Calendar of Events

The Athens Area Council for the Arts announces Me and the Gazelle showing work by Angela Dittmar Posey, regional artist and adjunct professor of art at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Angela Dittmar Posey earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a Master of Fine Art in Studio Art from the City University of New York, Hunter College. During her Masters studies, Posey studied at University College London, The Slade School of Fine Art, in London, England. Posey executes various types of work, from paintings to performances, which solicit moments of self-awareness. She teaches Painting, Drawing, and General Education courses at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

The exhibit reception is Friday, July 17, 2015 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. Posey will be on hand to informally discuss her art. The reception will include light refreshments and is free and open to the public. After the reception, AACA’s Youth Theatre Workshop will present Shaking Up Shakespeare at 7:30 pm in the Sue E. Trotter Theatre. This event is also free and open to the public.

Athens Area Council for the Arts: 320 North White Street, Athens, TN, 37303. Hours: M-F 10-5. Info: 423-745-8781, www.athensartscouncil.org

Save the date!

July 13: Annual Membership & Board Meeting

Details TBA.

Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 9AM-5PM; Wednesday & Friday, 10AM-5PM; 2nd and 3rd Saturdays, 9AM-1PM. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartctr.com

At Lawson McGhee Library
Book selection: After Visiting Friends by Michael Hainey

Join Chrissy Keuper, local host of NPR's Morning Edition for WUOT. She'll lead the discussion of After Visiting Friends, a powerful look at family secrets and the enduring love of Michael Hainey's mother.

Sponsored by Friends of the Library
http://www.knoxlib.org/calendar-programs/programs-and-partnerships/all-over-page

The time is 1955. Chad, a guitar-playing roustabout just out of the jailhouse and in need of a mechanic, rides his motorcycle into a square little town in a square little state. There he is intro-duced to Natalie, the town mechanic, who is instantly smitten and promises to fix his bike. Dreaming of love and adventure, she yearns for one true love to take her away, never realizing that her best friend Dennis has a secret crush on her. But before long, the drifter shakes up everything and everyone he meets in this hip-swiveling, lip-curling musical romance that features the music of Elvis Presley and will have you jumpin' out of your blue suede shoes!

Oak Ridge Playhouse, 227 Broadway, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Information and tickets: 865-482-9999, www.orplayhouse.com

Free and open to the public; Opening reception July 17 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; artists’ talks at 6:30 p.m.
Exhibit runs through end of August

Art Group 21: Friends and Artists
Art Group 21 is comprised of many award-winning artists with professional art training from all over the United States as well as from other countries. Established in the early 1980's by a small group of art graduates needing the fellowship and support of like-minded, working artists, Art Group 21 is a work/study group for mutual support and artistic growth of the members in their pursuit of excellence in the arts. Programs include workshops, lectures, critiques, field trips and group exhibits. The group maintains that the various art forms are a part of the aesthetic total and are mutually reinforcing, thus encouraging the uniqueness of each artist’s vision.
“Friends and Artists” features the recent work of several members.

Lisa Kurtz: Clay for the Wall
Inspired by the sea, “Clay For The Wall” focuses on texture, forms and creatures found in and on sand and water. Kurtz calls these three dimensional canvases: sculptural explorations integrating texture, form, clay and glaze to highlight her two muses – the ocean and clay. She throws and hand builds her clay pieces and often integrates the two methods to create her sculpture, wall art and functional pottery. Her work emphasizes the malleable qualities of clay with lots of texture. By stretching and altering the work while it is still wet, Kurtz welcomes and encourages the spontaneous “happy accidents” that take place while working in the medium and in the firing process. Her current work explores the contrast between raw, earthy, stretched slabs of clay and smooth, thrown glazed forms. Kurtz has been a potter for over 36 years. An award-winning ceramic artist, she currently teaches clay at Cleveland State in Cleveland, Tennessee.

At Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Gallery hours: Mon-Thurs 9 AM - 5 PM and Sunday 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org

We're about to have our one year anniversary on July 1st and want to thank Knoxville for being so welcoming to us! We've met some of the most amazing people, enjoyed meals at great venues and have found Knoxville is the best place to be passionate artists. We've got lots in store to celebrate in the coming month such as new "Paint Your Pet" classes, Cookies and Canvas classes for the kids, flash sales to be on the look out for, a special on our Private Events and even a special Christmas in July! We'll be kicking it all off at the Festival on the Fourth at Worlds Fair Park so make sure to come out and paint with us at our booth.

Wednesday, 7/8, 6 - 9 pm
Dragonfly at R.J's Courtyard

Sunday, 7/12, 2 - 4 pm
Bugged Out at Basement Community Art Studio

Monday, 7/13, 6 - 9 pm
Stadium at Chuy's

Tuesday, 7/14, 6 - 9 pm
Still Life 1 at Downtown Grill and Brewery

Wednesday, 7/15, 6 - 9 pm
Dogwoods at Club LeConte

Thursday, 7/16, 6 - 9 pm
Purple Meadow at Baneberry Golf and Resort

Monday, 7/20, 6 - 9 pm
"Paint Your Pet" at Carolina Ale House

Thursday, 7/23, 6 - 9 pm
Night Owl at Original Copper Cellar

Monday, 7/27, 6 - 9 pm
Full Moon's Ride at Knoxville Uncorked

Tuesday, 7/28, 6 - 9 pm
Birch and Poppies at Mind Yer P's and Q's (Farragut)

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

July 04, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
July 04, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
July 04, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
July 11, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
July 11, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
July 11, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
July 18, 2015 PUBLIC PROGRAM: Wagging Walk
July 18, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
July 18, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
July 18, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
July 19, 2015 IJAMS CREATIVE SERIES: Family Drum Circle
July 25, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
July 25, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
July 25, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Grounds and trails open during daylight hours. Call for Visitor Center hours. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a new exhibition by Susan V. Adams and Barb Johnson entitled “ORGANIC AND MECHANIC”. The exhibition features mixed media works by two artists who have been friends since they both moved to Knoxville in the late 80s. Susan V. Adams developed her work while exhibiting in local shows and her gallery, and Barb Johnson has been connected to the art world through her background in art education and teaching. “ORGANIC AND MECHANIC” will be displayed in the Balcony gallery of the Emporium Center. A public reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on Friday, July 3, 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.

Susan V. Adams loves to create. She is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, has exhibited in galleries and shows throughout Knoxville, and has done commissions for several private collections. The focus of her art is botanicals of the East Tennessee and the Appalachian regions. For this show, she has also forayed into farmer’s markets for vegetables and berries, hence the reference to “organic” in the exhibition’s title. Adams photographs, collects and researches botanicals and draws inspiration from antique botanical art.

Barb Johnson finds art as a staple in her everyday life, translating scenes and subjects into works of art. For many years she taught art in a Knoxville high school, which proved her full-time priority. Today, creating art is a full-time passion, and she offers private art lessons in her West Knoxville studio. The word “mechanic” in the exhibition’s title refers to Johnson’s series of acrylic paintings of the large Mendelson Warehouse in Dayton, Ohio, where old mechanical objects were displayed and sold. Every shelf in the warehouse provided opportunities for painting compositions. The “Mendelson” series has won several awards in area juried art shows, and one work is currently in Knoxville’s Arts in the Airport exhibition. For more information on Barb Johnson, please visit www.barbjohnsonart.com.

“ORGANIC AND MECHANIC” is on display July 3-31, 2015 at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 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 a new group exhibition by the Artists of 17th Street Studios titled “Amalgam Volume 3”. 17th Street Studios is located at the corner of 17th Street and Highland Avenue in Redeemer Church of Knoxville, and at any given time, houses painters, sculptors, illustrators, drawers, and graphic artists. This is their third annual group exhibition, which features original work by eleven local artists: Ashley Dawn Addair, April Bachtel, Jalana Cooper, Michael Giles, Jon Hendricks, Michelle Jephcott, Carri Jobe, Sarah McFalls, Janet McMullen, Beth Meadows and Tony Sobota. “Amalgam Volume 3” will be displayed at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from July 3-31, 2015. An opening reception will take place on Friday, July 3, from 5:00-9:00 PM and features a Jazz Jam Session hosted by Vance Thompson and 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.

The artists and designers who make up the 17th Street Studios each have a unique background and a specific creative inclination. Their differing goals as artists result in bodies of work that notably contrast from one another. Yet, as these professionals inhabit the same space, a conversation is sparked, similarities are discovered, and a fusion of ideas begins to take shape. The mission of 17th Street Studios is to host artists in Knoxville by providing studio spaces and a working community. These studios serve as workshops for artists to develop their art practice and fulfill their calling. For more information, please visit http://17thstreetstudios.gutensite.com.

“Amalgam Volume 3” will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM - 5:00 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.

This is a group show by local artists who are members of the Tennessee Artists Association featuring a variety of works in pastels, watercolors, oils, acrylics and mixed media.

Hours: Monday thru Friday, 9 AM to 4PM
Westminster Presbyterian Church's Schilling Gallery, 6500 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919. Info: (865) 584-3957

Tennessee Artists Association: www.tnartists.org

The Knoxville Watercolor Society will exhibit recent works from its members. Opening reception Saturday June 27, 2015 7:00 – 9:00 and features Gallery Talk at 6:30. For more information about the Knoxville Watercolor Society, membership requirements and to view members' art works go to www.knxvillewatercolorsociety.com.

Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Tu-F 9-5, Sa-M 1-4. Information: 865-482-1441, www.oakridgeartcenter.org

The 6th Annual Judged and Juried Fine Arts Show begins with an Awards Reception on Friday, June 26th from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm. The show’s winning entries will receive cash prizes, which will be presented at the reception. The exhibition was juried by Andrea D. Rudloff. She recently served as the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center education and visual art director, successfully designing and launching all education, engagement and visual art programming. Rudloff has more than 20 years of experience as an art administrator, curator and professional artist including murals and exhibitions in Bowling Green, Nashville, New York City; Taipei, Taiwan and other national and international exchanges.

In addition to wall art including pieces in photography, watercolor, oil, acrylic, pastel, pen, ink, and pencil, artists proficient in clay, sculpture, jewelry and multi-media will show work.

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