Calendar of Events

The hippest concert of the season. Holiday favorites in the styles of Duke Ellington, Count Basie and more. Mulit-talented instrumentalist/vocalist Wycliffe Gordon joins the band this year to help make your season bright. A veteran of the bands of Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe has earned a reputation as one of the most dynamic brass players and entertaining performers in jazz. Guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit!

At the Tennessee Theatre, 604 S Gay St, Knoxville, TN, 37902. Knoxville Jazz Orchestra: 865-573-3226, www.knoxjazz.org

Third Thursdays of the month - Care for the Caregiver. Being a good caregiver depends on your ability to take care of yourself. Come take an art break, and learn creative tools to cope with stress and burnout. Please register in advance.

Yellow Key Art Center is dedicated to supporting artists with special needs. We provide unique opportunities for education and skill building through the arts. We provide a place to learn and grow through self expression in a fun environment of warmth and respect. We create opportunities to show and sell artwork in the community.

Yellow Key Art Center, 116 Childress Street, Knoxville, TN 37920. Info: 865-219-0130 ext. 241, www.YellowKeyArtCenter.org

Winter Solstice Mobiles *Registration Required*
For adults - $30. Join us in celebrating the Winter Solstice by creating beautiful mobiles inspires by the solstice. These make beautiful holiday and winter decor for your home! Adults 21 and over feel free to BYOB!

The Basement Community Art Studio, 105 W. Jackson Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-333-5262, http://www.thebasementartstudio.com

Stop by to see December's exhibit by Katie Brobst of Kate&Co. Her beautiful, colorful paintings, which are reminiscent of marbled paper and atolls, will mesmerize you!

Ijams Nature Center's Visitor Center will be closed Dec. 24-26 and Dec. 30-Jan. 1.

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

Join us for the opening reception for Nature and Neon, a national juried exhibition organized by Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. This exhibition is open to the public. Awards will be announced during the reception on Friday, January 12th from 6 – 8pm. All are welcome.

This year’s theme invited submissions that explore juxtapositions between the natural and the artificial worlds. Arrowmont itself is geographically located where the natural and the constructed worlds converge, and is also an environment that fosters artistic creation and education. Chosen by juror, Garth Johnson, the works selected for the exhibition consider what is natural, what is unnatural, and how the intersection of both may attempt to realize its own disparate beauty. Parts whimsical and sobering, Nature and Neon offers introspection into what these artists observe about our contemporary relationship to the landscape.

Garth Johnson, curator of ceramics at the ASU Art Museum in Tempe, Arizona, selected 47 works created by 46 artists, from 189 submissions for consideration. The final selection of artists include works spanning all media, with a wide variety of approaches to the exhibition’s theme. Awards will be announced during the reception on Friday, January 12th from 6 – 8pm.

Participating artists:
John Allen, Jess Benjamin, Tracey Bullington, Caroline Byrne, Chloe Darke, Audry Deal-McEver, Virginia Derryberry, Carrie Dickason, Magdolene Dykstra, Alicia Eggert, Sean Erwin, Heather Freeman, Meaghan Gates, Jon Geiger, Dana Lynn Harper, Helen Hawley, Richard Hricko, Mary Johnson, Stephanie Jonsson, Elliott Kayser, Liz Langyher, Michele Lasker, William Lenard, Mimi Logothetis, Andy Lowrie, Kenneth MacBain, Gregory Martin, Matthew Mauk, Ashlee Mays, Marty McConnaughey, Jessye McDowell, Matt Mitros, Dana Moody, Natalie Petrosky, Tongji Qian, Ted Ross, Victoria Shaheen, Rebecca Siemering, Ralston Fox Smith, Shannon Sullivan, Logan Szymanowski, Byron Tenesaca, Ruby Troup, Tali Weinberg, and Charles Wisseman

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

Opening reception January 26 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; artists’ talks at 6:30 p.m.

Coral Grace Turner: New Work
This series utilizes remnants of fabric that Turner designed and printed over ten years ago. She was introduced to a process of hand quilting called English paper piecing earlier this year and found it to be a great way to reimagine her fabric pieces. The fabrics were designed using a grid for registration, layered with random patterning and variations in color to create movement. Similarly, quilting starts with a standard shape that is repeated in a grid-like structure, while the pattern on each shape is random. She created movement within each piece by matching lines and colors at the seams where one piece of fabric is joined with another.

Turner grew up in a family that had a great appreciation for the arts. Her mother taught art classes, one grandmother was a textile designer by trade and the other was a knitter and sewer. At the Rhode Island School of Design, Turner made three- dimensional work using sewing and knitting, which led to installations and finally site-specific sound installations when she graduated with a BFA in Sculpture in 1996. She took a screen printing on fabric class at Arrowmont in 2001 with Clare Verstegen, and the following year continued working with Verstegen in the MFA program in Fibers at Arizona State University, when most of the fabrics used in this work were printed.

Marilyn Avery Turner: A Tale of Two Series
The images and the limited palette came first, and in the process of making the work the idea of blood types and bloodlines emerged. In all of humanity there are only four basic blood types; we are incredibly similar at our core. In our divisive world, where people and cultures choose to concentrate on our differences, which in turn are used to justify any number of prejudices and crimes against humanity, it would be helpful to take this fundamental fact into account.

The other series has a monochromatic palette. In the work that has figurative elements the subject led to that choice, whereas in the non-figurative work there was a conscious decision to use only variations of a particular color. In both series, the figurative elements are based on Pre-Columbian designs and images that she has worked with for the past fifteen years.

Originally from New York City, Turner received her BFA from The Rhode Island School of Design in 1966. She has been concentrating on printmaking, specifically monoprinting and screenprinting, for the last 25 years, combining painting and collage, her main former mediums. She has taken classes since 1994 in the University of Tennessee Printmaking Department. She has been a member of The Art Market Gallery since its inception in 1982, exhibits her work in solo and group shows, and participates in juried exhibitions throughout the United States. www.marilynaveryturner.com

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Gallery hours: M-Th 10-5, Su 10-1. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org

Thursday, December 7 through Sunday, December 24.
The Unusual Tale of Mary & Joseph's Baby dares to take the classic story at its word. There really is a pregnant virgin. There are shepherds, angels, foreign dignitaries (a.k.a. wise men), a ratty extra room/stable at an inn, and a maniacal, bloodthirsty dictator whose menacing shadow hangs over everything.

And obviously, it's a comedy. Seriously it is.
The Unusual Tale of Mary & Joseph's Baby surprises both virgin-believing and non-virgin-believing audiences alike by telling the most over-told story in a sincerely human way that bursts with imagination and wonder.

The Green Room at the Jackson Avenue Terminal in the Old City
211 Jackson Ave.
Knoxville, TN 37902

River & Rail Theatre Company, 100 S. Gay Street, Suite 106, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-407-0727, www.riverandrailtheatre.com

“What does it mean?” I haven’t taken a poll, but it might be interesting to ask how often an artist working in the Abstract hears that particular question. It might be more enlightening to ask if that question becomes challenging to hear over time – not because it’s necessarily a bad question, but because most people ask the wrong person. It’s not a question for the artist: It’s a question for you.

Gretchen Adreon’s exhibit at our Market Square restaurant is an opportunity for you to pose that question to yourself over and over again. And that’s just how Adreon likes it. When a work is complete, she says, her hope is to “leave an open space and the viewer will be able to add their own feelings and connect with the piece to complete the process.” And of course, that means that there are many answers to the question of what’s all about. “From the very beginning I have had people telling me their feelings and impressions of my work. I LOVE that – that’s when the whole process comes full circle to me. When someone is engaged in the work, I feel I have succeeded. Sometimes one viewer sees what another cannot see at all but sees or, even better, feels something totally different. “

Adreon’s art begins as an emotional expression that, through any number of implements and materials -from trowels to sandpaper, and more- remains an open and emotional experience to share with the people who see it. Although this may leave the definition of her imagery in the eyes of others, Adreon is more than comfortable with that process: “My emotions went to abstractions rather than concrete imagery. I have never regretted taking that direction, however many, many people see images, figures and, yes, landscapes as well.”

Gretchen Adreon will be on view at the Market Square Tomato Head from December 4th through January 7th, 2018. She will then exhibit with the West Knoxville Gallery Tomato Head from January 9th through February 5th, 2018.

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

The Art Gallery at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church will present an exhibit of multi-media art by six local artists, opening on Sunday, December 3, at 12:30 p.m. with a reception and gallery talk led by the artists. It is free and open to the public. The exhibit will continue through February 2.

The six artists whose work will be featured are Pat Fain, Mary Ann Damos, Jan Hill, Pat Fitchpatrick, Ina Sue Marlin, and Betsy Spooner. These six artists have studied side-by-side for the past five years under Chico Osten at the Oak Ridge Art Center. They all work with different paint media and in different painting styles.

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.

Zoo Knoxville is offering $5 off admission tickets during Kroger Discount Days, December 1 through February 28, 2018. During Kroger Discount Days, guests can discover why winter is an enjoyable time to visit the zoo. Many animals, including red pandas, river otters, elephants, gorillas, red wolves, lions and tigers, enjoy the cooler temperatures. On days when the temperature drops below 40 degrees, some animals will be moved indoors, but visitors can still see many in their indoor viewing areas. The Pilot Flying J Wee Play Adventure is a popular indoor area that’s an entertaining stop for creative play during visits as well.

A December trip to the zoo may even include a visit to Santa’s Village, a special holiday encounter and photo opportunity with Santa Claus. Santa’s Village will be open for holiday photos and Christmas wishes December 14 through 17, from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. each day in the heated Kids Cove tent. Discounted tickets can be purchased at the zoo ticket window during regular zoo hours and online at zooknoxville.org. Discounted admission tickets must be used by Feb. 28, 2018, and cannot be combined with any other promotion, discount, or coupon.

Currently, the zoo is open from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. daily. Admission and ticket sales stop one-hour before the zoo closes. Zoo Knoxville, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open every day except Christmas. Information: 865-637-5331, https://www.zooknoxville.org

An exhibition of four faculty members from the UT School of Art. Opening December 1, 5-9 PM with a second reception on January 5, 2018, 5-9 PM

Emily Ward Bivens is an Associate Professor of 4D arts and Time-Based Art at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She received her MFA from The University of Colorado, Boulder in 2004. Bivens uses found and made objects to forge narratives, provoke or encourage interaction, and reveal fictional and non-fictional mysteries. These objects shift from prop to subject to evidence when used in performance, video, and installation. Characters or identities are created to act as subjects, authors, inventors, and curators of the work.

John C. Kelley is an Assistant Professor of 4D and Time-Based Arts at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. His video work has screened domestically at venues such as The Mid-America Arts Alliance (Kansas City, MO), the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville, AR) the Arizona International Film Festival (Tucson, AZ), The Front (New Orleans, LA), the Index Art Center (Newark, NJ), Living Arts (Tulsa, OK), internationally in cities such as London, Moscow, Berlin, Sao Paolo, Mexico City, Edinburgh, Vienna, Prague, Amsterdam and others. Kelley has written original music for award winning feature length narrative and documentary films through Gray Picture in St. Louis, MO, released music as a solo artist through King Electric Records in Austin, TX, and has appeared on more than 25 recordings and albums.

Mary Laube was born in Seoul, South Korea. She received her M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. Recent exhibitions include Piecing It Togetherat the Hawn Gallery in Dallas, Signaling to the Cipher towards a Segway at Field Projects in New York City, and Paper Planes at Whitdel Arts in Detroit. Her work has been supported by several artist residencies including the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and Stiwdeo Maelor in Wales. She received the Illinois National Women in the Arts Award in 2009 and a Project Grant from the Iowa Arts Council in 2014. Laube is co-founder of the Warp Whistle Project, a collaborative duo with composer Paul Schuette. Their work was presented at the 2016 International Symposium on Electronic Art in Hong Kong. Recent exhibitions include shows at the Czong Institute for Contemporary Art in Gimpo, South Korea and Phyllis Weston in Cincinnati. Laube has served as a visiting artist at various institutions including the Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar, Kent State University, and Knox College. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee Knoxville.

John Douglas Powers studied art history at Vanderbilt University and earned his MFA in sculpture, with distinction, at The University of Georgia. His work has been featured in The New York Times, World Sculpture News, Sculpture Magazine, Art Forum, The Huffington Post, Art in America, The Boston Globe and on CBS News Sunday Morning. He is the recipient of the 2013 Virginia A. Groot Foundation Award, a Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA Grant as well as a Southeastern College Art Conference Individual Artist Fellowship, an Alabama State Council on the Arts Fellowship, and the Margaret Stonewall Wooldridge Hamblet Award. Powers currently lives and works in Knoxville, Tennessee and is Assistant Professor of Sculpture at The University of Tennessee.

Free admission! UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: W-F 11-6, Sat 10-3. Information: 865-673-0802, http://web.utk.edu/~downtown

Join the McClung Museum for holiday specials, and unique gifts, stocking stuffers, jewelry, handmade artisan items, and more throughout the month of December.

Members and UT students always receive 10% off, and faculty/staff receive a special 10% discount from December 1–25. All proceeds benefit the museum’s free K-12 educational programming.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: M-Sa 9-5, Su 1-5. Information: 865-974-2144, http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu