Calendar of Events

A public reception will take place on Friday, March 3, from 5:00-9:00 PM to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view the artwork. The First Friday reception also features music and dance by Pasion Flamenca from 6:00-6:30 PM and live music by Swing Serenade from 7:00-9:00 PM. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be available.

"I was born in Buffalo, New York. I started art with drawings of the Peanuts characters in 3rd grade. Since that period of time, I have explored different areas of art from cartoons to Dali. I went to SUNY at Oswego in 1976 for Fine Art and Cartooning. In 1979, I enrolled in the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I went for the commercial part of the art to enhance my knowledge in the art field. The art world was tough, and I fell into a management position with a major drugstore during which time I lost touch with my art.

In 2014, I had the first of two hip replacements which lead to a new beginning in my art. I had a lot of time and began painting again. At this point, I’m not completely back to my level from 32 years ago, however I am growing. I’m a “halfback”, migrating from New York to Florida and then to Tennessee, and I couldn’t pick a better place for my new beginning." For more information, please visit www.joe-bracco.pixels.com.

On display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit the Web site at www.knoxalliance.com.

Vintage Re-Inventions: Steampunk Creations by Eric Holstine, Jason Lambert, and Jason Edwards

A public reception will take place on Friday, March 3, from 5:00-9:00 PM to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view the artwork. The First Friday reception also features music and dance by Pasion Flamenca from 6:00-6:30 PM and live music by Swing Serenade from 7:00-9:00 PM. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be available.

Eric Holstine of Charleston, WV combines art with technology to create unique pieces that provide functionality. Holstine is a mixed-media artist with a professional background in Information Technology and uses mixed media, including stained glass, metal, wood, polymer clay, and repurposed items. Much of his work is of the steampunk genre and has been on exhibit in different venues in West Virginia, Maryland, as well as at the Steampunk World’s Fair in New Jersey. He was awarded “Most Original Design” at the WV Makers Festival in October 2015. Holstine’s work includes a functional mantle clock, an "Acoustic Roundabout Cube,” and a steampunk-style robot lamp. All pieces have an electronic feature and/or lighting effect designed and programmed by the artist. For more information, please visit http://ehartwork.com.

Experimentation is Jason Lambert's primary goal. While originally working in pen and ink he has recently transitioned into use of copper, steel, sharpies and nail polish to create unique 2- and 3-D works. His degree in geology and minor in anthropology from the University of Kentucky have helped inform a love of old science he applies to new art. “I never truly consider my work finished, only stalled or given away,” says Lambert. “The process of creation and fusion is what really attracts my imagination. My current body of work is more captured moments or thoughts that I am attempting to flesh out, each one trying to attain completion, rather than a mono thematic installation. In the end, my creations are meant to be enjoyed, for whatever reason you find, adding fantasy, whimsy, and just a little sharpness to your moment.”

Jason Edwards works with acrylic paints, markers, inks, spray paint and charcoal on paper and canvas. He also works with woodblock printing, digital painting and video. His paintings and woodblocks style is whimsical, and his videos are very conceptual. Common themes in Jason’s paintings are reflective of other people’s emotions, and themes in his videos mostly deal with his internal emotions. In his works, he reminds us that it is ok to be human living in a world that is unbalanced and extreme. Edwards is currently working as a scenographer at Woolly Mammoth Theater Company in Washington, DC.

On display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit the Web site at www.knoxalliance.com.

Join us for the opening exhibition on First Friday, March 3, 5:00 to 9:00 p.m.

HoLa Hora Latina, 100 S. Gay Street, Suite 112, Knoxville, TN 37902. Viewing hours are MWF from 1-5pm. Information: 865-335-3358, www.holahoralatina.org or angiemasini@gmail.com

Rala: Regional and Local Artisans

During First Friday on March 3rd, Rala will be celebrating their Grand "Re-Opening" at 112 W. Jackson Ave in the Old City. Featured artist for March is local artist Sarah Moore. Moore is a painter who creates nostalgic landscapes. Her paintings feature places that "evoke both nostalgia and sense of longing for spans of stolen delight." Be sure to stop by from 6-9 pm to meet the artist and see Rala's new location! http://smoorestudio.com/

RALA, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-525-7888, https://shoprala.com/

Opening reception Friday, March 3, 5-7pm

The Rose Center, 442 West Second North St., Morristown, TN, 37814. Hours: M-F 9-5. Information: 423-581-4330, www.rosecenter.org

For the 27th year in a row, dozens of regional dry cleaners are coming together to support job training in their community through Goodwill’s Project Wear and Share. This annual clothing drive, a collaboration between Goodwill Industries-Knoxville and participating dry cleaning establishments, is designed to raise awareness about Goodwill’s vocational services while providing dozens of new opportunities to donate unneeded clothes and linens.

Donations will be sold at Goodwill’s 28 regional thrift stores; proceeds will benefit Goodwill’s vocational training and employment opportunities for individuals with barriers to employment. Training programs range from computer literacy to certified nurse assistant courses, career assessment and planning to job placement services. In 2016, Goodwill Industries-Knoxville served over 3,750 individuals in their 15-county East Tennessee service area.

Participating dry cleaners are located in Knoxville, Oak Ridge, Farragut, Maryville, Alcoa, Seymour, Sevierville, and Morristown. Donations can be made at any participating cleaner during their regular business hours. Helpful donations include gently used clothing, shoes and linens. Find a list of participating dry cleaners at www.goodwillknoxville.org or contact the Goodwill Marketing Team at 865.588.8567.

Recent works by artist Marjorie Horne and clay works created by 11 Art Market Gallery artists will open with a reception at 5:30 p.m., March 3, during Downtown Knoxville’s monthly First Friday Art Walk, with complimentary refreshments, and music performed by Carl Gombert.

Marjorie Horne’s transparent and reflective surfaces have been recurrent themes in her colored pencil drawings and watercolors. More recently she has included landscapes, cityscapes, nature studies, figures, and portraits in her work. Originally from Richmond, Indiana, Marjorie is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a member of the Colored Pencil Society of America. One of her pieces is included in CPSA’s The Best of Colored Pencil V. Always, art is a form of meditation for her. It feeds her soul and brings wholeness to her life.

The Art Market Gallery’s clay artists and sculptors have gathered together this month to reveal a wide variety of style, vision, and technique. The clay artists include Hugh Bailey, Gray Bearden, Bob Concliffe, Ann Dally, Larry Gabbard, Patricia Herzog, Eun-Sook Kim, Lisa Kurtz, Karen Kyte, Amber Anne Palo, and Linda Sullivan.

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

Back to Work – a solo exhibition by sculpture artist Jackson Martin opens with a reception on Friday, February 17, 2017, 5:00 – 7:00 pm. The public is invited. Bring your friends and family and enjoy an evening of art and fellowship.

Back to Work showcases an array of mixed-media sculptures combining wood, steel, fiber and found materials. “My sculptures arise from a need to rescue these abandoned items from obscurity and reconstruct their components into new, engaging combinations,” says Martin. Martin manipulates utilitarian objects and tools to create new meaning, function or lack of function.

Jackson Martin is an artist and educator living in Asheville, North Carolina. Martin is currently an assistant professor of art at the University of North Carolina and recently received the 2017 Visual Artist Fellowship Grant from North Carolina Arts Council. Martin received his MFA at Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art and his BFA at Middle Tennessee State University. He has exhibited his work at Sculpture by the Sea in Aarhus, Denmark, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Pratt Institute Sculpture Park in Brooklyn, New York. Martin has completed residencies at Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont, Godsbanen Cultural Center in Aarhus, Denmark and Baggat Art Organization in South Korea.

In the Geoffrey A. Wolpert 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

The Knoxville Museum of Art announces an exciting new exhibition, Virtual Views: Digital Art from the Thoma Foundation. This electronic media exhibition is presented in conjunction with the 2017 Big Ears music festival. Drawn from the extensive Chicago-based collection of Carl and Marilynn Thoma, Virtual Views explores the growing importance of electronic new media in contemporary art as seen in the work of artists who are pioneers in the use of LEDs (light-emitting diodes), LCD (liquid crystal display), and computer-driven imagery. The exhibition features nine electronic works comprised of synthetic materials and powered by digital technology, yet the rhythms and patterns of its imagery are derived from nature. The featured artists include Jim Campbell, Craig Dorety, John Gerrard, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Alan Rath, Daniel Rozin, Björn Schülke, Jennifer Steinkamp, and Leo Villareal.

Virtual Views is organized by the KMA and presented in conjunction with the 2017 Big Ears Festival March 23-26.

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

From domesticated cats to mythic symbols of divinities, felines played an important role in ancient Egyptian imagery for thousands of years. Now, 80 items from the Egyptian holdings of the Brooklyn Museum will be on view in "Divine Felines". Likely first domesticated in ancient Egypt, cats were revered for their fertility and valued for their ability to protect homes and granaries from vermin. But felines were also associated with royalty and deities. Combining a lion's body and a king's head, sphinxes guarded temple entrances and provided protection as temple objects. The ferocious goddess Sakhmet, depicted as a lioness or lion-headed woman, and the goddess Bastet, represented as a cat or a cat-headed woman, together symbolized the duality of feline nature — caring yet dangerous. The male leonine gods Bes and Tutu were popularly worshiped as protectors of fertility, health and fortune.

Exhibition programming, all free and open to the public, also will include:
• A lecture on mummification in ancient Egypt by scholar Bob Brier, co-sponsored by the East Tennessee Society of the Archaeological Institute of America, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21.
• Two free family fun days—"Purrs from the Past," 1–4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, and "To Kitties' Health," 1¬–4 p.m. Saturday, March 25.
• A stroller tour for caregivers and infants through four-year-olds, "Kitties and Toddlers," at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 27.
• A lecture on cat behavior by Julie Albright from UT's School of Veterinary Medicine at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 19.

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

Tori Mason Shoes is pleased to present original music and new art from local artist, Robert Thompson, for February and March First Fridays! This is the first time Tori Mason Shoes will feature an artist who is displaying new works while serenading first Friday attendees with original compositions, ragtime and Bach.

Tori Mason Shoes, located at 29 Market Square, will host an opening reception on Friday, February 3, 6-9 PM and again on Friday, March 3, 6-9 PM. Complimentary treats from Wild Love Bakehouse will be provided and Robert's art will be featured for the months of February-March. Half of all proceeds from sale of his art will be donated to the Love Kitchen.

Robert Thompson was born and grew up in Kansas City; however, he has called Knoxville home since 1981. Thompson worked as a lawyer for nearly 30 years but now has the time to try other things. Active in A1 LabArts, South Doyle Neighborhood Association, and Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals. Artist's Website: http://t3andp.wixsite.com/artist-painter

Tori Mason Shoes, 29 Market Square, Knoxville. https://www.torimasonshoes.com/

See artwork by Beth Meadows of With Bear Hands and featured artist Sarah McFalls opening Friday, February 3, 5-7 PM in the With Bear Hands Gallery at Magpies. Refreshments provided! All artwork will be for sale.

846 N. Central Street, Knoxville. 865-673-0471, www.magpiescakes.com