Calendar of Events

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts invites you to experience the 20th Sevier County Biennial Juried Exhibition. This exhibition is a juried, mixed media art exhibition presented by Arrowmont to recognize and foster the skills and talents of artists and makers who call the region of Sevier County home.

Features 76 original works created by 51 Sevier County, Tennessee artists. This is the first show open to visitors since the onset of the pandemic. You may schedule your gallery appointment on Arrowmont’s website at https://www.arrowmont.org/visit/events/20th-sevier-county-biennial-juried-exhibition/ or contact Gallery Manager Kelsey Dillow at 865-436-5860, kdillow@arrowmont.org.

Mary Welch Thompson, award-winning basket weaver, juried the 20th Sevier County Biennial. She said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for all of us. Viewing this art let me forget for a short time. I had fun; it has been a learning experience and a challenge to select the Best of Show and the Awards of Merit pieces. The vibrant colors and imagination really stood out, paying tribute to the beauty of our natural surroundings, our mountain home.”

2021 ADULT SHORT CLASSES
MONDAY–WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15–17, 2021, 6:00 TO 9:00 PM
Enrollment Cost: $100 · Materials provided

MAPPING CREATIVE PLAY · ALYSSA COFFIN
TEXTURED SLAB BOXES · REBECCA J. BUGLIO
THROWING TUNE UP · BUIE HANCOCK

MONDAY–WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22–24, 2021, 6:00 TO 9:00 PM
Enrollment Cost: $100 · Materials provided

NESTING PLATTERS · VANESSA HARTMAN
KUDZU PAPERMAKING · LOGAN SZYMANOWSKI AND ASHLEE MAYS
MIRROR, MIRROR · HEATHER ASHWORTH
https://www.arrowmont.org/workshops-classes/adult-classes/

John Dunne
Distinguished Professor of Contemplative Humanities
Center for Healthy Minds
Chair, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Monday, February 15, 2021
Time: 3:30 PM (ET)
Webinar

Title: “Reflexivity and Conscious Experience in Buddhist Thought”

In what sense do we have “self-knowledge?” At times, it may seem that we know ourselves as something like a character within a story. In such cases, we seem to see ourselves objectively, from the outside. Buddhist epistemologists, however, maintain that there is another form of “self-knowing” that is inherent to the very structure of experience itself. This “reflexivity” is innate and relates closely to our ability to be aware of the larger context and emotional framework that informs experience. This talk explores the notion of reflexivity in the works of Buddhist epistemologists such as Dharmakīrti and examines its relevance to understanding conscious experience.

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Funded through the UT Humanities Center for use by faculty in one of our nine affiliated arts and humanities departments, the Visiting Scholars project brings distinguished humanities scholars and renowned artists to the Knoxville campus and connects UT humanities faculty to the best researchers in their fields. Because only speakers with exception records of publication and research activity are eligible to receive a nomination as a visiting scholar, the program brings to campus some of the most cutting-edge and prolific intellectuals in the humanities today. We are converting our Visiting Lecture Series this year to an online format. Lectures will be on Mondays and in a webinar format. More information will be coming soon! Learn more: https://uthumanitiesctr.utk.edu/public/visiting.php

Register to attend our discussion panel!

In conjunction with the exhibition, UT School of Art professors Jered Sprecher and Dr. Mary Campbell and professor emeritus Dr. Fred Moffatt will give a presentation on Zoom about the artists' lives and work. This will take place Monday February 15th at 7:30pm. The presentation will be recorded and uploaded to the UT School of Art vimeo site if you are unable to attend.
Registration for this event is required.

Register at this link: tiny.utk.edu/delaney_panel

Friday, February 19
12 PM
via Zoom

Andrew Worrall, deputy director of Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear and section head at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will present “Why Nuclear and Why Now?”.

Today, nuclear energy in the United States produces approximately 20% of the nation’s electricity demand. It is the largest producer of the emission-free electricity, yet is often misunderstood and misrepresented. In his presentation, Deputy Director Worrall will highlight some of the pros and cons of nuclear energy and underline why an expansion in nuclear energy is required not just for the US, but also around the world.

The UT Science Forum takes place via Zoom Friday, February 19 from noon to 1 p.m. Registration is required. Once registered, you will receive a link to join the Zoom presentation.
https://tennessee.zoom.us/webinar/register/8916131604051/WN_RK_0ptD5SGy4clVOwpLoQw

We will continue to host our lecture series via Zoom. In order to attend the series, you will need to set up a Zoom account. To learn more about using Zoom, please visit the Zoom Help Center. UT Science Forum officers will not be available for technical support. If you are UT employee or student, you can contact OIT. If you are outside the university, please contact Zoom directly.

February 13th Workshop (Cyanotype Prints) 11AM-2PM - Learn one of the original photographic processes! Cyanotype is one of the oldest printing processes invented by Sir John Herschel in 1842. In this workshop, you will learn to make a unique one of a kind handmade print by coating various papers with Cyanotype chemicals and developing them in the sun. A materials fee of $40 is due at or before the event. This class is limited to 5* participants. Be sure to register for the event by Thursday, Feb 11th to secure your spot!

February 23rd Class (Learning Series - The Negative) 6PM-8PM - The Negative will take you inside The Darkroom where you will learn to load and process your film. Pricing for this individual class is $60. This class is limited to 3 participants.

February 24th (Learning Series - The Print) 6PM-8PM - The Print will take you inside The Darkroom where you will learn the basics of enlarger use, burning and dodging and developing finished prints. For this class, you must bring your developed film and B&W photo paper. We suggest buying film and paper locally from F32 near West Town Mall. Pricing for this individual class is $60. This class is limited to 3 participants.

http://www.theknoxvillecommunitydarkroom.org/workshops

The Dogwood Arts House & Garden Show which will return as an entirely virtual event in 2021. The event is completely free to attend and will be accessible online February 12th through March 14th on our brand new website, https://www.dogwoodarts.com/.

For over forty years, the Dogwood Arts House & Garden Show has showcased the latest trends in home improvement, landscape design, decor, and more. The 2021 event will be no exception and will offer attendees the opportunity to engage with quality vendors without fear of safety and health concerns.

Attendees can attend Virtual Expert Sessions via Zoom, browse a comprehensive Exhibitor Directory, and save hundreds on their next home projects by taking advantage of our exclusive Show Specials––all from the comfort of home.

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

Flying Anvil Theatre is rereleasing two shows from their 2020 virtual season as on-demand streaming videos on February 12-22. Streaming passes for the shows The Deadline and Branching Out are available starting on the 12th via their website, www.flyinganviltheatre.com.

The first on-demand offering is the original comedy Branching Out , by Jayne Morgan. Three bickering 60-something, White siblings discover they have a Black, much younger, half-sister during a family Zoom call. The three redefine their family tree in this adult comedy. Some mature language is used, themes are appropriate for high-school and up.

The next on-demand feature is the Halloween favorite The Deadline . Flying Anvil experiments with a new genre, the Horror Zoom, in this virtual production. Audience members follow a group of co-workers as their typical business meeting turns into something more sinister when strange lights and sounds start to disrupt their technology. This innovative and unexpected thriller is suitable for any audience that enjoys having their spine tingled.

“We’ve gotten many requests to make these shows available,” says Artistic Director Jayne Morgan. “We are happy to give our patrons the chance to enjoy the shows again and even binge them back to back. We are so lucky to have actors and creators who were willing to work with us while we learned the ropes of virtual live-theatre. It’s great that we can show their hard work again online.”

Get scared from The Deadline and then refreshed with Branching Out from February 12th to the 21st.
Each on-demand show is available at www.flyinganviltheatre.com starting February 12th.
Tickets are recommended at $10, but audience members can choose their own price with “Pay What You Can'' starting at $1.

The Sacred, the Secular, and the Space In Between: African-American Vernacular Art from the Collection of Michael D. Hill

This exhibit showcases the work of self-taught African American artists who examine the intersections of spirituality and material culture. Guided by a compulsion, in some cases even what might be seen as a divine calling, to create, they produced paintings, sculpture, and utilitarian objects that are startlingly powerful in both their aesthetic forms and the life force they channel. Among the artists featured in this exhibit are Mose Tolliver, David Butler, Lonnie Holley, and Mary T. Smith. Their work may also be found in such prominent collections as the High Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Guided gallery tours by Michael D. Hill will be held throughout the month. For more information, please contact Bryan Wilkerson at 865-354-3000 x4788 or by email at wilkersonbs@roanestate.edu.

O'Brien Art Gallery at Roane State Community College, OBrien Building room 276 Patton Lane Harriman, TN 37748
http://academics.roanestate.edu/art/gallery/

This year's theme is "On the Bright Side". Open to women artists of any medium!

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

The online-only retrospective exhibition titled “STAYING CONNECTED: The Valentines of Jim Balderes, Jr.” will be available for viewing from Saturday February 6 through Sunday February 28, 2021 at the Greeneville Arts Council website greenevilleartscouncil.org under the Mason House Gallery Online: Current Exhibit section.

Balderes has been sharing valentines of his own creation with friends and family for nearly forty years. The first was produced in a darkroom during his senior year at Cornell University where he earned a BS degree in Design and Environmental Analysis. Since then he’s seen Valentine’s Day as a regular opportunity to reach out at a time of year when family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and former colleagues could all use a bit of “handmade” warmth and whimsy.

During a two-decade career in corporate interior design and project management in New York City, both his mailing list and the variety of media for the yearly missive grew – thanks, in part, to a few classes at the School of Visual Arts and the significant transformation in digital media during those years. The various media for his valentines have included drawing, painting, photography, sculpture and digital art. Some of the greeting cards (primarily postcards) involved the use of custom-made tools and materials such as rubber stamps, die-cuts, candies and even scratch-and-sniff stickers.

Coincidentally, this year’s mailing is Balderes’ fourteenth since moving to East Tennessee. It becomes more important to him each year to send a tangible, physical greeting card when social media and email messages seem to be a step too removed. “Not only am I proudly supporting the ever-important U.S. Postal Service, but people would have a really hard time sticking a Facebook, Instagram or Twitter post to the refrigerator,” says Balderes. Balderes with the valentines he sent in 2007, his first after moving to Greene County. “And especially now, as we continue to contend with a worldwide pandemic, ‘Staying Connected’ safely is paramount. It is with that sentiment in mind, and as an expression of unceasing appreciation for all of our healthcare workers, that I made this year’s valentine.”

For information on Greeneville Arts Council exhibits, please contact Til Green, director of exhibitions, at 423-329-5366 or tilgreen724@yahoo.com.

Rala is preparing for our February First Friday show, with featured artist Cynthia Markert. The opening reception will be from 6-8 on February 5th. All paintings are one of a kind and make the perfect gifts for Valentine's Day! Cynthia's work will remain on display from February 5th - March 31st.

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/753165832032219
Artwork: https://shoprala.com/collections/cynthia-markert

Cynthia Markert's art-deco paintings of women have long been a staple in the Knoxville art scene and have become symbolic of the city's artistic community. A long-time Knoxvillian, Cynthia was a Studio Art major at the University of Tennessee with a minor in Women's Studies. Since then, she's created these gilded, glowing, and brooding works that Tennesseans have come to adore and collect. Cynthia began developing her iconic style by painting plywood panels on empty buildings around downtown in 1994. Back then downtown was, as Cynthia puts it, a "ghost town", so the boarded up buildings provided plenty of the wooden canvas that would become indicative of her work.

"I would go walking past these big gorgeous pieces of plywood nailed to doors and I would start to see a face or a body. On Saturday mornings I would fill a baggie with pencils or pastels and return to draw"

Fun Fact: Markert's work is included in the archives of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C.

Due to the ongoing pandemic and Knox County safety guidelines, we will be limiting customer capacity and requiring that masks be worn inside at all times. Rala: Regional and Local Artisans, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-525-7888, https://shoprala.com. Instagram: @ShopRala