Calendar of Events

In a year like no other, Arrowmont's 2021-2022 Artists-in-Residents lived and worked together in the intimate environment of shared housing and adjoining studios. Their 11-month residency culminates in a group exhibition, now on display in the Sandra J. Blain Galleries at Arrowmont.

Please join Elizabeth Belz, Horacio Casillas, Kyle Cottier, Naomi David Russo, and Lena Schmid at the closing reception for their exhibition, "Party of Five." The reception is free and open to the public. We hope to see you there!
May 13, 2022, 6:00 - 8:00 pm

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

Flying Anvil Theatre presents the dark comedy Loot, by Joe Orton

This outrageous farce combines a bank heist, a murder, and one very mobile corpse in a show that takes nothing seriously, not even death. The show is sponsored by Bill Cherry and directed by Artistic Director Jayne Morgan.

Joe Orton’s gleefully anarchic satire of British hypocrisy caused a scandal when it premiered in 1965. Loot concerns the events surrounding the death and subsequent burial of the McLeavy family matriarch. A bank robbery has been committed by her son Hal and his friend/sometime boyfriend, Dennis; they need to find somewhere to stash the stolen money and decide her coffin is the best place to put it. This means that they need to find somewhere else to hide the body, and her corpse is dragged around the stage throughout the play. Mrs. McLeavy’s corpse is hidden in a cupboard, her former nurse, Fay proposes marriage to the newly widowed Mr. McLeavy and Inspector Truscott arrives on the hunt for the money while claiming to be from the City Water Board. As the preparations for the funeral proceed, Dennis professes love for Fay. Mr. McLeavy is savaged by a crazed Afghan hound and Truscott discovers he can’t pin a crime on anyone. Bribes are negotiated and everyone agrees that “We must keep up appearances”.

Dennis and Hal are portrayed by Malik Baines and Eric Walker with Kara Van Veghel as the nurse, Fay. Greg Congleton and Jacques Durand are Mr. McLeavy and Truscott. Tim Coleman plays Meadows and Lisa Silverman plays the physically demanding role of the Corpse. (Van Veghel and Durand were last seen in Flying Anvil’s beloved Christmas show, Scrooge in Rouge.)

The show opens with a Pay What You Can preview on Thursday, March 17 and runs through Sunday, April 3. Tickets are $27 and $28, $13 for students. Flying Anvil Theatre, 1300 Rocky Hill Road, Knoxville. Information: 865-357-1309, www.flyinganviltheatre.com. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram, @flyinganviltheatre

Ijams Nature Center will host in-person and virtual open houses for families interested in fall 2022 enrollment for the full-time Ijams Nature Preschool and part-time Ijams Nature Play Club.

Virtual open houses are March 17, and April 28 from 6-7 p.m. Virtual events will take place via Zoom.

In-person open houses are March 20, and May 1 from 1-3 p.m. at the Ijams Miller Education Building, 2915 Island Home Ave. In-person events will follow COVID-19 safety protocols, including wearing masks inside the building, to ensure everyone stays safe.

More information and registration is available on the Ijams Calendar of Events at www.Ijams.org/calendar-of-events.

Fall classes start Monday, Aug. 8. The Ijams Nature Preschool meets Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and focuses on child-led, age-appropriate, experiential learning. Children ages 3-5 spend more than 50% of their time outdoors.

The Ijams Nature Play Club follows the same model, but is 100% outdoors. There are two, two-day sessions, Monday/Wednesday and Tuesday/Thursday. Both sessions meet from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

The Ijams Nature Preschool and Play Club programs blend traditional education standards with the opportunity to learn about and explore the natural world. Children spend the majority of their time outdoors, where they learn through play, discovery and inquiry. Activities focus on sensory experiences with live animals, natural objects, artifacts and art materials. The programs encourage curiosity, cognitive growth and motor skills through unstructured, child-led outdoor adventures. Children build problem-solving, math and engineering skills through hands-on experiences, and cultivate social skills through group play and opportunities for cooperative learning.

For more information about the Ijams Nature Preschool and Ijams Nature Play Club, visit www.Ijams.org/nature-preschool or www.Ijams.org/nature-play-club. Additional questions may be directed to Abby Branstetter at 865-679-5491, or via email at preschool@ijams.org or playclub@ijams.org.

Visit the Ijams Hallway Gallery in March to experience the work of Todd Eldridge Photography! According to Todd, “Capturing life in a single frame and reliving that moment forever is magic. Beauty is everywhere and sometimes it just takes freezing it in place to see it. Loved ones, special times, new journeys, favorite places, visions and shapes.” https://toddethridgephotography.com/

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

Bennett is proud to present our March Ceramics and Sculpture Show, featuring the work of Josh Copus, Sally Brogden, Marga Hayes McBride, Johan Hagaman, and Kat West. The Ceramics and Sculpture exhibition focuses on 3-D work by new and existing sculptors and ceramicists in Bennett’s catalogue.

Josh Copus is a Floyd, Virginia native working out of Asheville, North Carolina. Josh’s vessels show a high knowledge of ceramics, as he experiments with firing times, vessel size, and glaze reactions. Josh’s work references historical forms and processes while remaining relevant to the contemporary art world of our age.

Sally Brogden is currently a professor of art at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Sally was an invited Speaker at the 7th Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale, Icheon, S. Korea; an invited Presenter at the Shui-Li International Ceramic Symposium, Shui-Li, Taiwan. Sally had been included in many exclusive exhibitions across the world. Sally is an active member of the National Council for Education in The Ceramic Arts (NCECA) for which she founded the long running Graduate Student Image Forum. This is her first show with Bennett.

Johan Hagaman is a Nashville-based sculptor who focuses on themes of nature and femininity. She is inspired by patterns in nature, poetic words, and current events. She uses birds, vines and clover as metaphors for paying attention– how what we are paying attention to determines how we shape ourselves and our world, how we are shaped by it, and what seeks to emerge. Johan has exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States and has work in public and private collections–including the Tennessee State Museum and the Evansville Museum of Arts and Sciences. She has lived and worked in Nashville since 1977.

Marga Hayes McBride is a Knoxville-based artist who has exhibited with Bennett many times before. Her mediums include painting, drawing, ceramic sculpture, and bronze sculpture. Marga studied painting, printmaking and graphic design at the University of Tennessee and drawing and painting at the Mesa Community College in Arizona. She was taught how to work with clay through a friend and colleague and combined the two mediums to create her work. Marga’s work is “a reflection of both my art background and my spiritual studies”.

Kat West is a ceramicist based in Newport Beach, California. The themes present in her work reflect her Philippine heritage and her role as an immigrant in the United States. Kat was based in Brooklyn, New York for several years before moving to Newport Beach and beginning ceramics classes as a new creative outlet. Kat’s ceramic pieces are both sculptural and functional with each piece displaying its own unique presence. Her inspiration comes from the connection to humanity Kat feels, along with her personal experiences as an immigrant, a mother, and a creator. Themes of tradition and heritage drive Kat’s vision for her pieces, as well as finding ways to reduce the environmental impact of creating art. This is Kat’s first show with Bennett.

Bennett, 5308 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-Sa 10-5:30. Information: 865-584-6791, https://bennetthome.com/

Learn the basics!
$200
4-Week Class
Saturday, March 5-26
2:00pm- 6:00pm
Instructor: Madilynn Eldridge
Registration Deadline: February 26th

In this comprehensive 4-week class, Madi will start and the beginning and discuss the history of woodburning, the styles of woodburning and all of the basics. Students will learn the elements of Art and joined together with their wood burning skills, create and execute a project from start to finish. Beginners welcome. A materials list will be provided.

https://registration.knoxvilletn.gov/ViewCourseActivityDetails.aspx?id=C13274

RED Gallery is proud to announce the opening of UnNatural History, a photography exhibition by Diane Fox. The show will open on March 4 (First Friday) and run through April 23. It will feature two bodies of work within the larger collection: portraits of taxidermied animals, and photographs of dioramas featuring taxidermied animals in natural history museums.

Diane Fox is an artist whose work speaks to the perpetually dissolving connection of humanity to the natural world. Solo exhibitions of her photographic body of work, UnNatural History, have been shown nationally and internationally including at the Antenna Gallery, New Orleans, LA; Dom Muz Gallery, Torun, Poland; Santa Reparata Gallery, Florence, Italy, and more. In 2017, her work was shown internationally at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, France and the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfort, Germany as part of their exhibition “Dioramas.” Fox is a Distinguished Lecturer Emerita in the College of Architecture and Design at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she taught photography and graphic design. Fox has a MFA from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a BFA from Middle Tennessee State University.

Fox was inspired to make what she describes as confrontational animal portraits while in the Uffici looking at historical paintings of people long dead. “I felt that animals should also be honored in their death,” says Fox. What makes them confrontational in nature is their large scale, and the fact that the animals are gazing directly at the viewer. Fox explains, “When something is looking directly at you, you have to engage with it.” While individual portraits in the collection are striking, viewing them all together brings another experience. Fox says that many of the animals look alive, but when viewers see a portrait of an aged taxidermied monkey, they notice cracks in his face. These cracks, or the portrait of a jackalope (a mythological creature) “give it away” that these are all taxidermied animals.

For images of dioramas, Fox was interested in working with layers to confuse the space. None of the photographs are manipulated, or even cropped, and none of them encompass the entire diorama. “I include reflections from other cases, as well as elements meant to remain unseen to confuse the space,” says Fox.

“I want you to approach each piece thinking, ‘That’s beautiful.’ Then, ‘What’s going on?’ Then, ‘Wait, this isn’t right!’” The reflections pull other dioramas into the case, creating layers of imagery and layers of reactions within the viewers. Fox emphasizes that after studying the history of the natural habitat diorama, she has deep respect for people who made these dioramas; she says the art that goes into creating the taxidermy and the painted background is incredible. Ultimately, Fox hopes visitors will walk away from UnNatural History with deeper empathy and consciousness about animals’ lives. www.dianefoxphotography.com

Hours: Fridays 5-9pm, Saturdays 1-5pm and Sundays 1-5pm, and by appointment through the week (until April 23).
RED Gallery, 130 E Jackson Ave, Knoxville. 865-524-0146 or robin@robineaster.com

“Transferring Knowledge: Ceramics from a Collaborative Community Workshop” showcases the work created by members of The Bottom and Mighty Mud during a month-long workshop taught by Maggie Connolly and Jake Ingram. The exhibition will be on view at The Bottom, March 4th - 31st, with an opening exhibition on Friday, March 4th, 5-9 PM.

The goal of this workshop was to foster sustainable and meaningful connections between communities with the purpose of growing the arts culture and knowledge in the greater Knoxville area, by providing instruction on lithographic ceramic decals. Students from this workshop learned a deeper understanding of both ceramic and lithographic techniques and processes and created their own work. A collective project was made by all the participants and will be installed at the Bottom's new building. Funding for the workshop was made possible through Tri-Star Arts and the Current Art Fund.

Featuring work by:
Brandy Allen
Jordan Butzine
George Habeib
Vanessa Hartman
Ty Murray
Jeremy Myles
Natalie Ward

The Bottom, 2340 E Magnolia Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: thebottomknox@gmail.com, 865-444-5915 or https://www.thebottomknox.com/

The show will be at Crafty Bastard Brewery West from March 4 - March 31.
9937 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37922

I create multicolor portraits with a current focus on combining watercolor and colored pencil. As I deal with mental illness, art has been a beautiful way for me to communicate what I can’t explain otherwise. Since viewers often say they feel an emotional connection to my work, I feel comfortable expressing openly to let others know they aren’t struggling alone.

https://ginlizzyartist.blogspot.com/
https://www.instagram.com/ginlizzyartist/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtByGinLizzy

We are excited to have Kara Lockmiller as our featured artist for the month of March! All paintings are one of a kind originals. Kara paints portraits of musicians to convey what she sees when she listens to music as a chromesthete.

Please join us for the show opening from 6 to 8pm. Kara's work will be on display through March 29th.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, we prefer that masks be worn inside the store. Thank you for helping us stay safe!

Facebook Event: https://fb.me/e/1JrruPwy8

Rala: Regional and Local Artisans, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-525-7888, https://shoprala.com. Instagram: @ShopRala

“The BSG Spring Roll” features new works by the 13 BSG artists:

Chloe Melton, Vincent Drake, Lauren Kelley, Brandon Woods, Mandy Lynn Carris, Jeremy Logan, Jessica Gregory, Sam Stapleton, Katie Carrillo, Pat O’Neil, Nancy Rowland-Engle, Anne Freels, Larry Blount

Opening First Friday March 4th 5:00 – 9:00
Open every Tues & Wed. 4:00 – 7:00 Friday 12:00-4:00 Sunday 12:00-6:00 and anytime the OPEN sign is flashing!

Broadway Studios and Gallery, 1127 Broadway St, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-556-8676, www.BroadwayStudiosAndGallery.com and https://www.facebook.com/broadwaystudiosandgallery/

March Featured Artists:
Patrick Deason – Metal Artist
Jack Retterer – Photography

First Friday Reception: March 4, 5:30 – 9:00 pm

Patrick Deason, Metal Artist
Self-trained and often using tools and techniques he has developed; Patrick works in sheet steel. Cutting, shaping, welding the metal presents challenges as he converts flat metal into organic flowing shapes. A National Park Ranger in different parts of the country for many years, Patrick has an affinity for the natural form and movement of animals, his favorite subjects to create; some whimsical, some accurately detailed. His pieces have won awards in many shows, and he has been featured in several galleries.

Jack Retterer, Photography
Jack Retterer, fine art photographer, teacher, and poet, is very active in the arts community in East Tennessee. His American Impressionist style photography and large canvas prints have been on display at numerous prestigious venues including Arts at the Airport, the City of Knoxville Mayors Office, the Knoxville County Mayors office, and the Clayton Center for the Art. Jack also teaches Fine Art Photography at the University of Tennessee.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tu-Sa 11-6, Su 1-6. Information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net, www.Facebook.com/ArtMarketGallery