Calendar of Events

The Appalachian Arts Craft Center will hold its Spring Porch Sale starting on Thursday, March 16, and running for about two weeks. The Porch Sale, held each spring features outdated stock, seconds, student crafts and unjuried work by members of the Center. It’s an excellent time to get great deals.

The Appalachian Arts Craft Center is a nonprofit center that has been fulfilling its mission by promoting traditional artists and crafts in the East Tennessee area for over 40 years. The center is located at 2716 Andersonville Highway 61 in Norris, Tenn., one mile east of I-75 north at Exit 122. For more information, call 865-494-9854, or visit www.appalachianarts.net.

Marble City Opera will be presenting Verdi's La Traviata at Historic Westwood. The mansion will become the set, Violetta's home, and the audience will become Violetta's party guests! It will be an extremely intimate, exciting, and interactive performance of this timeless opera. Narrators will help tell the story before each act, and characters will guide patrons through the performance.

March 16, 17, & 18 @ 7:30pm. Tickets may be purchased at www.marblecityopera.com/tickets.

Westwood Home, 3425 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN. Marble City Opera: 646-217-1580, www.marblecityopera.com

Part of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s 2016-2017 Moxley Carmichael Masterworks Series, which marks the KSO’s 81st season.

Talented KSO Concertmaster Gabriel Lefkowitz returns to the Tennessee Theatre stage bringing life to Brahms’ Concerto for Violin & Orchestra in D Major for the March Masterworks concerts.

28-year-old violinist Gabriel Lefkowitz has served five seasons as the KSO Concertmaster, and for four seasons has programmed and performed his own Concertmaster Series, Gabriel Lefkowitz & Friends, as well as being the featured soloist on several KSO programs. In addition to many violin and conducting engagements, Gabriel also composes scores for films and video games. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Columbia University where he graduated magna cum laude and a Masters in Violin Performance from The Juilliard School where he studied with Joel Smirnoff and Masao Kawasaki.

Thursday and Friday evenings at 7:30 PM at the Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Tickets and information: 865-291-3310, www.knoxvillesymphony.com

Featuring Charles Brindley. Social time 9:30am, business meeting 10am, artist presentation 10:30am

Meetings take place at the Tellico Village Yacht Club, 100 Sequoyah Rd., Loudon, TN 37774. Art Guild of Tellico Village: www.tellicoartguild.org

Beth Meadows’ current studio is a working space, not open to the public; but if you were to find your way there, you would find yourself in a nest of ideas – one lined with images and materials that the artist collects because they draw her attention. In the exhibit now hanging at Tomato Head Market Square, Meadows has assembled a collection of pieces that feature two prominent classes of things that consistently catch her eye: fashion and food packaging.

Many of the images depicted might seem familiar, and that’s because they’re drawn from the pages of fashion magazines. “They’re super models, “ Meadows says, “and the clothing is made out of a collage of food packaging. The idea was to mix this fascination I have with fashion that’s grown over the years with a negative feeling I have about grocery shopping. I don’t love it, grocery shopping, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that I’m trying not to be swayed by how things are packaged – because I don’t want to be marketed to or persuaded to buy things that are packaged beautifully. That’s really hard for an artist like me because I’m aesthetically inclined.”

The works are a mix of collage and drawing that are, in fact, based on photographs of super models; but as the she creates the piece, Meadows creates her own line of clothing for each – one that’s built from the food packaging that she normally resists. Meadows has a broad range of work, in addition to visiting her exhibit at our downtown place, you’ll want to explore the complete range of her portfolio and find out more about her on her website: http://withbearhands.com/.

On display through April 2 at Market Square, then in the Bearden location April 4 - May 1. Tomato Head, 12 Market Square (865-637-4067) and 7240 Kingston Pike, Suite 172 (865-584-1075), in Knoxville. http://thetomatohead.com

Daily, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM at the Birdhouse, 800 N. 4th Avenue, Knoxville. We offer a kids camp, usually a week long, typically for ages 5-14. We tailor the lessons to multiple ages by working together in whole-group instruction or by splitting up into smaller groups to maximize learning. We spend the day together creating art through various art forms like music, improv games, visual art and dance. We meet-up at the end of the day and share our experiences in a cool down meditative share time. Our mission is to promote cooperation and the love of learning through art, craft and creativity! Through exploration of self we will find common ground in each other. $200 per child. www.kidsinthearts.weebly.com

The Art Gallery at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church will present work by Oak Ridge artist Eun-Sook Kim from March 10 through early May. The exhibition will also feature work by the artist’s students: Betsy Smith, Will Doran, Cathleen Cottrell, and Peggy Teague. A gallery opening talk and reception will be hosted at the church on Sunday, March 12, at 12:15 p.m. The public is invited.

Although my primary medium is ceramics, I consider myself a painter first. Through brushwork, I feel harmony with nature. Like a speck in the landscape of a classic Chinese painting, I am infinitely small, yet essential in nature. Interweaving different strands from different cultures and countries, my art reflects the multicolored pattern of my life,” said Kim.

ORUUC is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. Free and open to the public, Gallery hours are Monday – Thursday, 9 am to 3 pm. and Sunday 9:30 am to 1 pm. For more information call (865)483-6761.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is exhibiting new works in Un//known by Artists-in-Residence – Grant Benoit, Richard W. James, Maia Leppo, Austin Riddle and Emily Schubert. Community members are invited to view the exhibition and attend the reception on April 7, 2017, 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Un//known showcases work in a range of media including functional and sculptural ceramics, fiber, mixed media, jewelry and collage. This cumulative exhibition features work made during the artists’ 11-month residency.

+ Grant Benoit is a mixed media artist interested in narrative, place and memory. He received his MFA in printmaking from Southern Illinois University and his BA from Spring Hill College. Grant utilizes techniques from ceramics, printmaking, and textiles in his installation and sculptural pieces to explore notions of memory. www.grantbenoit.com
+ Richard W. James received his MFA in ceramics from the University of Kansas and his BFA from University of Tennessee, Martin. His figurative sculptures explore childhood experiences and psychological narratives by combining clay, found objects and textiles. www.richardwjames.com
+ Maia Leppo is a metalsmith and jeweler. Maia received her MFA in metals from SUNY New Paltz. Studying first in Biology and Community Health at Tufts University, Maia incorporates those interests and research into her jewelry and body adornment pieces. www.maialeppo.com
+ Austin Riddle received his BFA in ceramics from University of Utah. Influenced by the forms and colors of mass-produced domestic objects from mid-century America, Riddle’s pieces are one-of-a-kind. He uses a variety of clay construction, glazing and firing techniques. www.instagram.com/austinriddlepottery
+ Emily Schubert graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art with BFA in fiber and textile art. She has spent the past several years studying and working in the art of puppetry and performance. Drawing from mythology, folktales, memories, and personal experience, Schubert creates work that make sense of our existence by giving form to our collective fears, sorrows, and desires. www.emily-schubert.com

In the Sandra J. Blain Gallery. Admission is free and open to the public. 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

Opening reception Fri Mar 10, 6:30-8 PM. Free and open to the public.

Featuring works by the Knoxville Book Arts Guild and Southern Appalachian Nature Photography.

Exhibit viewing hours: Tu, Th 9-5; W, F 10-5; Sat 9-1. Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartcenter.com

The Tennessee Stage Company is preparing another World Premiere for our 2017 New Play Festival. It is a farce called The Nearly Final Almost Posthumous Play of the Not-Quite-Dead Sutton McAllister by Florida Playwright Kris Bauske, author of the Christmas Perennial A Good Old Fashioned Redneck Country Christmas. Directed by Leigh Monet & Tom Parkhill; Stage Managed by Tyler Gregory.

A backstage comedy of relatively deathly dimensions. Thursday thru Saturday at 8pm & Sunday matinees at 3pm.

The show runs at Theatre Knoxville Downtown, 317 N. Gay Street, Knoxville. Tennessee Stage Company: 865-546-4280, www.tennesseestage.com

Neil Simon’s most popular and enduring comedy comes to the Playhouse for the first time in nearly 50 years. Felix Unger, recently separated from his wife, shows up on the doorstep of fellow divorcee, Oscar Madison. Feeling sympathy for his depressed (and possibly suicidal) friend, Oscar takes Felix in and they ultimately become roommates. It does not take long, however, for the inevitable clash between the neurotic neat-freak and the slovenly grouch to result in a hilariously strained battle of wills.

Showtimes
Fri Mar 10, 2017 | 8:00PM
Sat Mar 11, 2017 | 8:00PM
Sun Mar 12, 2017 | 2:00PM
Thu Mar 16, 2017 | 8:00PM
Fri Mar 17, 2017 | 8:00PM
Sat Mar 18, 2017 | 8:00PM
Sun Mar 19, 2017 | 2:00PM

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

Synergy: East Tennessee Art Educator Exhibition is an exhibition designed to promote the work of East Tennessee’s finest teaching artists. K-12 art teachers and current art interns/student teachers from public schools, private schools and academies are invited to apply. This exciting exhibit will be held in the Blackberry Farm gallery at the Clayton Center for the Arts in Maryville, TN.

March 6, 2017: Opening Exhibit Reception, 5pm -9pm at the Clayton Center for the Arts
March 6 – 24, 2017: Exhibit Open Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm

Dogwood Arts, 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com