Calendar of Events

Come enjoy cool drinks and have an outstanding time painting with us at some of the new venues we've booked this coming month. We have some beautiful new paintings to create with you and we're also expanding beyond Knoxville and are excited to paint with new friends in the surrounding area. We look forward to seeing you in class!

Also, we've had such a positive response to our special 10 person minimum for Private events, that we are extending this special in August as well. August dates are already booking so be sure to call us and get your one of a kind paint party on the calendar!

Tuesday, 8/11, 6 - 9 pm
Cades Cove at Barley's - Maryville

Saturday, 8/15, 6 - 9pm
A Whale of a Tale at Elvira's Cafe - Sevierville

Sunday, 8/16, 2 - 4pm
Cookies and Canvas, Ta-Dah at The Basement Community Art Studio

Tuesday, 8/18, 6 - 9pm
Get Them Gators at Downtown Grill and Brewery

Wednesday, 8/19, 6 - 9pm
Love Anchor at Calhoun's - Pigeon Forge

Thursday, 8/20, 6 - 9pm
Psychedelic Seascape at Baneberry Golf and Resort

Friday, 8/21, 6 - 9pm
I Love Wine and Art at Tennessee Valley Winery - Loudon

Saturday, 8/22, 6 - 9pm
Camping Out at Buffalo Mountain Grill - Oak Ridge

Monday, 8/24, 6 - 9pm
No Problem at Uncorked Knoxville

Thursday, 8/27, 6 - 9pm
Midnight Moon at Original Copper Cellar

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

Bliss Home is pleased to present The Lake House, by Knoxville artist, Kate Moore, for August and September First Fridays! Bliss Home, located at 29 Market Square, will host an opening reception on Friday, August 7th from 6pm to 9pm and September 5th, 2014 6pm to 9pm. Complimentary treats from Wild Love Bakehouse will be provided.

Starting with a simple love for crayons, Kate decided from a young age she needed to build her life around art. Kate grew into an artist by exploring different mediums, and dabbling in painting and drawing, until she found her own voice as an artist in graphic design. From custom wedding invitations to small business branding, Kate has spent the last seven years perfecting her graphic design skills at her studio, Kate Moore Creative, located on the 100 block of Gay Street. Kate's exhibit, The Lake House, celebrates the gorgeous lakes, rivers and mountains of East Tennessee which make her appreciate her home.

Purchase Kate's art and you are providing ONE MEAL to a hungry tummy in East Tennessee, through the efforts of Second Harvest Food Bank. Kate is so excited to be a part of something so wonderful, and she hopes her art brings fun and happiness the world. Artist's Website: www.livelovestudio.com

marketing@shopinbliss.com, shopinbliss.com, 865.394.6951

For the month of August, we will be proudly letting our nerd flag fly with local artist, Jon Pemberton!

A resident of Maryville, Jon makes wildly creative pop culture art work, featuring icons such as Nick Cage, Loretta Lynn (yeah, girl!), Ira Glass, and even Admiral Ackbar.
A self-proclaimed nerd, Jon says "I used to hide the fact that I may or may not be a geek, but I have come to understand that being a geek means that you are passionate about something to an extreme point. These are images of my passion, and I accept that."

We love his creative repurposing, such as turning a vintage suit case into a mini bar or a skate deck into wall art. His use of a variety of materials makes his work even more special!
Come on down Friday August, 7th starting at 6pm!
RALA
323 Union Ave
Knoxville, TN 37902

Reception, Friday August 7, 5-9PM

Join us First Friday for an exhibition of paintings inspired by the poetry of local doctor, Humayun Kabir. Dr. Kabir's poetry has been transformed into image by Bangladeshi artist, Mostafiz Karigar. Dr. Kabir will be present at the reception, and will give readings of his poetry at 6:30 and 8:00pm. Please join us!

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. 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 Art Market Gallery will have a special showing of works by gallery members entitled "Knoxville, Then and Now". There will also be a memorial showing of glass works by artist, Vivian Shoemaker. Her stained glass works reflect the landscape of the east Tennessee area. This show will be in conjunction with the East Tennessee History Center's History Fair which takes place on August 15th in downtown Knoxville.

Owned and operated by 62 professional regional artists, the Art Market Gallery is a few doors from Mast General Store and next to Downtown Grill & Brewery. 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.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tu-Th & Sa 11-6, Fri 11-9, Su 1-5. Information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net

By Doug Stone. The time: 1968. The place: a Tupperware party. 5 women with concealed home lives drink a little too much alcohol and hilarity ensues. This play is both hysterical and tremendously touching. One critic wrote, "a knock-down, drag out, soul baring, bra-burning frenzy of self-discovery."

"A Raucous Comedy!" - Associated Press
"It makes its audiences loopy with giddiness." - theatremania.com

Showtimes: Thu/Fri/Sat @ 8:00 pm and Sun @ 3:00 pm

Theatre Knoxville Downtown, 319 North Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information & tickets: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com

Tennessee Stage Company presents Shakespeare on the Square 2015: Performances of The Taming of the Shrew and Macbeth alternating Thursday to Sunday evenings at 7:00 PM from July 16 until August 16 on the Market Square Stage. Shakespeare on the Square annually features two of the magnificent plays of Williams Shakespeare, comedies, tragedies and histories, rotated nightly outdoors on Market Square in the heart of downtown Knoxville. A blanket or a lawn chair is all you need to view these performances. While we perform with no admission charge for general seating, we do appreciate your donations – we pass a basket nightly and we suggest a $10 donation per person. Special VIP seating is available on the Square for $15. Shakespeare on the Square productions are performed on a rough replica of the new Globe Theatre in London (a reconstruction of Shakespeare’s original theater. The plays are presented in the timeless style of Elizabethan theatrical presentations.

The Taming of the Shrew: Renowned as Shakespeare’s most boisterous comedy, The Taming of the Shrew is the tale of two young men, the hopeful Lucentio and the worldly Petruchio, and the two sisters they meet in Padua. Lucentio falls in love with Bianca, the apparently ideal younger daughter of the wealthy Baptista Minola. But before they can marry, Bianca’s formidable elder sister, Katherine, must be wed. Petruchio, interested only in the huge dowry, arranges to marry Katherine – against her will – and enters into a battle of the sexes that has endured as one of Shakespeare’s most enjoyable works.
July 16, 18, 24, 26, 30, Aug. 1, 7, 9, 13, 15 - 7:00 pm nightly outdoors on Market Square

Macbeth: One of the great Shakespearean tragedies, Macbeth is a dark and bloody drama of ambition, murder, guilt, and revenge. Prompted by the prophecies of three mysterious witches and goaded by his ambitious wife, the Scottish thane Macbeth murders Duncan, King of Scotland, in order to succeed him on the throne. This foul deed soon entangles the conscience-stricken nobleman in a web of treachery, deceit, and more murders, which ultimately spells his doom. Set amid the gloomy castles and lonely heaths of medieval Scotland, Macbeth paints a striking dramatic portrait of a man of honor and integrity destroyed by a fatal character flaw and the tortures of a guilty imagination.
July 17, 19, 23, 25, 31, Aug. 2, 6, 8, 14, 16 - 7:00 pm nightly outdoors on Market Square

Macbeth is directed by Greg Congleton with Taming of the Shrew directed by Jennifer Alldredge and Tom Parkhill. The Tennessee Stage Company encourages our audiences to spend an evening on the Square: do a little shopping, have a nice dinner, see the play and maybe stop by a pub afterward. All of this and more is available on Market Square nightly. So come early and see the Square!

Tennessee Stage Company P.O. Box 1186 Knoxville, TN 37901. Information: 865-546-4280, tennesseestage@comcast.net, or www.tennesseestage.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 American Museum of Science & Energy will open Nikon Small World, a traveling exhibit showcasing 20 award winning photomicrographs from the 40th annual Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition. This year’s winner is Rogelio Moreno of Panama for capturing a rarely seen image of a rotifer’s open mouth interior and heart-shaped corona. A computer system programmer by occupation, Moreno is a self-taught microscopist whose photomicrograph serves to show just how close the beauty and wonder of the micro-world truly is - not just for scientists, but anyone willing to open their eyes and look for it. Moreno is recognized along with over 80 other winners from around the world for excellence in photomicrography. Winners from Italy, the United States, Austria, Spain and Australia also ranked in the top ten, for exceptional images selected based on both artistic quality and masterful scientific technique.

“Since the competition began 40 years ago, the caliber in quality and range of subject matter of the images, is matched only by the scientists and photographers who submit them,” said Eric Flem, Communications Manager, Nikon Instruments. “So much has changed in science and technology in the past forty years, opening the door for more and more scientists and artists alike to capture and share their stunning images with the world. A look at our gallery is like a time capsule of the advancements made in the last four decades and truly shows the legacy a Nikon Small World continues to build.”

Rogelio Moreno is a first-time first-place winner of the Small World competition, though he has placed each time he has entered the contest starting three years ago. That success is a testament to his incredible skill, as he only began taking photomicrographs in 2009.

Judges awarded Moreno’s shot of a rotifer caught open-mouthed and facing the camera – for its exemplary technique. Capturing the perfect moment when the rotifer opened its mouth for the camera required extreme patience from Moreno, who watched for hours waiting for his opportunity. With the rotifer in constant motion, he utilized the flash to freeze the movement as soon as the mouth opened – still leaving him with only a one- or two-second window to take the photo, and possibly only one shot to get it right. He also used differential interference contrast (DIC) to enhance the coloration in unstained, transparent samples, and to provide a more detailed image of the rotifer.

“When you see that movement, you fall in love. I thought - wow, that is amazing. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. This is something very, very beautiful,” said Moreno of his winning image. “I hope now it can inspire others as much as it has inspired me – to learn about science, to look closely and notice something truly amazing.”

As the 2014 winner, Moreno joins the ranks of 36 other photomicrographers, artists and scientists from all over the world who have taken the top prize. This year’s competition received over 1,200 entries from more than 79 countries around the world. Top images from the 2014 Nikon Small World Competition will be exhibited in a full-color calendar and through a national museum tour. For additional information, please visit www.nikonsmallworld.com, or follow the conversation on Facebook and Twitter @NikonSmallWorld.

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

A new exhibition featuring botanical photographs by retired University of Tennessee, Knoxville, botany professor Alan S. Heilman, opens at UT's McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture. "Through the Lens: Botanical Photography of Alan S. Heilman" explores the art and science of 60-plus years of Heilman’s award-winning botanical photography of leaves, buds, flowers, fruits, seeds, mosses, lichens, cones, and bark of plants native to or grown in the East Tennessee region. The 55 photographs on view include images of plants from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the UT Gardens on the Agriculture Campus, and highlight Heilman's fascination with color, texture and plant structure.

"Images in the exhibit are products of a lifelong scientist who became an artist painting through a lens," said exhibition curator Gary Crites, McClung Museum curator of paleoethnobotany. "The exhibit offers an exciting blend of plant structure, which has been at the core of Heilman's decades as a student, educator and advocate for habitat appreciation and protection, and the artist's eye for color, form and function in nature." Highlights of "Through the Lens" include the diversity of plant species, types and parts photographed. There are veterans of various photograph competitions, including regional and national award winners. A sunflower image in the exhibit was awarded first place in the Natural World Photographic Competition held at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 1996.

Heilman began his career as a science photographer in the 1940s, when he used his Kodak Recomar 33 and a darkroom in his family's basement to experiment with making microscopic enlargements of dissected plants. He continued to take thousands of photographs of plants in the field and under the microscope over the next decades, amassing an archive of images, many of which are available today as digitized color-film photographs housed at the UT Libraries. They can be viewed at http://kiva.lib.utk.edu/heilman.

The exhibition includes prints produced from digital files held by UT Libraries, as well as prints gifted by Heilman to the UT Gardens.

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

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

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