Calendar of Events

Recent works by Suzanne Jack and Nelson Ziegler will be featured throughout November at the Art Market Gallery. An opening reception for the artists, including complimentary refreshments and live music performed by Cat's Away, will begin at 5:30 p.m. on November 2nd, during Downtown Knoxville's monthly First Friday Art Walk.

The show will highlight woodturned platters, bowls and other 3-D forms by Nelson Ziegler, as well as a new series of paintings by Suzanne Jack focussed on the urban Knoxville landscape and viewing the Sunsphere from a variety of vantage points. After Jake Butcher brought the World's Fair to Knoxville in 1982, the Sunsphere remains as a celebration of world culture in harmony.

Owned and operated by more than 60 professional regional artists, the Art Market Gallery, at 422 South Gay St., is a few doors away from Mast General store and next to Downtown Grill & Brewery. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on First Fridays; and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. The gallery is wheelchair accessible, and parking in the abutting garage and on the street is free on weekends and after 6 p.m. weekdays. For more information, call 865-525-5265, or visit artmarketgallery.net or facebook.com/Art.Market.Gallery.

To celebrate their 70th anniversary as part of the Knoxville community, Zoo Knoxville will be offering 70 cent admission with the donation of a non-perishable food item for Mission of Hope or pet supplies for Young-Williams Animal Center, The Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley and Knox County’s Office on Aging PAWS program Nov. 1-30, 2018.

General zoo admission tickets for ages four and up are 70 cents each and parking is free Nov. 1-30, 2018, with a donated item for each ticket. To ensure a safe and pleasant experience for guests, a limited number of tickets are available for each day, and advance online purchase is required. Tickets can be purchased online at zooknoxville.org.

The donations help local non-profit organizations Mission of Hope, Young-Williams Animal Center, The Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley and Knox County Office on Aging’s Knox PAWS program.

Zoo Knoxville, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open every day except Christmas. Information: 865-637-5331, www.zooknoxville.org

November 1, 2, & 4, at 8:00 PM.

Nero - Sarah Toth
Directed by: Marya Barry
Performed in collaboration with Inner Voices String Quartet

“The Nero Monologues” is a one woman pastiche opera created and performed by international soprano and writer, Sarah Toth. Combining multiple elements to create an immersive audience experience, the show journeys the inner workings of the notorious Roman emperor during his final hours. Poetry by Geoffrey Lehmann is both spoken and set to music with a score by Peter James Learn and the new material is contrasted with existing pieces by Monteverdi, Handel, and Copeland among others. The resulting work explores themes of abandonment, abuse, passion, sexual identity, love, and power and comes together to paint a portrait of a damaged man; equal parts crazed artist and idealistic ruler. Inner Voices String Quartet collaborates to bring this story to life.

Tickets $30 adults, $15 students.

At Candoro Arts & Heritage Center, 4450 Candora Drive, Knoxville, TN 37920.

Organization Link: www.MarbleCityOpera.com
Ticket Link: https://NeroMonologues.BrownPaperTickets.com
FB Event Link: www.facebook.com/events/335388510334876/

Hosted by Knoxville Soap Candle & Gifts
714 South Gay Street Suite 100, Knoxville

"Bill Lee dealt with a few challenges even from childhood, but I don’t know if those challenges hindered him or gave him the very art which defined him. He had a mild form of autism which made early communication difficult and made the woods a much more comfortable place to be. A Virginia gentleman, he also spent time on the seashore and from that time on, he collected sea shells that he was completely fascinated with. All of those forms of nature show up in his clay. He loved fishing and hiking all of his life especially with his son Jonathan. Bill could be fixated on the forms that he saw in a gurgling brook. Both of them were also sci-fi enthusiasts, loving otherworldly images. Bilbo Baggins would have been very comfortable in Bill Lee’s studio at Vestal Elementary School.

Bill has a fine art degree from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA, where he worked in sculpting, influenced by the work of Henry Moore and Constantin Brancusi of the 1930s and 40s. Bill had not yet thought about clay; he worked in stone and wood. He went for his Master’s degree at UT and that’s where he was introduced to clay.

Bill and his wife traveled to art shows and craft shows in many areas where he sold his clay and she sold her jewelry at retail. But in more recent years, Bill stocked several stores with his clay as travel became harder for him to do. You could have seen his clay at: Arrowcraft, or Cliffdwellers’ Gallery in Gatlinburg, Parkway Craft Center in Blowing Rock, NC, The Guild Gallery in Asheville, NC, Knoxville Soap and Candle in Knoxville, or his Etsy store online. Bill often did workshops where he taught his craft with stories and humor. From autism to a story-teller! You came a long way Bill Lee Clay Artist! Bill left this earth on the first day of Autumn, Sept 22, 2018. We are having this fundraiser to benefit Bill’s family and keep his memory alive. Please take a piece of Bill’s clay to brighten your home and enjoy the work of Bill Lee Clay Artist."

Written by Bobbi Lee, friend. https://www.facebook.com/events/311114953005127

"Sacred and Profane" exhibition the Frieson Black Cultural Center (extended)

The art gallery at the Frieson Black Cultural Center is featuring "Sacred and Profane," a retrospective exhibition of mixed-media prints by Marc Z. DeBose. DeBose, who received his MFA in Studio Art (printmaking) in 2002, died unexpectedly on Monday April 2, 2018 from a ruptured aorta. Marc’s father Frank DeBose, who loaned most of the works for this exhibition, is Professor Emeritus in Visual Communication Design at the School of Art Institute of Chicago where Marc completed his BFA in printmaking, electronic art and photography in 1996. The exhibition is an opportunity to celebrate his creative spirit. The exhibition will run through February 28, 2019.

Several of the works in the exhibition are from Marc’s MFA thesis, which examined the African-American experience in relationship to community police-work. These works also express the influences of his synthesis of Catholic and Pentecostal roots on family and community interactions. Following his MFA degree, Marc Z, DeBose continued his studio practice while also pursuing a career as a Chicago policeman.

1800 Melrose Ave., Knoxville. https://art.utk.edu/mixed-media-prints-by-utk-alumnus-marc-z-debose-at-the-frieson-black-cultural-centerr/

The Bard's shortest and spookiest play comes to life on KCT's stage. A chance for teens to see Shakespeare interpreted by their peers...

A brave soldier named Macbeth receives a prophecy that he will one day be King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth carries out a murderous plot, allowing him to seize the throne. But the couple are wracked with guilt and paranoia, which lead to darker and darker crimes, ushering the couple into the realm of madness. Widely read in area high schools, Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy is a cautionary tale about the damaging psychological effects of unchecked ambition.

CHANGE OF OPENING - SHAKESPEARE'S MACBETH TO OPEN OCTOBER 27

The live play will be performed October 27 through November 11:
Sat., October 27 at 1 PM ONLY
Sun., October 28 at 3 PM
Thurs., November 1 at 7 PM
Fri., November 2 at 7 PM
Sat., November 3 at 1 PM & 5 PM
Sun., November 4 at 3 PM & 7 PM
Thurs., November 8 at 7 PM
Fri., November 9 at 7 PM
Sat., November 10 at 1 PM & 5 PM
Sun., November 11 at 3 PM & 7 PM

The play is performed by 19 talented young actors, from ages 12 to 17. Dale Gross, a student at Sweetwater High, will portray the doomed Macbeth, and Lauren Rymer, a student at Bearden High, plays Lady Macbeth.

KCT Academy Director Dennis E. Perkins will direct the production. Local fight choreographer Carolyn Corley is the combat director. TICKETS are $12 per Adult, $10 per child. Reservations are strongly recommended. Group rates are available for groups of 12 or more. To obtain a group rate, reservations must be placed by telephone. Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-208-3677, www.knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com

Reception date TBA

In the Geoffrey A. Wolpert Gallery
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts will host the third Figurative Association Symposium from November 7-10, 2018. In 2010, Arrowmont presented the first symposium, which focused on and featured the figure in ceramics. In 2014, we expanded that focus to include sculpture in all media. Now, in 2018, we are welcoming all disciplines to the symposium – including 2-D, 3-D and expanded media.

https://www.arrowmont.org/visit/events/figurative-association-symposium/

In the Sandra J. Blain Gallery
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Gay Bryant’s work is on exhibit at the downtown Knoxville Tomato Head from October 7th thru November 4th and at the West Knoxville Gallery Tomato Head from November 5th thru December 3rd.

Aristotle spent a lot of time thinking about the human drive to control circumstances that interfere with a happy, safe, and productive life. As silly as it might sound, the philosopher was describing the same basic urge that impels us to insulate our houses and to buy insurance – we like to have a buffer between us and misfortune. Of course, at some level and in some circumstances, control is impossible. Often the only seeming answer is acceptance which means letting go of control and hoping for the best. Relationships can be like that. Watercolors can be the same.

In fact, if you talk to as many artists as we do, you’ll find that many of them believe that their work guides them (not the other way around) and that the best thing they can do is to just get out of the way. Artist Gay Bryant feels that way, at least some of the time: “Mostly I work in watercolor. And the key is letting go, to let the paint do its thing.”

And while it may appall some ancient Greeks and more than a few control freaks among us, her ability to trust in fate or good luck or providence (or whatever you want to call it) leads Bryant to more than a few beautiful places. Her nature paintings are evocative without being dogmatic; the gentle patterns recall a presence, a sense of being there, but they’re not so specific that you can’t imagine being there yourself. In fact, you may feel compelled to visit Alum Creek or Icewater Spring at dawn to experience Bryant’s subjects with your own eyes.

Read more about the artist and her work: http://thetomatohead.com/gay-bryant/

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

Opening: October 5th from 6PM-9PM (the show will be up through the end of November.)

Chris McAdoo is a painter, printmaker, and designer living in East Tennessee. His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, collections, and publications around the country and he has been an active studio artist for nearly twenty years.

In addition to having work on display, Chris will be painting live during the opening! All are welcome to come and watch, and Chris is happy to talk with folks as the process unfolds.

“My most recent series focuses on memory (or the lack thereof) and the significance that we attach to objects and places, particularly when we take them out of their original context. My work is an extension of my own experiences growing up in the south and a comment on my connections that give me a visceral reaction to the past rather than simple nostalgia. While the paintings speak to me in a very particular way, I would much rather suggest a narrative to the viewer than to lay it all on the table.”

Ongoing Show: Blanket Fort Studios---Kendra Barth (of Blanket Fort) produces funky ceramic pieces. Working out of her studio here in Knoxville, she uses a unique style to evoke wonder in her pieces. "I created this studio to share my love of naive wonder and storytelling."

Rala, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Phone: (865) 525-7888
Instagram: @ShopRala
https://shoprala.com/

Opening reception Sep 29, 7-9 PM with gallery talk at 6:30 PM and awards at 7 PM

Open Show is the Art Center's annual juried mixed media exhibition focusing on exceptional work being produced in our area. Anyone may enter. There are no size, media, or geographic limitations - it is open to all artists of all media.

Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Tu-F 9-5, Sa-M 1-4. Information: 865-482-1441, www.oakridgeartcenter.org

A Home for Our Past: The Museum of East Tennessee History at 25 a new feature exhibition at the Museum of East Tennessee History

The public opening of the exhibition begins at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, September 14, with light refreshments and ribbon cutting and remarks at 5:15.

When the Museum of East Tennessee History opened in 1993, it fulfilled a shared vision to preserve and interpret the region’s rich history for the benefit of all, a vision first articulated a century and a half earlier. On May 5, 1834, Dr. J.G.M. Ramsey addressed a group of a historically-minded citizens gathered for the first annual meeting of the East Tennessee Historical and Antiquarian Society. Concerned that many of the participants in Tennessee’s early history were passing away and with them their memories, Ramsey issued a call to action: “Let us hasten to redeem the time that is lost.”

Today, 184 years later, Dr. J.G.M. Ramsey’s plea to save Tennessee’s past continues to reverberate in the galleries of the East Tennessee Historical Society’s museum, a permanent home for our region’s cherished stories, traditions, and artifacts. The East Tennessee Historical Society actively began collecting artifacts and producing award-winning interpretive exhibits in 1993, which has now grown to more than 16,000 artifacts housed within the East Tennessee History Center. In this special exhibition, ETHS is excited to highlight East Tennessee’s unique history through a variety of artifacts, with at least one exhibited item from each year of ETHS’s active 25 years of collections, most of which are rarely or never on display.

The exhibition includes more than twenty-five artifacts and numerous photographs and illustrations representative of East Tennessee’s unique history. Some of the items include an 1883 Springfield penny-farthing, the first apparatus to be called a “bicycle”; an 1822 artificial hand that belonged to a teacher from Union County; a silver coffee and tea service from the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad presented to Superintendent James Baker Hoxsie upon his retirement in 1866; a coverlet woven by one of the famed Walker sisters of Greenbrier; a shirt stating “Healing in the name of Jesus. Take up serpents, Acts 2:38” worn during religious services practicing snake handling in Cocke County; an 1817 bead necklace belonging to Eliza Sevier, the wife of Templin Ross and the granddaughter of both John Sevier and Cherokee Chief Oconostota; a 1907 baseball uniform from a coal town’s team in Marion County; and the distinctive backdrop and wall clock from WBIR-TV variety program "The Cas Walker Farm & Home Show." The exhibit also features a brilliant display of East Tennessee furniture, textiles, folk art, instruments, and vintage toys.

Also on display are more than two dozen featured artifacts from the Tennessee State Museum. A new Tennessee State Museum will open on the grounds of the Bicentennial Capital Mall in Nashville on October 4. ETHS is honored to display select East Tennessee artifacts from their collection, highlighting the programmatic ties between the two institution as well as the museums’ shared mission to preserve Tennessee’s rich history. Selected items include a 1792 map of the State of Franklin, an 1831 copy of the Cherokee Phoenix & Indians Advocate newspaper, and a 19th century flintlock muzzle loading rifle made by Baxter Bean of Washington County.

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: M-F 9-4, Sa 10-4, Su 1-5. Information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org