Calendar of Events

Rala is proud to present an exhibition by Knoxville artist extraordinaire, Mike C. Berry! "Postcards From Knoxville" is an exhibition of small "postcard size" scenes depicting some of Knoxville's iconic landmarks, all created in Mike Berry's expressive and colorful style. Mike Berry is a local Knoxville painter whose work consists of vibrant scenes of downtown Knoxville. He is the gallery manager of University of Tennessee's Downtown Gallery and an active member of the Art & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville.

Please join us for a First Friday Reception, June 3 from 5 - 9 pm

RALA, 323 Union Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-525-7888, https://shoprala.com/

This exhibition showcases the world of modern paleontology, introducing a dynamic vision of dinosaurs and the scientists who study them. New discoveries and technologies reveal how dinosaurs lived, moved and behaved. Find out how advanced technologies allow scientists to look at fossils in fresh ways. Examine realistic models and casts, and see dinosaurs walk, run and move their long necks in fantastic computer simulations.

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

Bliss Home is pleased to present Knoxville photographer Brian Murray for June First Friday! Bliss Home, located at 29 Market Square, will host an opening reception on Friday, June 3rd from 6pm to 9pm and another reception on Friday, July 1st from 6pm to 9pm. Complimentary treats from Wild Love Bakehouse will be provided.

Brian Murray is a local photographer who has had prints in several exhibits including the Arts In The Airport, Dogwood Arts Fine Art Exhibition, National Juried Photo Exhibit at the Emporium, and the Mayor's office. Brian is primarily known for his photos of local landmarks and historic buildings but he enjoys taking pictures of anything and everything in between. Brian's passion is for abstract or minimalist style of photos. Brian often strives to create images that focus on lines, shapes, or textures. Brian's June exhibit will reflect his changed perspective on photography. Last year Brian finally got an Instagram account a year ago, which has inspired Brian to compose his images in a square format. Each piece that Brian has selected for his June exhibit is an image that he personally likes and has taken over the past year for his Instagram account. Brian is a big fan of vinyl and imagines each piece as an album cover; each one with its own story to tell. http://bmurrayphoto.yolasite.com/

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

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present the fourth annual Knoxville Photo, an exhibition featuring selected works from 33 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. Susan Stanton served as juror for the exhibition and viewed images from more than 90 artists to select the exhibition. Stanton has spent years traveling and photographing the beauty and rustic charm of the Southern Appalachians. Her images have appeared in countless publications regionally as well as world-wide, including Nature’s Best Photography Magazine, Our State Magazine, and Blue Ridge Country.

The following artists’ works will be shown:
+ Leon Bell of Brownsboro, AL
+ Madelyn Carr Bonnett Columbiana, AL
+ David F. Edens Madison, AL
+ Nathan Dean and Valerie Gruner Atlanta, GA
+ Samuel Brown Dacula, GA
+ Maria Belford Brooklyn, NY
+ Kathy Collier Blythewood, SC
+ Alan Brock Cleveland, TN
+ Charles Stevens Crossville, TN
+ Ann Allison-Cote', Lindsey M. Bier, Louise Boyd, Jurgen Dopatka, Katharine Emlen, David A. Johnson, Robert Minick, Keith S. Norris, Julie L. Rabun, Martha Carroll Robbins, Cheryl Sharp, Sean Sparbanie, Dale Sumner, Eric Thompson, Clay Thurston, and Steve Zigler Knoxville, TN
+ David Hardin Loudon, TN
+ Sarah Byrd Nashville, TN
+ Yvonne Dalschen Oak Ridge, TN
+ Eric Buechel Pleasant Hill, TN
+ AngelaDawn Russell and Phil Savage Powell, TN
+ Spears McAllester Signal Mountain, TN
For more information, please visit http://www.knoxalliance.com/knoxville-photo/.

A public reception will take place on Friday, June 3, from 5:00-9:00 PM to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view the artwork. Most of the works are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition.

This exhibition and others are on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Sundays, June 5 & 19, 3:30-6:30 PM. Info: 865-523-7543 or www.knoxalliance.com

This exhibition and others are on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. “The beauty of glass has always intrigued me, and since retiring from education I have pursued the art,” says Judy Overholt Wheeler. “My first mentor, Sharra Frank from Minneapolis gave me the best beginning possible, and I have studied with her for several years. Pamela Goode at Ceil Gallery in Charlotte, NC has been an inspiration, as have the classes I have had with Laurel Skye, Yulia Hanansen, Sonya King, and Beverly Thomas Jenkins—all expert mosaic artists. Since being a teacher, administrator, mother, and wife, I have never stopped learning and trying to bring beauty into the world. In this vein, I offer my exhibition.”

A public reception will take place on Friday, June 3, from 5:00-9:00 PM to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view the artwork. Most of the works are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition.

Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Sundays, June 5 & 19, 3:30-6:30 PM. Info: 865-523-7543 or www.knoxalliance.com

This exhibition and others are on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville.

Kim Emert Gale is a seventh generation East Tennessean and a descendant of Emert's Cove. She specializes in oil, acrylics, pen and ink and pencil drawing. She has painted for many years and is self-taught but has also studied with several outstanding artists in the East Tennessee area. Kim attended the University of Tennessee and studied art and psychology. She resides in Knoxville where she paints the beauty of the surrounding area and the Smoky Mountains. For more information, please visit http://www.kimemertgale.com/?m=1.

Janet Weaver was born and raised in the mountains of North Carolina. Living in such an amazing place, she learned to appreciate the beauty of her surroundings and seeks to convey that appreciation in her paintings. “The subjects I enjoy painting are people, places, and animals that stir a feeling or evoke a memory in me,” says Weaver. “Painting is a way for me to share my thoughts and feelings with others.” After living in different areas of the country because of her husband's job, they then settled in Knoxville. She is a mother of three children and grandmother of four. After her children were grown, she decided to make art more of a priority.

A public reception will take place on Friday, June 3, from 5:00-9:00 PM to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view the artwork. Most of the works are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Sundays, June 5 & 19, 3:30-6:30 PM. Info: 865-523-7543 or www.knoxalliance.com

By Ken Ludwig. Directed by Courtney Woolard.

In this hilarious comedy by the author of Lend Me A Tenor and Moon Over Buffalo, two English Shakespearean actors, Jack and Leo, find themselves so down on their luck that they are performing "Scenes from Shakespeare" on the Moose Lodge circuit in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. When they hear that an old lady in York, PA is about to die and leave her fortune to her two long lost English nephews, they resolve to pass themselves off as her beloved relatives and get the cash. The trouble is, when they get to York, they find out that the relatives aren't nephews, but nieces! Romantic entanglements abound, especially when Leo falls head-over-petticoat in love with the old lady's vivacious niece, Meg.

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

This month's Hallway Gallery shows off the amazing collaboration of the artists Melissa Steele and Kate Sherill of Georgia. Bright, colorful, and enchanting- you won't want to miss out on seeing these beautiful works of art from now until the end of June.

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

Recent works by ceramic artist Pat Herzog and Artist Diana Dee Sarkar will be on display. An opening reception for the featured artists will begin at 5:30 p.m., June 3; with complimentary refreshments and music performed by Kevin Walters.

Patricia Herzog – Pat has been working as a professional clay artist since 1978 after graduating from the University of Tennessee with a Master of Science Degree in Ceramics. Her recent work reflects her continued interest in color, decoration, texture and function. Her ceramic forms are inspired by her travels and Tennessee surroundings with an emphasis on animal imagery, universal patterns in nature, and the art of ancient cultures. She hopes her work portrays a sense of humaneness in this otherwise digital world.

Diana Dee Sarkar - During her 34 years as a physician with a busy medical practice, Diana Dee found time to paint. She liked to paint portraits and landscapes of the people and places she encountered doing volunteer medicine in third world countries because she wanted to share these experiences with her patients back home. Thus began her life in art. This versatile artist, who works in various mediums, enjoys painting landscapes which include people and animals. She remained a self-taught artist until 2005 until she decided to obtain an art education. She began studying oil painting at Woodstock School of Art with Hongnian Zhang, and figure oil painting with Nelson Shanks, Anthony Ryder, and Warren Chang. She also trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. Diana completed her MFA in figure painting at the Academy of Art University in 2014. While at AAU, she has continued to study pastel landscape painting with Gil Dellinger, Susan Olgilvie, Kim Lordier, Lorenzo Chavez and Clark Mitchell.

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

The Tennessee Watercolor Society (TnWS), founded in 1972, has represented the finest artists in the state for 44 years and hosts yearly juried exhibitions and biennial exhibitions. The biennial exhibition showcases 55 watermedia paintings chosen from nearly 200 entries. Juror John T. Salminen is a signature member of numerous art societies such as the American Watercolor Society, the National Watercolor Society, and the Transparent Watercolor Society of America and recipient of more than 220 national and international awards. Prizes for the TnWS Biennial Exhibition total $10,000. A juried collection of 30 paintings from the exhibition will later travel across Tennessee into January 2017 to six locations for public and visual arts outreach, including Memphis, Humboldt, Columbia, Chattanooga, Elizabethton, and Clarksville.

The following artists’ works will be shown:
+ From Region I (Memphis, Clarksville and points far west): Bill Bailey, Angela Broyles, Sandra Carpenter, Ronda K. Coop, Judy Duke, Robert Eoff, Tim Hacker, Larry Hughes, Susan Hyback, Floyd Speck, Mary Spellings, and Tuva Stephens
+ From Region II (Nashville, Franklin, and surrounding areas): Glenna Cook, Abby Eblen, Pam Francis, Vinci Kolodziejski, Frank Lott, Pam Pate, Patricia Patrick, Noriko Register, and John Wilkison
+ From Region III (Chattanooga, Cleveland, Signal Mountain, and surrounding areas): Sandy Boone, Sandy Brown, Phyllis Burkhart-Wilson, Helen Burton, Harriet Chipley, Joan Clark, Leslie Dulin, Marie Spaeder Haas, Jennie Kirkpatrick, Mary Britten Lynch, Effton Mitchell, Denton Ridge, Ann Rutledge, Alan Shuptrine, Sandra Washburn, Lana Wilson, and Patricia Wilson
+ From Region IV (Knoxville, Maryville, Oak Ridge, Tellico Plains, Tellico Village, Rarity Bay): Kate Aubrey, Claudia Balthrop, Lil Clinard, Thomas Eckert, Loretta Lee Edge, Linda Johnson, Judy Lavoie, Kate McCullough, Susan Miller, Brenda Mills, Max Robinson, Laurie Szilvagyi ,Mary Ann Valvoda, and Ulla Veiro
+ From Region V (Johnson City, Tri-Cities, Bristol): Barbara Wilson Carter, Jim Stagner, and Thomas White
For more information on the Tennessee Watercolor Society, visit http://tnws.org/.

A public reception will take place on Friday, June 3, from 5:00-9:00 PM to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view the artwork. Most of the works are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition.

This exhibition and others are on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM; Sundays, May 15, June 5 & 19, 3:30-6:30 PM; Friday, May 20, 5-7 PM; and Saturday, May 21, 11 AM - 3 PM. Info: 865-523-7543 or www.knoxalliance.com.

Lew Bolton started performing Jack’s adventures at the Jack Tales Storytelling Theater as trickster-hero Jack, celebrating his 30th season. Adults and youth take part in these interactive tales. Jack Tales are rooted in traditional folk stories from Appalachian settlers. Richard Chase, in a 1943 folk classic, The Jack Tales, published part of our rich cultural heritage. Bolton has also published Smoky Mountain Jack Tales of Winter and Old Christmas for the family to read at home. NEW in 2016, enjoy professional storytelling from the *Smoky Mountain Storytellers Association (info: www.smokymountaintellers.org)

Most events occur on Saturdays and Sundays with occasional performances on Wednesdays and Mondays. See the website for full schedule.

At ABC (Adventure Bound Camping Resort) 4609 US 321, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Supporting Jack Tale Theater since 1987. Info: (865) 436-4434 or www.Smokymountainjacktales.com

Also featuring Selections from the Permanent Collection - featuring International Artists including Henri Matisse, Georges Rouault, Salvador Dali and many others.
And in the Foyer Gallery - A Summer Thing: Summer Class Instructors

Artists Reception: Friday Evening, May 13, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM with Gallery Talk at 5:30 PM
The event is free and open to the public. Bring your friends and family!

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