Calendar of Events

Saturday mornings from 10:30am-12:00pm, come to this FREE class and brush up on your improv skills!

At The Birdhouse, 800 N 4th Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917. Info: karlalanhess@gmail.com
http://birdhouseknoxville.com/about-we/regular-programming/improv-comedy-class/

Bliss Home, located at 29 Market Square, will host an opening reception on Friday, February 5th, from 6pm to 9pm. Complimentary treats from Wild Love Bakehouse will be provided and Starr's art will be featured for the month of February.

Ocean Starr Cline was born in San Francisco and raised in Alabama on an 11 acre farm. She moved to Knoxville almost 10 years ago after finishing her BA and MA in English Literature at the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama. After arriving in Knoxville, she immediately began showing and selling her work on Gay Street as well as Gatlinburg, in addition to her nationwide internet based sales. Cline is a self taught full-time artist. She has been painting for over 20 years. Her inspirations come directly from her experience living on a farm in the country and her education in English Literature. Many of her paintings are heavily textured, which causes them to change through the day as the light passes through a room. Cline's January exhibit focuses on ideas of identity and the mix between the faces we would show to the world and the ones we hide even from ourselves. https://www.etsy.com/shop/OceanStarr

Bliss Home, 29 Market Square, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-329-8868, www.shopinbliss.com

Recent works by painter Lil Clinard and fiber artist Julia Malia will be on display at the Art Market Gallery. An opening reception for the featured artists will be held on January 8.

Lil Clinard has enjoyed drawing and painting ever since she can remember. She has been fortunate to live in and travel to many beautiful places and take photographs as references she paints. She particularly loves to recall these enjoyable places and times as she paints. Through reading, taking workshops from renowned artists, observing fellow artists and painting every chance she gets, she has been able to acquire sufficient skill to portray the world around her.

Julia Malia is a fiber, jewelry, and stained glass craftswoman as well as a watercolorist and musician. As a fiber artist specializing in wearable art, she uses a variety of fibers and techniques. The styles of her original designs are usually either classical or folk-style in nature, drawing inspiration from historic or ancient themes. For instance, she often bases garment designs on her family’s Irish and Scottish roots by using ancient Celtic shapes and symbols. She also favors Japanese kimono garment shapes. Rich textures and colors are central to her life and her work, and she utilizes techniques that combine and enhance color variegation.

Owned and operated by more than 60 professional regional artists, the Art Market Gallery is a few doors away from Mast General store and next to Downtown Grill & Brewery. 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

Artist reception: Fri Dec 4, 5-9 PM
Closing reception Friday, January 29, 5-7pm

The UT Downtown Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of editorial cartoons by Knoxville News Sentinel cartoonist Charlie Daniel. The exhibition will feature a large selection of “Rosy’s Diner” cartoons as well as a variety of subjects and themes from the past two decades. Charlie Daniel came to Knoxville in 1958 as the editorial cartoonist for The Knoxville Journal. He moved to the Knoxville News Sentinel in January 1992 and has been the editorial cartoonist here ever since.

Free admission! UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: W-F 11-6, Sat 10-3. The gallery will be closed from December 24 - January 2 for the holidays. Information: 865-673-0802, http://web.utk.edu/~downtown

Knoxville Zoo is offering “Buy One, Get One Free” admission tickets Dec. 1, 2015, through Feb. 29, 2016, during Kroger BOGO Days.

“It may come as a bit of a surprise to our guests, but winter is a great time to visit the zoo,” said Lisa New, President and CEO of Knoxville Zoo. “We’re lucky to have many days of mild weather, and most of our animals enjoy being out and active on those days. Our red pandas and river otters are especially lively this time of year.” On days when the temperature drops below 40 degrees, some animals will be moved indoors, but visitors can still see many favorites, including elephants, gorillas, penguins, chimpanzees and reptiles, in their indoor viewing areas. A December trip to the zoo may even include a visit with Santa Claus, too, when the Pilot Flying J Wee Play Adventure indoor play area hosts Santa’s Village. Santa’s Village will offer visits and photo opportunities with Santa as well as holiday-themed crafts Dec. 3 through 6 and 10 through 14 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. each day. Half-price admission tickets can be purchased at the zoo ticket window during regular zoo hours and online at knoxvillezoo.org. Discounted admission tickets must be used by Feb. 29, 2016, and cannot be combined with any other promotion, discount, or coupon.

Knoxville Zoo, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open every day except Christmas. Information: 865-637-5331, www.knoxville-zoo.org

Returns for 10th season with expanded schedule! Locally owned Home Federal Bank joins its love of downtown Knoxville and Christmas this winter through its continued role as presenting sponsor for the City of Knoxville’s Holidays on Ice. Knoxville’s only open-air ice rink opens to the public on Friday, Nov. 27. This year marks the 10th season for the ice rink on Market Square. In celebration of its anniversary and based on popular demand, the rink is extending its season by 15 days. “This is an exciting time for Holidays on Ice,” City of Knoxville Director of Special Events Judith Foltz said. “For the first time in many years, the rink will be completely open air. We’re removing the tent, enhancing the rink with overhead lighting and extending the season by 15 days.” In 2014, the rink hosted 19,000 skaters and 20,000 spectators. For more information including operating hours and admission rates, visit http://www.knoxvillesholidaysonice.com.

For information on Christmas in the City: City of Knoxville Special Events, 865-215-4248,
http://www.knoxvilletn.gov/government/city_departments_offices/special_events/christmas_in_the_city/

Students, family, friends, and the public are invited to a reception and awards ceremony Tuesday, December 8 from 6 to 8pm at the Knoxville Museum of Art. The event is free and open to the public.

The Knoxville Museum of Art and the Tennessee Art Education Association celebrates the 10th anniversary of the East Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition Friday. Now in its tenth year, the exhibition offers middle and high school students from around East Tennessee the opportunity to participate in a juried exhibition and to display their talents and be honored for their accomplishments in a professional art museum environment. The East Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition is open to students in grades 6-12, attending public, private, or home schools in 32 counties across East Tennessee. Fewer than a third of the more than 964 entries in this highly competitive show made it through a rigorous jury process. The best-in-show winner will receive a purchase award of $500, and the artwork will become a permanent part of the collection of Mr. James Dodson, on loan to the Knoxville Museum of Art's Education Collection.

Since 2005, the East Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition has presented the work of nearly 3,000 students who have competed for a total of $7 million in scholarships made available to eligible juniors and seniors by colleges and universities from around the nation.

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

Native genius. Boy artist. These and other descriptors were often applied to Lloyd Branson, who grew from a precocious sketcher on his family’s East Tennessee farm to an accomplished artist best known for portraits of Southern politicians and depictions of early Tennessee history. For the first time, Branson is the subject of a major retrospective, which chronicles his life, works of art, and legacy as one of the most influential figures in Knoxville’s early art circles. Please join us in celebrating Branson’s life and art!

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: M-F 9-4, Sa 10-4, Su 1-5. Information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org

Arrowmont is showcasing selected works of the last 60 years from its permanent collection in the Sandra J. Blain Gallery. dmission is free and the community is encouraged to attend with their friends and family.

Arrowmont’s permanent collection includes nearly 1,000 works in fiber, ceramics, wood, metal and mixed media. The exhibit features 45 artists from the collection including Dennis Sipiorski, Christian Burchard and Sandra J. Blain.

Sipiorski is a former Arrowmont photography instructor and currently teaches ceramics at Southeastern Louisiana University. Burchard resides in southern Oregon as a working sculptural artist. His work is exhibited in public and private collections nationally and internationally. Blain is professor emerita of University of Tennessee in Knoxville and former Arrowmont executive director.

Pieces of the Whole was curated by Kelly Hider, Arrowmont gallery manager and working mixed-media artist. Hider selected works that represent “multiple components – working together as a whole” either by function, concept or aesthetic. These works symbolize Arrowmont’s past, present and future in the arts and crafts community.

Gallery hours are Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm and Saturday 10am - 4pm. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

This exhibition will take the viewer through the evolution of Himalayan artistic styles from the 8th century through the present. From gilded statues of deities, to complex and colorful paintings of religious figures, the objects in the exhibit explore how trade, travel, and the evolution of Buddhism helped foster a strong artistic tradition that continues today.

Exploring the rich history of Himalayan style art in a chronological fashion, the Tibetan bronzes and paintings featured will progressively lead the viewer through the major stylistic developments that took place and provide an introduction to the techniques used to produce these works as well as to the complex religious iconography depicted in them.

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

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

Ijams Hallway Gallery Presents: The Artwork of Broadway Studio and Gallery Artists

This month's Hallway Gallery shows off the amazing collaboration of the artists of Broadway Studio and Gallery. Bright, colorful, and diverse- you won't want to miss out on seeing the first group showing of these talented artists.

More events at http://ijams.org/events/. 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