Calendar of Events

Mabry-Hazen House will host its quarterly after-hours social—Night at the Museum—on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 from 6pm-9pm. During the work week, museums (including Mabry-Hazen House) mostly keep bankers' hours and weekends are often packed with other activities, making it difficult for people who hold day jobs but would like to visit more often. Night at the Museum is a chance to visit Mabry-Hazen House after-hours on a weekday and drink up a little history. Explore the 1858 historic house in an entirely different light as twilight falls upon Mabry’s Hill, watch the sun set behind Sharp’s Ridge and North Knoxville flicker alight, all while enjoying drinks provided by Pretentious Beer Company.

This "historical happy hour" is not just about the festivity either; it’s about connecting with history and gathering at the museum to meet staff, volunteers, and local community members while talking about the past in a casual atmosphere. Mabry-Hazen House also will continue its new collaborative history series called “Weird History of Knoxville.” This time Mabry-Hazen House will share its collection of “frogs"!

Tickets are $10 per adult and visitors under 18 are free. Each purchased ticket includes two adult beverages and additional drinks are $5. The historic home will be open for self-guided tours and there will be behind-the-scenes access to the family artifacts not typically on display. We’ll have a firepit available outside and guests are encouraged to bring their games, stories, and camp chairs.

Food will be available for purchase. All proceeds benefit Mabry-Hazen House.

Event will occur rain or shine. Tickets will be available at the door or at www.mabryhazen.com/natm.

Mabry-Hazen House, 1711 Dandridge Avenue, Knoxville, TN, 37915. Information: 865-522-8661

The McClung Museum and Union Ave Books welcome Alex Kershaw on Wednesday, May 15th, 7pm for his new book The First Wave: The D-Day Warriors Who Led the Way to Victory in World War II. Alex will be joined in conversation by UT's Center for the Study of War and Soceity, Vejas Liulevicius.

Alex Kershaw is a journalist and a New York Times bestselling author of books on World War II. Born in York, England, he is a graduate of Oxford University and lives in Savannah, Georgia. His critically-acclaimed books include The Bedford Boys, The Longest Winter, and Escape from the Deep. He also the author of The Liberator, which is being made into a drama series for Netflix, available in 2020.

Beginning in the predawn darkness of June 6, 1944, The First Wave follows the remarkable men who carried out D-Days most perilous missions. The charismatic, unforgettable cast includes the first American paratrooper to touch down on Normandy soil; the glider pilot who braved antiaircraft fire to crash-land mere yards from the vital Pegasus Bridge; the brothers who led their troops onto Juno Beach under withering fire; as well as a French commando, returning to his native land, who fought to destroy German strongholds on Sword Beach and beyond. Readers will experience the sheer grit of the Rangers who scaled Pointe du Hoc and the astonishing courage of the airborne soldiers who captured the Merville Gun Battery in the face of devastating enemy counterattacks. The first to fight when the stakes were highest and the odds longest, these men would determine the fate of the invasion of Hitlers Fortress Europeand the very history of the twentieth century.

The result is an epic of close combat and extraordinary heroism. It is the capstone Alex Kershaws remarkable career, built on his close friendships with D-Day survivors and his intimate understanding of the Normandy battlefield. For the seventy-fifth anniversary, here is a fresh take on World War IIs longest day.

https://unionavebooks.indielite.org/event/515-first-wave-alex-kershaw
The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37916

Hosted by Knoxville Botanical Garden & Arboretum and Discover Life in America
Knoxville Botanical Garden & Arboretum 2743 Wimpole Ave, Knoxville, TN, Knoxville, Tennessee 37914

Do you love plants? Birds? Bees? Butterflies? Living things in general? We need your help! We are celebrating National Public Gardens Week by partnering with Discover Life in America to host an exciting BioBlitz. You are invited to join us in a communal citizen-science effort to record as many species within the grounds of the Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum as possible using the iNaturalist smartphone application.

BioBlitz Schedule
9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday, May 13: Discover Life in America is kicking off the first day of the BioBlitz. DLIA will bring nets, jars, magnifying glasses, and help you identify your observations using the iNaturalist app
9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 14 - Friday, May 17: Check in with Garden staff and volunteers in our Visitors Center for tools, resources, and help identifying your observations using the iNaturalist app

You don't need to wait for the BioBlitz in the Gardens to start making observations. Download the iNaturalist app and visit us any time to help us catalogue the diversity of life across the Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum. Questions? Email amanda@knoxgarden.org for more information.

https://www.facebook.com/events/316661755719232/

Arrowmont's workshop instructors are nationally recognized artists and university faculty. With over 150 classes being offered in a variety of media, instructors and students come to Arrowmont from across the globe to share skills and ideas, foster new thinking, artistic growth and creative camaraderie.

To honor our instructors and showcase their talent, Arrowmont presents an annual group exhibition. Their work is a true expression of Arrowmont's vision and mission - to enrich lives through art. We are privileged to celebrate our instructors and their work.

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

The Knoxville Museum of Art presents this groundbreaking design exhibition which brings together works from the U.S. and abroad that express the notion of the dynamic passage of time in textiles, carpets, ceramics, lighting fixtures, vessels, clocks, and furniture.

The twenty-two studios and designers represented in the exhibition all incorporate markers of time’s passage: seasons and growth cycles, the orbiting sun, chemistry, and physical forces (magnetism, crystallization, and tides). Where the shape and form of most designed objects is intended to communicate their physical presence, the creation of objects that express the dynamic passage of time offers a counterpoint, a visual expression of life itself.

Design by Time is organized by the Department of Exhibitions, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, and is curated by Ginger Gregg Duggan and Judith Hoos Fox of c2 curatorsquared.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM, Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

May 1, 2019 - June 30, 2019 Painting and Woodturning by Nelson Ziegler will be featured in the Westminster Presbyterian Church gallery.

Nelson Ziegler, of Sevierville, is a graduate of The Art Institute of Boston and Northwestern Academy of Watercolor. He was chosen The Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage artist in 2016. He is a member of the National Watercolor Society, New England Watercolor Society, The Oil Painters of America and the American Association of Woodturners.

Westminster Presbyterian Church
6500 Northshore Drive
865-584-3957
www.wpcknox.org
Hours: Monday thru Thursday, 9 AM to 4PM
Friday, 9AM-Noon

The Appalachian Arts Craft Center will hold its annual Plant Sale starting Saturday, May 4, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and running for about 2 weeks.

Appalachian Arts Craft Center: 2716 Andersonville Highway, Clinton, TN. Hours: M-Sa 10-6, Su 1-5. Information: 865-494-9854, www.appalachianarts.net

PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE CLOSING RECEPTION: JUNE 28, 5 - 7 PM

In Her Domain is an exhibition featuring work by Helen Geglio and Angela Caldwell. Both artists seek to honor and represent the work women do. The two artists first met as a result of being paired for this show by gallery manager Kelsey Dillow - and have forged a lasting friendship as a result.

Read Kelsey Dillow's interview and learn more about how this connection has influenced the exhibit and their future work on Arrowmont's blog: www.arrowmont.org/in-her-domain-blog/

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

Opening Reception: Friday, May 3, 3-5pm
JOIN US FOR A RECEPTION

The Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture

Summer Hours: Open: Tuesday - Friday: 1pm - 5pm

Exhibiting students from the School of Art
Mary Badillo
Parker Jenkins
Kelly Moore
Elisa Razak
Lauren Bergner
Tatiana Tikhonova

Exhibiting students from the College of Architecture and Design
M. Pruett Smith
Kyra Wu
Subu Bhandari
Maggie House
Fernando Turpin
Briana Willis
Halie Kennedy
Cameron Davis

Ewing Gallery, 1715 Volunteer Blvd on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-3200, www.ewing-gallery.utk.edu

Opening for the new exhibit will be First Friday, May 3, 5-9 PM

Sandy Hoeft is a landscape artist who lived in Alaska for many years. She recently retired to the Cumberland Plateau in beautiful Tennessee. Sandy gets her inspiration for her paintings from hiking and traveling the back roads. She loves the ever changing skies and enjoys painting large clouds. The barns and farmland in Tennessee have been her focus since retiring.

Lynn Straka, DVM, is a mixed media jewelry artist and practicing small animal veterinarian. "I began making natural and glass crystal beaded jewelry in about 2000—helping me through a tumultuous time. Jewelry-making quickly became a second vocation and I began selling my jewelry at craft shows. Ten years later, I expanded my work and began to transition from stringing beads to creating my jewelry by letter and word stamping on sterling silver and copper. I opened an Etsy shop, making and selling personalized pendant necklaces, bridal gifts and other unique pieces. At that time, I was self-taught, researching and learning technique and materials use on my own. I’ve always felt comfortable using small hand tools in these techniques, because the tools are similar to the tools I use in my veterinary surgical practice. In 2008, my husband and I moved to East Tennessee. I discovered Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and began taking yearly classes to develop my skills as an artist and metalworker. Having personal instruction reinforced my base knowledge and encouraged me to ask questions and trouble shoot subjects that have challenged me. The jewelry I make is adornment – created to produce joy to the wearer. Designs influenced by nature, they may evoke a memory, affirm a belief, or be an extension of the wearer’s personality."

The Art Market Gallery features two artists every month. These exhibits are new works by the artists, and they are often present to talk about their work and inspirations.

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

Walt Fieldsa - Past and Present
Opening May 3rd 5:00-9:00
MAY 3 2019 – JUNE 1 2019

Silent Auction May 3rd-May 31st

Broadway Studios and Gallery, 1127 Broadway St, Knoxville, TN 37917. Hours: Fri-Sat, 10-6, by appointment, or when the "open" sign is illuminated. Information: 865-556-8676, www.BroadwayStudiosAndGallery.com

A reception will take place on Friday, May 3, from 5:00-9:00 PM as part of First Friday activities.

Two photographers born in 1951, Sam Stapleton and John Vavruska, grew up in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains: Sam, on the western side in the town of Kingsport, TN and John, on the eastern slopes in Waynesville, NC. Both were heavily influenced by the culture and natural beauty of the southern Appalachians, both subsequently obtained professional degrees from the University of Tennessee (Sam in accounting and John in engineering), and both began their serious pursuit of photography in the early 1970’s. When they met in 1976, it was their shared love of photography that provided the foundation for their friendship, and for two years, they shared a house and a darkroom they built themselves. Time separated them: Vavruska was drawn to the American west in the early 1980’s, served in the Peace Corps in Nepal, and then settled in Santa Fe where he now resides with his wife of 30+ years; Stapleton remained close to his roots in Knoxville, where he too resides with his wife of 30+ years.

Yet with all of their similarities, the two have drifted apart in their photographic vision and now occupy virtual opposite ends of the photographic spectrum. Vavruska has remained primarily in the analog (film) world and has grown in the direction of large (4 x 5 inch) format black and white photography, capturing the grandeur of the natural landscape through hand-crafted gelatin silver prints. Conversely, Stapleton remained with small (35mm) format photography but converted whole-heartedly to digital technology where he continues to focus on the intimate color imagery of the East Tennessee landscape. While one’s images convey a high level of detail and tonal gradation, another’s use the spontaneity of the smaller format to explore the abstract and impressionistic capabilities of the medium. Hence the exhibit, Grace and Grandeur, is presented to share their story – the story of two men with a common photographic grounding that has matured into expressions of widely divergent visions. For more information, please visit www.johnvavruska.com and www.samstapletonphotography.com.

On display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. CLOSED Monday May 27. Information: (865) 523-7543 or www.knoxalliance.com.