Calendar of Events

By: Craig Lucas

A long running Off-Broadway hit by the playwright of Reckless and God's Heart.

A portrait of loneliness in one of the world's most densely populated cities. Libby, for her own private reasons, has invited six disparate friends to her apartment in New York for dinner and drinks. As their conversations drift, they begin to open up to one another...but how do you really know anyone?

Lab Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com. For tickets: 865-974-5161, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

"The Generosity of a Thread: An Alumni Exhibition by Stephanie Anne Harris Trevor"

SAHT (BA from C-N, 2008; MFA from the University of Chicago, 2013) presents recent work and site-specific installations at Carson-Newman University.

Omega Gallery at Carson-Newman University, Warren Art Building, corner of Branner & S. College Streets, Jefferson City, TN 37760. Gallery hours: M-F 8-4. Information: www.cn.edu

Photographers of all ages – amateur and professional – share their vision of “sanctuary” in this first annual photography exhibition. Participants were asked to consider the definition of sanctuary: “a place of refuge or safety; a sacred place” and what that means to them…Where is your sanctuary? Is it a feeling? Is it a memory? Is it real? Is it imagined?

Over 20 photos are in the exhibition which runs through January 2018. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, October 19 from 6:00-7:30pm. The restaurant will remain open during the reception.

Sanctuary Vegan Café is located at 151 N. Seven Oaks Dr, Knoxville, TN 37922. Contact: Jody Sims, curator, 619-210-4587 or jody@jodysims.com

In the GEOFFREY A. WOLPERT GALLERY

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Gallery hours are Monday – Friday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Opening Reception: Thursday, November 2, 2-5 pm

Inexteriors is a series of paintings by artist Marcia Santore that address ideas of impossible architectural spaces. The series has developed over a number of years and has been inspired by visions of windows through doorways through windows, the patterns of light in interior spaces created by seen or unseen openings, indeterminate interior and exterior spaces, unknown houses seen from within and without, mysterious stairways and hallways and hidden rooms, figures that inhabit (haunt?) those spaces, and the potential for these spaces to tell or conceal multiple, unfolding stories. Some of these paintings are in oil and others in acrylic. Some include collaged elements such as recycled paper.

“As someone who has moved many times, both as a child and as an adult, houses have multiple meanings for me—they are places full of mystery and possibility, suggestive of many potential futures or outcomes.”
—Marcia Santore

A portion of the proceeds of sales from this exhibition will be donated to the Oak Ridge Art Center. www.marciasantore.com

O'Brien Art Gallery, Roane State Community College, 276 Patton Lane, Harriman, TN 37748

Free and open to the public
Opening reception October 13 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; artists’ talks at 6:30 p.m.

Gallery hours: 10 AM – 5 PM, Monday through Thursday and 10 AM – 1 PM, Sunday
Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Gallery, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37918

Genie Even’s paintings are contemporary realism and include florals, trees, people, animals, and still life. She is drawn to color, the play of sunlight, and reflections. She uses a camera to create reference photos, composing as she shoots. The computer is only for cropping. She enjoys sketching as she develops a composition, stressing or eliminating lines or areas. Even is a graduate of Scripps College in Claremont, California. As an art major, she was privileged to study with an outstanding art faculty. For twenty-five years, transparent watercolor has been her preferred medium. Her watercolor education has been supplemented by quality workshops with nationally known watercolor artists. Her work has been accepted in many national exhibitions. She holds signature memberships in the California Watercolor Association, Watercolor West, the Texas Watercolor Society, and the Tennessee Watercolor Society.

Art is the first passion Terri Swaggerty recalls; it has always been an integral part of her essence and her path. Her painting explores different techniques and subjects. She paints subjects that pique her interest and especially the ones that take her breath away. These subjects are eclectic: nature, older and often kitschy objects, and body language and the energy between people. As she paints, she savor the colors, the composition, and applying the paint to the canvas. Swaggerty is a professional, award-winning photographer and photo re-toucher. Her work has been shown at TVUUC and Tomato Head Restaurant. She has also participated in Artemis Galley in Apalachicola, Florida and in the 2016 Plein Aire Show at Knoxville’s Emporium. She was a sidewalk portrait artist at the 1982 World’s Fair.

Flying Anvil Theatre presents a haunting tale of desire and obsession. Something dark and irresistible lives deep in the woods of Appalachia in The Love Talker by Deborah Pryor. Gowdie and Bun are orphaned sisters haunted by a mysterious presence that lured their mother away when they were very young. While Gowdie is tempted to follow the siren call of the Love Talker, her sister will do anything to save her, including sacrificing herself.

Based on an Irish folk tale, The Love Talker is an eerie, sensual play—set in a world where strange spirits walk the earth and magic is all around—recalling the darkest of Grimm’s' fairy tales. The play was originally produced at Actors Theatre of Louisville and published in an anthology, where director Jayne Morgan first read it.

“I’ve been wanting to do this play for about 30 years,” Morgan says. “It’s familiar because we know these lovely accents and the wild beauty of the forest. But it also taps into our primeval fear of the dark, of losing control. This show will seduce and unsettle you and make you examine your own obsessions and secrets.” Morgan says she has found strong actors to bring this haunting tale to life. The play reunites the two leads from an earlier Flying Anvil show, Venus in Fur—Carolyn Corley and JD Sizemore. Younger sister Gowdie is played by UT theatre student Emily Cullum, and Margy Ragsdale is the malignant spirit, the Redhead.

The production marks the theatre’s first use of an upgraded lighting system. The show is recommended for adults.

Performances are Wed-Sat at 7:30 PM and Sun at 2 PM.

Flying Anvil Theatre, 1300 Rocky Hill Road, Knoxville. Information: 865-357-1309, www.flyinganviltheatre.com

Are you creating a jaw dropping costume this year? Enter the Ghoulishly Goodwill Costume contest and show off your ultimate Halloween costume! Submit your entry by 8am Friday, November 3rd and win tickets to the Knoxville Zoo. Enter the contest by doing one of the following:
• Post to the Goodwill Industries-Knoxville, Inc. Facebook page at www.facebook.com/gwiktn or
• Post the picture on Twitter and tag @GWIKTN or
• Post the picture on Instagram and tag @goodwillknoxville or
• E-mail the image to marketingteam@gwiktn.org.

Don’t forget to include a picture, description and which parts came from Goodwill. Check out www.goodwillknoxville.org/halloween for more information on the contest!

The Opening Reception for “Fall in Love with Art,” a judged art show at the Plateau Creative Arts Center in Fairfield Glade, will be on Friday, October 6, from 5-7 p.m. The public is invited to attend and enjoy wine or non-alcoholic beverages and hors d’oeuvres. This is a chance to view the show and to mingle with the artists. The show is sponsored by the Cumberland County Bank, a division of Putnam County Bank, who will be awarding the cash prizes.

The judge for the show is artist Jesse Kaufman, a resident of Cookeville with a fifty-year background in both commercial and fine art. He has extensive experience in graphic design, photography and presented a 60-plus show of his fine art at the Cookeville Art Society in January. Kaufman also reaches art and design at Peachtree Learning Center in Cookeville, TN.

Kaufman’s criteria for judging include subject matter, design and composition, knowledge and skill with choice of materials, and execution and quality of appearance. He will present his choices for first, second, and third place, for honorable mention, and best of show. Awards will be given in four categories: works under glass, works not under glass, photography, and jewelry and 3-dimensional art.

Art Guild at Fairfield Glade at the Plateau Creative Arts Center, 451 Lakeview Drive, Fairfield Glade, TN 38558. Hours: M-Sa 9-4. Information: 931-707-7249, www.artguildfairfieldglade.net

Read and discuss Emily St. John Mandel's bestselling novel Station Eleven with the entire community

When a community reads a book together, neighbors are inspired to be more empathetic, more aware, and more engaged. We are pleased to partner with more than 20 community agenices to share Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel with you. Join us for dozens of programs that explore Station Eleven and its themes.

Take the Station Eleven creative response challenge. Read the book, imagine you were there, and respond with a creation of your own—be it a poem, a painting or a video. You could win a prize, but you're guaranteed the satisfaction of trying.

Most events are free and open to the public, but a few require reservations (link is external). http://www.knoxlib.org/calendar-programs/programs-and-partnerships/big-read-2017

The work of Asheville artist, Kathryn Gunn is a vibrant collection of color, light and reflection that comes from an intuitive place where music and mindfulness mingle with canvas, acrylic, and curiosity. Gunn only recently started painting – in fact, until last year, she thought that she couldn’t: “I have always been a lover of art and when I was younger I pursued a career in Art history, but never believed that I could be an artist.”

But when she salvaged the remains of a children’s tempura paint set, Gunn’s artistic interest started her on a path that would lead to art shows and juried events across the southeast even though the beginning of the journey was a very, very private affair that included only one set of eyes: her own.

“I took [the children’s’ paints] home with me. I just loved mixing colors. I would hide in my basement and paint on cardboard so I could throw them away as soon as I was finished and no one would ever look at anything I did.” And even when a friend lured her to a live model drawing event with a promise that the event had “really chill music and you get to drink wine,” Gunn only agreed to attend when she was assured that no one would actually see what she had drawn. The event proved to be much more than a pleasant afternoon of wine and song because when her drawing turned out to actually look like the model Gunn was moved to continue to explore her artistic side. Her subsequent experiments with drawing led to more painting and more work with color and form.

Gunn’s approach remains intuitive – she adds color based on a sense of what’s missing and remains open in terms of style and subject style. “I’m not sure that I’ve found my niche, and maybe never will as I find the next style and go ‘I want to try that out!’”

But her work is certainly informed by nature – in landscapes and even in her abstract and “Flow” works, the colors might leap from the flowers and vistas of the Appalachian Mountains. But more than that, Gunn’s work reflects a peaceful beauty, one that’s attune to her creative process. When she works, Gunn is absorbed by the present, because, she says, “When I’m painting, I lose myself in the work, lose track of time, forget to eat, completely absorbed, I don’t even know that I am sore from standing for hours and hours until I am finished. There is really no separation between me and the painting.”

You can get lost in Gunn’s paintings, too at the downtown Market Square Tomato Head through October 1st. She will then hang at the West Knoxville Tomato Head from October 3rd through November 6th.

Tomato Head, 12 Market Square (865-637-4067) and 7240 Kingston Pike, Suite 172 (865-584-1075), in Knoxville. http://thetomatohead.com

Opening reception on Fri Sep 22, 6:30-8:00 PM. Free and open to the public.

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