Calendar of Events

It was October 1918 when Sergeant Alvin C. York gained national acclaim for his actions in battle in the Argonne Forest of France, single-handedly killing 25 German soldiers and taking 132 prisoner. Over time, the exact site of the battle became lost to history. Between 2006-2008, a national team of historians, archeologists, and geographers travelled to France to rediscover and document where the epic battle took place uncovering more than 10,000 World War I era artifacts. In a Brown Bag Lecture on Wednesday, June 20, Dr. Michael Birdwell will recount the team’s amazing journey of research and discovery to locate the actual battle site.

Dr. Michael Birdwell is a professor of history at Tennessee Tech University and has studied the life of World War I hero Sgt. Alvin C. York for more than a quarter of a century, working directly with York’s descendants for most of that time. Birdwell is the curator of the York Papers in York’s hometown of Pall Mall. Professor Birdwell has also conducted extensive research on Warner Bros. Entertainment Film history and media studies, with an emphasis on both Tennessee film and film influenced by World War I and II.

The lecture is presented in conjunction with the feature exhibition “In the Footsteps of Sergeant York” on display at the Museum of East Tennessee History through July 8.

The lecture is sponsored by the Gentry Griffey Funeral Chapel and Crematory and is free and open to the public and will begin at noon at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville. Guests are invited to bring a “Brown Bag” lunch and enjoy the lecture. Soft drinks will be available. For more information on the lecture, exhibitions, or museum hours, call 865-215-8824 or visit the website at www.EastTNHistory.org.

Art Exhibit at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church - Free and open to the public.
Reception Friday, June 15, 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Artists’ talks at 6:30 pm.

Bobbie Crews
This collection of portraits was done in oil on canvas, quickly capturing personalities and revealing information about that person in a quick and concise manner. Some of the portraits are fleshed out with color pushing the image off the canvas, while others are capture the essence with burnt umber over a toned canvas. Both have their charms.

A self-taught artist who later earned a BFA in 2007 as an adult at the University of Tennessee, Crews has done portraits of people all her life. In 2009 she began creating “Intimate Portraits of Automobiles.” She has earned awards at several “Concours d”Elegance” car shows around the country and has shown in art museums in El Dorado and Topeka, Kansas; Biloxi; Indianapolis; and Midland, Michigan. She’s currently exhibiting at Carlock Motorcar Company in Brentwood, Tennessee. The Knoxville Family Justice Center houses a permanent exhibit of her work about women’s issues. I’ve participated in many other group and solo exhibitions and her murals are scattered around East Tennessee. Published by PBS television, American Art Collector, Hemmings and other magazines, and a member of the OPA and Portrait Society of America, Crews works on commission, especially in portraiture; teaches; critiques; and gives workshops and presentations.

Clay Thurston
Thurston says, “Wildlife and nature are gifts that should be enjoyed and protected by all of us. Patience is the number one element of capturing my subject, and I will spend weeks, months and years learning animal behaviors, studying the environment and finally getting the photo.”

Born in New Hampshire and raised in Maine, Thurston finished his undergraduate degree in education at Sam Houston State and his Masters in Education and Biology at the University of Tennessee. He taught in Oak Ridge Schools for 33 years, retiring from teaching in 2005. Since then, he has worked full time in nature and wildlife photography. He has traveled the world and shared his experiences through his work with other nature enthusiasts. He was honored to present his work to the North American Nature Photographers Association a few years back and exhibits all over the eastern half of the United States. www.claythurston.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

The Nief-Norf Summer Festival (nnSF) is an interdisciplinary summer music festival, bringing together dozens of performers, composers, and scholars to collaborate on the performance, creation, and discussion of contemporary music. The nnSF offers an immersive think-tank environment in the state-of-the-art Natalie L. Haslam Music Center at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and presents 7-8 concerts of modern music, aiming to encourage both appreciation for live music and support for contemporary art.

The Nief-Norf Summer Festival features full-time, faculty-led workshops in performance, composition, and music technology lasting the duration of the festival. In addition, each year the nnSF hosts two international calls for projects: the first, a Call for Papers for a weekend-long Research Summit on contemporary music, and the second, a Call for Scores competition for composers. These projects bring some of our generation's brightest and most promising composers and scholars to the festival for interaction with the fellows, the faculty, and the Knoxville community.

For more information, go to http://www.niefnorf.org/festival-overview.

For ages 5-12. Dates: June 11-15, June 18-22, July 16-20, July 23-27, daily 9 AM – 4 PM at the Birdhouse, 800 N. 4th Avenue. 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. Cost is $235 or $55 per day. https://kidsinthearts.weebly.com/ or karlalanhess@gmail.com

Join Us for Two Weeks of Acoustic Concerts at Clayton Center Nutt Theater, Maryville College, 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. June 11-15 and June 18-22 - Tickets $18
Special Contra Dance, Emily Abel Calling, Wednesday June 13 - Only $8

Any and Every Night is Fantastic! Entertainers From Around the World. Each year during the weeks of Kamp we have an internationally star studded concert series. This series is each night Monday through Friday. Each and every night is brilliant. Monday night could be your favorite night, so don't wait till Friday. Concerts begin at 7:00 PM with our Kamper Open Mic followed by the other Stars of the Night.

Monday, June 11: Cathy Fink, Finn Magill, Keith Yoder, Annie Savage, Donnie and Debbie Barbra
Tuesday, June 12: Rick Thum, Rachel Eddy, Aaron O'Rourke, Steve Kilby, Steve Baughman
Wednesday, June 13: Contra Dance with Emily Abel and the Kamp All Star Band 7:30 PM - Learning and Understanding Contra Dance 8 PM Dance Begins
Thursday, June 14: Richard Smith, Pat Kirtley, Evie Ladin, Carl Jones, Robin Kessinger, Josh Goforth
Friday, June 15: Marcy Marxer, Erynn Marshall, Steve Kaufman and Leftover Friends

Monday, June 18: Barbara Lamb, Jordan Ramsey, Phil Leadbetter, David Benedict, Dan Boner, Keith Yoder, Donnie and Debbie Barbra, Rob Bulkley
Tuesday, June 19: Gary Davis, Bill Evans, Jimmy Heffernan, Radim Zenkl, Andy Hatfield, Nate Lee, Annie Savage
Wednesday, June 20: Clive Carroll, Don Stiernberg, Stacy Phillips, Mark Cosgrove, Kent Knorr, Steve Roy, Ned Luberecki
Thursday, June 21: Eddie Adcock, Jerry Salley, Grant Gordy, Emory Lester, Kathy Chiavola, Annie Staninec, Roberto Dalla Vecchia
Friday, June 22: Russ Barenberg, Becky Buller, Steve Kaufman with The Kamp Leftover Friends

http://www.flatpik.com/kamp-concert-series or 865-982-3808

Reception: June 8, 6:30 – 8:00 PM - Free and open to the public.

Exhibit viewing hours: Hours: Tu & Th 9-5, W & F 10-5, 2nd-4th Sa 10-1. Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartcenter.com

Sanctuary Vegan Café will open a new exhibition of photographs by Aubrey Langley on Thursday, June 7 at 6:00pm. The event will include a reception and brief presentation by the photographer. The event is free and open to the public. (Show runs through August 1)

Aubrey Langley is 25 years old and has autism. Her condition has caused her a lot of anxiety and at times, seemingly insurmountable obstacles, for instance, making eye contact with humans is a big challenge. Fortunately, early on, Langley discovered the healing power of animals. She surrounds herself with dogs, cats, chickens, pigs, birds, rats, hamsters and more through her work at a veterinarian clinic and volunteering at the Gentle Barn Tennessee, a farm animal sanctuary.
Photography has been a passion of Langley’s all her life. When she was very young, she loved to line up her stuffed animals on a bench and take photos of them with a little disposable camera. Today, she uses much more sophisticated equipment and hopes to make photography her career.

The Sanctuary Vegan Café art program invites visual artists and
photographers from the east Tennessee region to showcase their work with
themes reflecting healthy plant-based diets, animal liberation, environmental
awareness, positive inspirations, and peace and love for all sentient beings.

Each new exhibition runs for two months. The next “call for artists” for the
year 2019 will be in November.

Sanctuary Vegan Café is located at 151 N. Seven Oaks Dr, Knoxville, TN 37922.

Chris Smith is showing his paintings and photography at the Morristown Hamblen Library through July 31.

Everyone studies history in school. The importance of history is essential to modern living. It not only tells us where we’ve been, or where we are now, but where we are going. Smith feels that the same theory applies to art. His artwork is an exploration of our past, “an echo in time” to better relate to our present and help shape the future of art. Smith’s story begins at the age of 5 in Dallas, Texas, where his jealousy of his brothers’ abilities to draw led him to pick up the pencil. In time, this need to draw grew as well as the need to create. At 7, he had surpassed his brothers’ abilities but was still insecure of his own. As a child his parents moved a lot, which made forming relationships difficult. Drawing helped some in opening up. However, the insecurities were still there. He took art class through 7th and 8th grade, which was the only formal art schooling he received. Chris dropped out of school in 9th grade and immediately got into the work force. Married at age of 21, Smith started family life and his passion for art began to get buried and lost in the shuffle. Many years later, and after the marriage failed, Smith returned to his art.

Smith says, “I found a spark of inspiration in the most unlikely way. Playing a game on my phone, I met a woman that captured my heart and sparked my passions for art once more.” he said. This rekindling quickly became an inferno that led to painting and living in Tennessee. Oils, acrylics, newspaper, plaster, pens, and color pencils have been used in Smith’s artwork that now exceeds 100 pieces. “This solo exhibition represents some of my best works over the course of what is now the end of my first year painting,” he said. “My artwork has been influenced by many of art’s most notable masters - Monet, Picasso, Pollock, Bacon, Klee and most notably Van Gogh. I feel that the key to finding art’s future is found in its past. I hope that like the pages of history books, my art not only speaks to its viewers but it moves them to forge its future.”

All artwork is available for sale unless labeled NFS. Prints are available for sale per request. Commissioned work is also welcomed and must be scheduled. If you would like more information, contact Chris Smith at 423-714-6738 or 423-714-6708 or contact Smith_Art_Studio@Yahoo.com. The Morristown-Hamblen Library hosts ongoing exhibits of Morristown Art Association members with the exhibits changing every two months. For information about the Morristown Art Association, visit www.morristownart.org; the current exhibit or to purchase the art, please contact the artist; or call the Morristown-Hamblen Library at 423-586-6410.

The first thing to know about Ocean Starr Cline is that that is her given name. The second important thing to know is that, despite the invariable interest that her name excites, she’s not much concerned with what others think. In fact, it’s an essential part of how she lives:

“My parents had me in San Francisco, named me, and immediately moved me to Clay County, Alabama where everybody was Jeremy, Jason, Sarah and Amanda. I fit in like a purple giraffe on the farm. I complained bitterly about my name for years and years and I was going to change it when I got old enough, but, by that point, I had gotten used to it – because there’s always somebody who’s going to stare or has a comment. It really fortified me to be able to put any kind of art on the wall. Some people are going to like it some people are not. And I just don’t care.”

But Cline’s life and art is very much about caring for other people though not in an intrusive or interfering way. Cline’s paintings evince a sense of that magic – although she often works in a similar palate, her paintings each carry a unique voice, you might even detect an aura. Her approach to art leaves her open to whatever magic or inspiration comes to her in the moment.

Starr Cline’s exhibit will be on view at the downtown Knoxville Tomato Head on Market Square from June 4th through July 1st. Her exhibit will move to the West Knoxville Tomato Head from July 3rd through August 6th. http://thetomatohead.com/ocean-starr-cline/

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

Join us for the opening reception, Friday, June 1, 5-9PM and Friday, July 6, 5-9PM at the UT Downtown Gallery

Kimberly D. Iles was known for her vivacity, generosity of spirit, and passion for the arts. She graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee in 1990, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. As a graphic designer, she poured her talent and energy into her work for clients ranging from Oak Ridge National Laboratories to the White House tech corps, and started her own very successful design firm, Ilesnet Design. She designed a web-based textbook – the first of its kind – for the Computational Science Education Project, a K-12 educational program to teach the principles of high-performance computing. She later transitioned into a full-time career in fine art, exhibiting her paintings and photographs in juried shows around the world.

Iles and her husband, Dr. James J. Hack, established the Kimberly D. Iles Art Scholarship Endowment in 2015. The endowment supports multiple scholarships awarded annually to undergraduate students in the School of Art.

This exhibition benefits the Kimberly D. Iles Scholarship Endowment for undergraduate students in the School of Art.

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

The Dogwood Arts Regional Art Exhibition returns to showcase work from leading progressive and emerging artists from a seven stage region. The exhibition will encompass fine art of all styles and genres, with 28 selections made by juror, Leigh Suggs, who currently is the curator at LIGHT Art + Design in Richmond, Virginia. Leigh Suggs received her BFA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 2003 and her MFA from the Virginia Commonwealth University in Craft and Material Studies in 2015. Gaining recognition throughout the area, her work has been shown in multiple group exhibitions across North Carolina and in Richmond, VA. Her recent shows include her solo at Reynolds Gallery Double Vision (2016); In Visible Light (2015) at LIGHT Art + Design in Chapel Hill, NC; Trying to Exit Here (2015), Anderson Gallery, Richmond, VA; and her notable group shows include the NCAC Fellowship Exhibition at the Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh, NC (2014), and Art on Paper (2012) at the Weatherspoon Museum in Greensboro, NC. Suggs has been awarded several grants and honors, including the North Carolina Fellowship Award, a city of Richmond CultureWorks Grant, and a residency at the Quirk Hotel & Gallery in Richmond, VA. Her work is part of several corporate collections including the Federal Reserve Bank, Capital One, Markel Corporation and Fidelity Investments.

Opening Reception: Friday, June 1, 5:30 – 8:30pm
Award Ceremony: Friday, June 1, 7:00 pm

On display at the office of Dogwood Arts, 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Viewing hours: M-F 10-5. Information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com

Recent works by ceramicist Amber Anne Palo and woodturner Janis Proffit will be on display through the month of June at the Art Market Gallery. An opening reception for the featured artists, with complimentary refreshments and live music performed by Jim Myers, will begin at 5:30 p.m. on June 1, during Downtown Knoxville’s monthly First Friday Art Walk.

The show represents a first-time-ever collaboration between two of the gallery’s 3-Dimensional artists. Janis and Amber Anne will combine their mediums of clay and wood, creating sculptural 3-D pieces, as well as 2-D hanging works.

Amber Anne Palo: Amber Anne hand-builds her ceramic figurative sculptures using layers of underglazes to create her surfaces. She blends many pieces with antique items that carry the scars from years of use or neglect to impart a sense of time-worn history. She creates her figures with the intent that each transmit meaning while allowing the viewer to establish their own personal connection.
Amber Anne is a self-taught artist who has been involved with clay for over 20 years, with more recent years focusing on a professional level. She has won several awards of distinction and participates in several national juried art shows each year. Her work is also carried in several galleries throughout the United States. Amber Anne seeks to open a dialogue between the viewer and the artwork to convey the common human experience. The language of the conversation is two-fold, with her part being expressed through the subtle nuances of facial expressions, body language, and layers of meaning through worn and weathered surfaces. She then strives to create the moment when a person moves past the artwork itself to their own personal experiences - the response to her artistic statement. This is a moment for her that is humbling and a reaffirmation that the work she creates is not just for her but those who experience, internalize, and digest her art.

Janis Proffit: Woodworking has been in Janis's family for several generations, dating back to the first settlers in Sevier County. She grew up helping her father in his woodshop and learned her woodworking skills from him. In the 1980's she taught herself pyrography, incorporating it into her woodturnings. Many of her pieces are created from both fallen logs and branches while others are formed from logs that have been sawn into slabs. Many times characteristics unique to an individual piece of wood,will influence the design. For over 25 years, she has been a full-time craft artist. Her work is a mixture of traditional Appalachia turning along with contemporary designs.
Janis has both studied and assisted at Arrowmont. She has been featured on "The Heartland Series," and is a member of the Foothills Craft Guild. Her work has won numerous awards from Tennessee Craft, Arrowmont Juried Biennial Shows, and Oak Ridge Art Center Open Shows. In 2009, Janis was invited to be a demonstrator in the Utah Woodturning Symposium. There were over 8 countries represented at the Symposium.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tu-Th & Sa 11-6, Fri 11-9, Su 1-5. Information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net