Calendar of Events

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, 185 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 15,000 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 on display for the first time.

The exhibition, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Museum of East Tennessee History and the tenth of the signature exhibition “Voices of the Land: The People of East Tennessee,” includes more than thirty-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 Marrion 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.

New artifacts have been added to the exhibition for its extension, including a flag of the 39th Tennessee Regiment from the Battle of Horseshoe Bend; Civil War field drum, drumsticks, and daguerreotype that belonged to Martin E. Parmelle, Knoxville's last Civil War veteran; a Tennessee muzzle-loading percussion rifle; a “Pots of Flowers” quilt attributed to Mary Jane Spangler Green that is said to have been hidden under her dress in Civil War raids to prevent being taken by Union soldiers; a wood-fired face jug by local potter Peter Rose; an 1825-1850 pie safe from the border of Greene and Hawkins Counties; a 1902 oak basket from the Riverdale Community of East Knoxville; a 1930s roadside sign for Indian Cave, the Grainger County tourist attraction; and paintings by Charles Krutch, Jim Gray, and Lucile Smith.

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

Brandon Woods presents Eureka (1.0), an exhibition of hard-edge, geometric abstract paintings on linen which investigate the impact of language on perception and the development of meaning through bold fields of saturated colors. The result of Woods’ interdisciplinary approach to painting, these works were created through the use of his innovative Eureka algorithm—a chance-based, linear process which produces data determining the works’ colors and compositions. Approaching this data as a definition for the finished work, Woods’ intuitive responses throughout his painting process serve as a metaphor for the viewer’s cognitive and psychological processes in analyzing and interpreting abstract visual information. https://www.brandonwoodsart.com

On exhibition throughout the month of April in Rothrock, the bookstore to the immediate right as you enter the library. At Lawson McGhee Knox County Public Library, 500 W Church Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Gallery Hours: Monday-Saturday: 10:30am-4:30pm, Sunday: 1:00pm-4:00pm (closed April 19-21)

Dogwood Arts Art In Public Places - Temporary Sculpture Exhibition

An exhibition of large-scale outdoor sculptures in downtown Knoxville, the McGhee Tyson Airport, Zoo Knoxville, and Oak Ridge. The annual rotating installation is one of many Dogwood Arts programs focused on providing access to the arts for everyone, promoting awareness of the strong visual arts community thriving in our region, and creating a vibrant and inspiring environment for residents and visitors to experience.

Sculpture installation will take place March 22-23, 2019.

Dogwood Arts, 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com

It is time again for our annual KARMA month! In April, nearly ALL of our weekly classes will be donation-based. This is our effort to make a positive impact in the community, and showcase what we do year round at The Glowing Body.

Join us for a Karma Kick-Off party on Sunday, March 31st, featuring TreeTop Coffee Shop, with 10% of their sales going to Harmony Family Center. There will be chair massage by GB therapists, light snacks, merchandise/class pass giveaways, and our usual Sunday Karma classes!

Please tell family, friends, co-workers, neighbors. and anyone else who will listen about Karma Month at Glowing Body!

Glowing Body, 711 Irwin Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-545-4088, https://www.glowingbody.net/karma-month/

Opening Reception on March 30, 7 to 9 pm, gallery talk at 6:30 pm

By Members of the Norris Ritzy Thimbles and the Oak Ridge Bits & Pieces Quilt Guilds

In the Arts community a discussion of art versus craft is a long running diatribe. Is it art? Is it craft? I cannot tell you the number of times I have heard, “If an object is functional it CANNOT be art, it is JUST craft!” What? Are you kidding? !! Is there a difference? Design is design, beauty is beauty? Meaningful is even better. I finally heard an adage I could get behind, “If it is functional, it is a higher form of art.” What could be better than having a piece of work that is not only beautiful or meaningful AND have it be functional? Quilts have long exemplified this approach to arts & crafts. Since the Gees Bend quilters won the respect of the arts world several years ago, many have looked at these familiar and often overlooked designs with fresh eyes and...Voila! Art where there once was home craft! March 23 through May 11, 2019 the Art Center will host a wonderful collection of quilts both created by and/or collected by the members of two of our regional quilt guilds—the Ritzy Thimbles of Norris and the Bits & Pieces of Oak Ridge. I would like to stress the “created by and/or collected by” aspect of this show, for not only will there be work by these talented artists, but work that so snared their attention that it made them want to possess the pieces. While I realize many will be family pieces (I would so love to have one of the quilts my Grandmother or Mother made) there will also be pieces that fascinated the artists. As we do in many of our themed exhibitions, we have asked the artists to share with us their rationale for choosing to produce or collect the pieces that they are showing. In this way we can all learn a little bit about what these artisans are seeing in the work and, perhaps, the hallmarks of what they find special in each work. Seeing the creations through the eyes of those who revere it will undoubtedly teach us all something very interesting about those special techniques, styles, and patterns that comprise each piece. In addition, I think we could learn much about the tradition the work was born of and, for the contemporary work, how it breaks with tradition and creates something new. For years as quilters bring their work into Open Show, we have been fascinated with their recounting of how they took a traditional pattern or idea and transformed it by changing sizes, shapes or color patterns into a design that was far from the original idea. As interesting, were the stories of how the artists developed the idea that lead to the patterning they utilized. Perhaps because the quilt artists were used to using patterns and often utilize a repeating idea, they were very aware of how the idea formed, how it evolved into the current composition, and were able to articulate it. We think “Then and Now” will prove to be very interesting as these creatives share their process with us.

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

Come explore the ordinary transforming through different styles and media of art. Opening reception Fri Mar 29, 4-6 PM

Carson Newman University Library, 1st floor
1646 Russel Ave, Jefferson City
M-F 8:30-4:30, Sat 10-5 and Sun 2-midnight - public hours

Curated by Jessica Borchert - https://www.jessicaborchert.com/

By Tom Stoppard. Lab Theatre

Attending the premiere of a new murder mystery, two feuding theatre critics soon find themselves inside the play-within-a-play and implicated in the lethal activities of an escaped madman.

Clarence Brown 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

"Burls and Baskets", curated by Kari Woolsey & Everett Hoffman

Burls and Baskets is an exhibition curated by two of Arrowmont’s current Artists-In-Residence Kari Woolsey and Everett Hoffman. The show was conceived as a way to activate the newly renovated Jerry Drown Wood Gallery and highlight the unique and diverse work in Arrowmont’s permanent collection. Traditional baskets like the White Oak Basket by Lydia Whaley (Aunt Liddy) highlight the history of the school and its cornerstone to Gatlinburg history; while contemporary baskets like John Garret’s Flora’s Slipper Basket with its neon colors and alternative materials draw attention to the current work being made on the same campus almost 100 years later. The exhibition simultaneously features a wide range of wood sculptures and turned bowls donated by Jerry Drown for which the gallery is named. Wooden blows like Liam’ O’Neil’s Bowl made from bog oak is complimented by the unique use of laminated wood in Purple Shadows created by Virginia Dodson. The exhibition underscores the deep traditions that Arrowmont is founded on and looks forward to how contemporary artist are building upon that tradition.

GEOFFREY A. WOLPERT GALLERY, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Marilyn Kallet, City of Knoxville's Poet Laureate

*March 22, noon: Poetry reading for WDVX, inaugural show for the new series. Visit Knoxville, 301 South Gay Street, Knoxville.

*March 22 and 23, 7 p.m.: Discussion leader with Dawnie Steadman, Regal Cinemas, premiere of “To Dust,” featuring Matthew Broderick, set at the Body Farm.

March 28, 4 p.m., Poetry workshop, ETSU, hosted by Jesse Graves. GRAVESJ@mail.etsu.edu

*March 28, 6 p.m., Poetry reading and workshop, “Writing Praise Poems in Troubled Times,” Johnson City Public Library. 100 West Millard Street, Johnson City.

*April 4, 7 p.m. Poetry reading with Donna Doyle, Knoxville Writers’ Guild. Central United Methodist Church, 201 Third Avenue, Knoxville.

April 13. Reading for the Botanical Gardens, in Linda Parsons Marion’s garden! 11-1 p.m., 2909 Fountain Park Boulevard, Knoxville. lindaleeparsons@gmail.com (Fundraiser for the Knoxville Botanical Gardens).

April 21: 11:15-12:30, Reading with Patricia Clark and Alice Friman, North American Review poetry conference, Bartlett Hall, Room 1000. University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls.

April 26, noon, poem for the Mayor’s State of the City address.

April 27-May 5, residency, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sweet Briar.

May 2nd, 6-8:30 p.m., Marilyn Kallet will be honored by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts at the Soirée, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N. Boulevard, Richmond. For tickets, contact VCCA Executive Director Joy Heyrman, jheyrman@vcca.com. (Fundraiser for the Virginia Center).

June 7-18, Mentor for “Writing the River” residency in Auvillar, France. Sponsored by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.

Information: mkallet@utk.edu or http://marilynkallet.com/

Reception: Wednesday, April 24th 5:00-7:00 PM
"69th Annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Artist of the Year: Judy Lavoie"

The Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage is an annual five-day event in Great Smoky Mountains National Park offering professionally guided programs which explore the region’s rich wildflowers, wildlife, ecology, culture, and natural history through walks, motorcades, photographic tours, art classes, and indoor seminars. Each year, an artist is selected to be featured on the cover of the SWP brochure, T-shirt, and are honored with a solo exhibition at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. This year’s SWP Artist-of-the-Year is Judy Lavoie.

Lavoie’s artwork has won many awards, including Best Of Show in the prestigious 2018 Tennessee Watercolor Society Juried Exhibition. Today she is grateful for the opportunity to indulge in her passion for painting. Inspiration comes from her surroundings, a rural Tennessee community in the Appalachian foothills. In the forest surrounding her home, Judy has identified more than 100 wildflower varieties – an endless source of painting subjects. View her work and learn more on her website and art blog, at www.judy-lavoie-art.com.

GEOFFREY A. WOLPERT GALLERY, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Featuring artist Alan Jones (Theophilus)

At Burlington Library, 4614 Asheville Hwy, Knoxville TN 37914

Reception: Friday, April 12, from 6-8 pm, free and open to the public

Featuring the works of 2018-2019 Artists-in-Residence Sasha Baskin, Alyssa Coffin, Everett Hoffman, Stephanie Wilhelm and Kari Woolsey

These 5 artists working in divergent materials and ideas find common connections pulling this work together for the exhibition. From the installations by Kari Woolsey referencing items found in the home on a daily basis, to Everett Hoffman’s queer forms of altered found objects alluding to domestic space. Pattern and repetition seen as a connecting line between Sasha Baskin and Stephanie Wilhelm through ideas of utilizing the rose from “The Bachelor” to an exploration of ornamentation and form based off the history of decorative ceramics. While Alyssa Coffin questions the realities of what it means to be human through responding to the story of the landscape. All artists connect through their shared experience at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.

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