living in the south. His work can be seen in May at the International Biscuit Festival, featured in Cityview magazine, and in June at the Tipton Gallery on the campus of East Tennessee State University. Blair lives in Knoxville with his wife, two sons, and daughter. For more information, please visit www.ryanblairart.com.

Robin M. Surber was born in Louisville, KY and received her BFA from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. She has had yearly exhibitions at Bennett Galleries for the past twelve years and has done murals in corporate and private locations nationwide. She participates in group shows in Knoxville at the Emporium Center and McGhee Tyson Airport and has been a Featured Artist at L’Amour du Vin hosted by the Knoxville Museum of Art. Her work appears in public collections throughout Tennessee. She is currently a full-time studio artist and restoration artist at the Tennessee Theatre. Her mixed media artwork often incorporates relics that relate to the south. Surber frequently writes about her work: “The more you look, the more you see”. Additional artwork can be found at Bennett Galleries. For more information, please visit www.robinsurber.com.

“Made in South Knoxville” is on display June 5-27, 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 is pleased to present the third annual Knoxville Photo 2015, a juried exhibition featuring selected works from 32 artists throughout the region. Knoxville Photo was developed to provide a forum for photographers to compete on a national scale and display their work. The exhibition encompasses photographs depicting all subjects and genres, including streetscapes, cityscapes, landscapes, environmental portraiture, portraits, abstracts, and more, and will be displayed in the Emporium Center from June 5-27, 2015. Most of the works are for sale. A public reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on Friday, June 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM with a brief ceremony at 6:00 PM in which over $1,000 in cash awards will be announced. The First Friday reception also features a Jazz Jam Session hosted by Vance Thompson & Friends from 7:00-8:45 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.

David Simchock served as juror for the exhibition and viewed images from more than 85 artists to select the exhibition. A native of New Jersey, David J. Simchock has lived and traveled overseas for many years and, since returning to the States in 2002, quickly established himself as a reputable freelance photographer and artist. His images have been published in major publications around the world, and he has exhibited his work in numerous galleries and venues from New York City to Asheville and beyond.

View a temporary gallery of selected images at https://plus.google.com/photos/116432219839177047995/albums/6146128999098794961.

Knoxville Photo 2015 is on display June 5-27, 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. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit our Web site at www.knoxalliance.com.

Carol Conrad’s greatest pleasure comes from re-creating beautiful landscapes. An exhibit of these lovely pieces will be on display throughout the month of June, and they will be highlighted at the Fun and Wine Friday reception June 12th, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m., where she will be the Featured Artist.

Carol paints largely in pastels, a medium that has been around for centuries, but still retains the brilliance for which it was known. It is that brilliance that she loves as well as the immediacy of working with pure pigment as she applies it to archival paper or board. Her care extends to the way she frames each piece so that it never comes in contact with the glass, except in the case of smaller works, where this is not generally thought to be necessary. Carol, who claims that she came to art late in life and is mainly self-taught, has been juried into art shows and has won several awards for her landscapes.

Art Guild at Fairfield Glade at the Plateau Creative Arts Center, 451 Lakeview Drive, Fairfield Glade, TN 38558. Hours: M-Sa 9AM-4PM. Information: 931-707-7249, www.artguildfairfieldglade.net

During the month of June, HoLa Hora Latina's Casa HoLa will feature both hand-made masks from prehistoric man and dramatic black and white images captured during expeditions into the East African bush.

Local artist Stephen R. Hicks will exhibit masks based on ancient culture from which our origins started. Since childhood, Hicks has always loved everything that Mother Nature has to offer and focuses on natural materials for his creations. The wood he uses was collected locally and driftwood from area lakes is a favorite material that he develops into expressive art. Hicks has always been especially interested in the ancient Mayan culture and many of his masks reflect that culture. His fascination for ancient funeral masks in what drives his art today.

Complimenting the display of masks will be a collection of black and white photographs by Nicole A Perez-Camoirano, a clinical psychologist, avid traveler and passionate photographer. She has chosen “The Roots of Mankind” as the theme for her exposition and the dramatic photo “Walking Masai” as the centerpiece. The entire collection is a photographic journey into the dynamics of being in the world. Her purist approach to photography engages observers in the interplay between photographer and movement; highlighting the tension between man, beast, earth, and sky. Perez-Camoirano was born and raised in Puerto Rico and attributes her Caribbean roots as the driving force behind her interest in the human condition both by professional and cultural background. While Knoxville is now her home, she and her husband continue to do extensive foreign travel and engage in humanitarian efforts whenever possible. Her photography will benefit the Steven Weru Education Fund in Kenya.

The exhibit “Origins” opens with a gala reception for the artists at the Casa HoLa artists on Friday, June 5 from 5:00 PM until 9:00 PM and the exhibit will be open to the public without charge during normal business hours.

HoLa Hora Latina, 100 S. Gay Street, Suite 112, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-335-3358, www.holafestival.org

We've picked up a few new venues for June! We're really excited to add Baneberry Golf Resort, Tennessee Valley Winery and Gettysvue Polo and Golf club to our list of venues. We've also added a few new artists and as always have loads of great new paintings awaiting your brush! We look forward to seeing you out at class! Life's too short for blank walls!

Thursday, 6/4, 6 - 9 pm
Dandelion Dance at Baneberry Golf and Resort

Monday, 6/8, 6 - 9 pm
JFG Coffee Sign at Chuy's

Tuesday, 6/9, 6 - 9 pm
Tennessee Moonshine at Mimi's Cafe

Monday, 6/15, 6 - 9 pm
Flip Flops on the Beach at Mind Yer P's & Q's - Farragut

Tuesday, 6/16, 6 - 9 pm
Bluetiful at Stir Fry Cafe

Saturday, 6/20, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Blue Sky Butterfly at Tennessee Valley Winery

Monday, 6/22, 6 - 9 pm
Zen at Uncorked

Tuesday, 6/23, 6 - 9 pm
Red Moonrise at Barley's Maryville

Wednesday, 6/24, 6 - 9 pm
Dessert First at Gettysvue Polo and Golf Club

Thursday, 6/25, 6 - 9 pm
Light Saver at Original Copper Cellar

Monday, 6/29, 6 - 9 pm
Strawberry at Carolina Ale House

Wine & Canvas: Knoxville, TN, 865-356-9179, http://www.wineandcanvas.com/knoxville-tn.html

Jean Robinette (Robbie) Anderson, is a native of East Tennessee. Robbie works predominately in the medium of painting but delves in various mediums, from clay to natural materials, as well. She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a focus on art history and education.

In the DENSO Gallery. Artist Reception June 4, 6-8pm

Gallery open 10 am to 6pm M-F and during events
At Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Info: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

Recent works by painter Marjorie Horne and ceramic artist Hugh Bailey, both of Knoxville, will be on display 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., June 5, with complimentary refreshments and live music performed by The Accidentals.

Marjorie Spalding Horne’s colored pencil drawings and watercolors span an array of subject matter, but recurring themes are transparent and reflective surfaces and how they are affected and enhanced by their environment. She has received numerous purchase and merit awards in regional and national exhibitions and has had several one-person shows. This Indiana native’s colored pencil works have been juried into six international exhibitions. A signature member of the Colored Pencil Society of America, she was one of the top 100 winners in the PaintAmerica Competition. Her BFA is from the University of Tennessee.

When watercolor painter Hugh Bailey also started to show his ceramics, he noticed that other artists were making functional ware. Wishing to do something different and combine it with his interest in sculpture, he saw an opportunity to create animal forms. “Turned out to be a good choice,” the Bristol native says of the high-in-demand whimsical clay pieces. Hugh’s B.A. is from Berea College, in Kentucky, with an M.F.A.from Indiana University, Bloomington. He belongs to the Foothills Craft Guild, Highland Handicraft Guild, the Knoxville Watercolor Society, and is a charter member (1982) of the Art Market Gallery.

Owned and operated by 62 professional regional artists! 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

For the fifth year, the East Tennessee Historical Society (ETHS) is pleased to announce its participation in Blue Star Museums to offer free museum admission to the nation’s active duty military personnel and their immediate families, as well as National Guard and Reserves, from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2015. Blue Star Museums is a collaboration between the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and 2,000 other museums across America. Leadership support has been provided by MetLife Foundation through Blue Star Families. The program provides families an opportunity to enjoy the nation's cultural heritage and learn more about their new communities after completing a military move. The complete list of participating museums is available at www.arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.

“As the Volunteer State, Tennesseans are always among the first to respond to our country’s call,” says Cherel Henderson, ETHS executive director. “The Blue Star Museums is a wonderful way for us to give back and to say thank you for your service and sacrifice.”

This year, more than 2,000 (and counting) museums in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa are taking part in the initiative. Museums are welcome to join Blue Star Museums throughout the summer. This year’s Blue Star Museums represent not just fine arts museums, but also science, history, and children’s museums, and nature centers.

About Blue Star Museums
Blue Star Museums is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums across America. The program runs from Memorial Day, May 25, 2015 through Labor Day, September 7, 2015.

The free admission program is available to any bearer of a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), a DD Form 1173 ID card, or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card, which includes active duty U.S. military - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, as well as members of the National Guard and Reserve, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps - and up to five family members. Please see the chart of the acceptable IDs (PDF). Some special or limited-time museum exhibits may not be included in this free admission program. For questions on particular exhibits or museums, please contact the museum directly. To find out which museums are participating, visit www.arts.gov/bluestarmuseums. The site includes a list of participating museums and a map to help with visit planning.

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

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

New in the Bearden Art District! Please join us for refreshments, live music, drawings to win art prints, and more! Meet Kay List, artist/owner and Larry S. Cole, artist, at the opening on May 15, 5-9 PM.

View 22 of Kay List's original oil paintings as well as numerous framed and unframed archival quality prints and note cards with images of her paintings. Kay works in a wide range of subject matter so the show is a sampling of a few of them. The show features abstracts, historical barns, nautical, whimsical, animals, flowers and landscapes.

Gallery hours: Tues-Thurs 10-5, Fri-Sat 10-6

Envision Art Gallery, 4050 Sutherland Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37919. Information: 865-438-4154, www.kaylistart.com

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.