Calendar of Events

From Then to Now will open at 2pm on Wednesday, August 17. The Ewing Gallery will operate under Summer hours (M-F 10am - 5pm) until Wednesday, August 24. Then we will resume full operating hours. (M-F 10am - 5pm, TR 10am - 7:30pm, and Sundays 1-4pm)

FROM THEN TO NOW is a retrospective that includes work from the past twenty plus years as well as present explorations. All these works utilize change as a thematic thread. The most recent work is influenced by frequent travel where rich and varied observations of the natural world are recorded. The oldest works consist of clay sculptures that are weathered, narrative and psychological, while the present work. especially the photographs, looks at the idea of finding beauty in the deciduous, the dying, the changing.

Diane Solomon Kempler was a professor at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia where she taught ceramic sculpture for many years. She has been a practicing artist for over thirty years, has had major exhibitions and received many awards. She has also created public art works in the United States and Bosnia. Her ceramic work focuses on the ideas of transition and transformation in the natural world as well as in humans. She has traveled extensively to such places as Mali, Turkey, Indonesia, Peru, and Nepal. Her travels to Asia, especially Burma and India, allowed her to pursue one of her research interests, observing hand building pottery techniques that exist in rural villages. She was awarded a Fulbright Research Scholar grant to pursue this research in India and created several films from this research. She has participated in ceramic studio residencies in Hungary, France, India, and Denmark where she has spent time developing her ceramic and photography work.

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

GEOFFREY A. WOLPERT GALLERY

2022-2023 Kenneth R. Trapp Craft Assistant/Curatorial Intern Kelli Fisher explores the early history of Arrowcraft, an important facet of Gatlinburg’s history and the history of Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Building on the knowledge of Arrowmont friend Frances Fox, historian and past apprentice to the Master Weaver for Arrowcraft, she has curated materials from Arrowmont’s collection and archives. Kelli will also be presenting her research at the Tennessee State Museum’s Lunch and Learn program, telling the stories of some notable Appalachian women who worked and shaped Arrowcraft and, in turn, Arrowmont as it exists today.

Opened in 1926, the Arrowcraft Shop continued the project established by the Pi Beta Phi Settlement School of meeting the needs of those who lived in the Smoky Mountains. The shop also allowed Appalachian makers the opportunity to make and sell their crafts for more equitable prices than they could find on their own. Their wares – including handmade baskets, coverlets, and chairs – were incredibly popular, in part due to the revival of the American Arts and Crafts movement, which prized high-quality workmanship.

While Arrowcraft employed diverse craft makers, its main focus was weaving. Partially, this decision had to do with storage – only so many baskets and chairs could be stored in the Arrowcraft shop, while weavings of different sizes and complexities (and varying prices) could be more economically stored. Weaving also allowed for both the designer and the weaver to earn credit, as is seen in the small selection of textiles on view in this gallery. Gatlinburg’s weaving women were highly skilled, and between 1935 and 1945 242 different women wove for Arrowcraft. Within Arrowmont’s permanent collection is a sizeable collection of coverlets, hand towels, window tapestries, aprons, handbags, wallets, purses, coats, and more, collected from the early days of Arrowcraft and lasting until its dissolution in the 1990s. Arrowcraft’s success came from the high quality of the items, as Pi Beta Phi alumnae and tourists for the national park sought to buy from the accomplished women makers.

The success of Arrowcraft’s weaving program encouraged the Pi Beta Phis to expand their craft classes, which in turn led to Arrowmont’s workshops that celebrate craft’s histories, its present, and its many futures. Arrowcraft was instrumental in making both Arrowmont and Gatlinburg the spaces they are today.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, https://www.arrowmont.org

Marble City Opera Movie Magic

Make plans to join us at this summer where we're re-showing three of our most popular productions on the big screen.

August 17
"I Can't Breathe"

Stay tuned for info on tickets and showtimes!
Central Cinema, 1205 N Central St, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: info@centralcinemaknox.com, 865-951-2447, https://centralcinema865.com

Marble City Opera: 865-226-9756, www.marblecityopera.com

By Knox Writes
Free
9:00 AM – 10:30 AM EDT
At Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, 17 Market Square, #101
Knoxville, TN 37902

Join us for the first Knox Writes community meetup, free and open to all.

Join a growing community of writers to improve your skills, become more successful, and make connections with people who understand the challenges of writing. No matter where you are on your writer’s journey, you can benefit from the synergy of a supportive group and overcome the isolation that often overwhelms writers working alone.

This month's program is focused on you. Who are you as a writer? Why do you write? What do you hope to achieve? How can you overcome whatever is holding you back?

Let us guide you through a process of self-discovery that allows you to create a personal pitch, short- and long-term achievable goals, and a path to success. In addition, you can start to build relationships to make the hard work of writing more enjoyable and fulfilling. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/knox-writes-presents-valuing-yourself-as-a-writer-tickets-390188031907

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2022 AT 7 PM
At Pretentious Beer
Event by The Maker City, The Big Camera and Knox Crafts TN
Tickets · $35
www.eventbrite.com/e/389995827017

Join us for a night of Botanical Blueprints with The Big Camera at Pretentious Beer! You'll make a keepsake Cyanotype pillowcase and few other special extras to keep or give as a gift! This photo printing process dates back to the 1800s, and was made famous by a woman named Anna Atkins. Many credit this botanist with being the first person to publish a book illustrated with photographic images. You'll pick your own plant matter, use our negatives, and create one-of-a-kind pieces of art. Anna Lawrence and Donna Moore, The Big Camera Co-Founders will be excited to teach you a process you can easily continue at home! We can't wait to make art with you!

https://www.facebook.com/events/573625761010967

Songs and Stories from the Bird and the Book (1509 E Broadway Ave, Maryville) continues its ongoing series of concerts and conversations with another free show at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 17 with special guest singer/songwriter Wil Wright. As always, this event offers an opportunity not only to share an intimate listening experience with the artists performing their songs in stripped down settings, but also to learn about the craft and creativity that goes into their music and performance.

Think “The Actor’s Studio,” but geared to musicians.

William Wright has lived a few lives. Over his 24 years of activity, he has taken the form of a beloved East Tennessee songwriter and performer by way of bands such as Senryu Peak Physique and Weird Miracle. He has toured as a multi-instrumentalist with composer Daniel Hart as well as country wunderkind EmiSunshine. Wright even spent a most bizarre 5 years, crisscrossing the country performing experimental rap under the moniker LiL iFFy, once dubbed "the greatest wizard rapper alive" by mtv.com. Currently, he is engaging in the life of a rising composer of contemporary concert music and film scores, for which he has already been domestically and internationally decorated. Wright’s work has been sold, streamed, screened and performed around the world. William has held composer residencies with Theatre Knoxville Downtown, Tanasi Winds, Enjoy The Silents Film Series, Scruffy City Film Festival and most recently, Roane Choral Society and Scruffy City Orchestra. Wright’s Gezellig Records debut, Salt Mass, has been sold and streamed in 28 countries, and his most recent feature film score, for director Jordan Noel’s award-winning apocalyptic drama This World Alone, can currently be experienced on Hulu. William was honored by the faculty of Milan Italy’s Screen Music Program as the 2021 recipient of their top prize, “Best Composer for the Screen.” In 2022, Wright was commissioned to compose new works by Knoxville's Maker City Council as well as being invited to compose at the the National Puppetry Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Center for Theater, where he wrote new works by talent including puppeteers from Sesame Street and Apple +'s Fraggle Rock. As of mid-2022, Wright is working on multiple feature film projects, new contemporary classical works, finishing a degree in music composition from Berklee College of Music, and helping his young daughter learn fractions.

The Bird and the Book is one of Maryville’s newest venues for all kinds of entertainment. With a bar and food service, it’s the ideal place to gather with family and friends to enjoy an evening of informal entertainment. It’s located at 1509 E Broadway Ave, Maryville, TN, below Southland Books and Cafe. Phone (865) 984-4847 or go to their website: https://southlandbooksandcafe.com/the-bird-and-the-book

Lee Zimmerman is the host for Songs and Stories from the Bird and the Book, which will take place the first Wednesday of every month from 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

The dog days of summer are here, but we're chill on the hill! Join us Wednesday, August 17 from 6pm til 9pm

Attend for a chance to visit the house museum 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 local breweries.

The historic home will be open for self-guided tours and there will be behind-the-scenes access to the bottom floor at 7:30pm. Mabry-Hazen House also will continue its history series where we share an artifact or objects that normally are not on display.

Outdoor seating areas will be set-up on the front porch and lawn for groups to enjoy the site in a casual atmosphere. We’ll have a fire pit and corn hole available and guests are encouraged to bring games, stories, blankets, and camp chairs.

Tickets are $10 per adult and visitors under 16 are free. Each purchased ticket includes 2 (two) adult beverages and additional drinks are $5. A small processing fee is applied to tickets purchased online. Tickets will be available at the door.

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

WEDNESDAY, AUG 17, 2022
AT 7:30PM

"Weird Al" Yankovic burst onto the scene over three decades ago and never looked back. For the second time in his storied career, the worlds foremost musical satirist and five-time Grammy winner foregoes his usual high-octane, big-production show for an intimate evening of music, focusing on original (non-parody) songs from his 14-album catalog. Marking his highly anticipated return to the concert stage after his hugely successful Strings Attached Tour in 2019 where "Weird Al" performed each night alongside a full symphony orchestra, this is a rare opportunity to get up-close and personal with this legendary performer. Opening the show will be Special Guest Emo Phillips.

Effective immediately, please be advised that in keeping with the updated Covid-19 policies of venues across the country, “Weird Al” will no longer require proof of vaccination or a negative test within 72 hours. Masks are encouraged but not required.

https://www.tennesseetheatre.com/event/G5viZpz1UlzuW/weird-al-yankovic-unfortunate-return-of-the-ill-advised-vanity-tour/

Free and open to the public
Reception Friday, August 19, 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Artists’ talks at 6:30 pm.
Gallery hours: 10-3, Monday and 10-4, Tuesday through Thursday

Terri Swaggerty began a career in Art at Expo 82 as a sidewalk portrait artist. She then became a self-employed photo retouch artist, specializing in photo restoration and photo enhancement utilizing airbrush, pencil and dye work, and oils for hand coloring. As a member of the Tennessee Professional Photographers association, she received many First-Place awards in photo retouching and received the Artisan Degree in 1997. She also received First Place awards in national PPA competition. Beginning in 1998 she transitioned to a photography career. In 1999, competing as a photographer, she received TPPA First Place honors in Portrait and received First Place in Wedding the following year. Her wedding photography business, Terri Swaggerty Portraiture, flourished in Knoxville for 15 years. Terri now works part time for Little Log Wedding Chapel in Gatlinburg. Terri began taking oil painting workshops in 2014. and is now a member of the Art Market Gallery in both photography and painting. She has previously shown at TVUUC, Tomato Head, Artemis Gallery in Apalachicola Florida, Post Modern Spirits, and Crafty Bastard Brewery.

For me the process of creating Art, whether through a lens or with a paint brush, is where soul meets body. I am always looking for and discovering Art in the changing environments of daily life. Finding it is so exciting! ~ Terri Swaggerty


Kenneth M. Moffett is retired from a career in architecture, having been design director at the Knoxville/Nashville firm Bullock Smith Architecture and Planning since joining in the formation of the firm in 1984. The firm has received numerous design awards with projects nationwide and abroad. Moffett has also worked as an artist throughout his life. His works in watercolor and acrylics on canvas have been widely exhibited, including at TVUUC. In recent years he has become involved in writing about architecture and urbanism, having a book on foundational issues published in 2017 with two further books published earlier this year by ORO Editions, publishers of architecture, art, and design. As an amateur musician he is a long-standing member of the Tennessee Wind Symphony and a member of the Knoxville Music Study Club. Moffett is presently co-chair of the TVUUC Art Gallery Committee.

These works are selected from the many I produced during a year of travel and study abroad in 1969-’70, under the auspices of the Lloyd Warren Fellowship (“Paris Prize”). Works on paper in pencil, ink, or watercolor, they represent varied approaches to capturing qualities of the architectural, urbanistic, or cultural subject matter, ranging from realistic rendition to mannered sketch techniques. These and others were produced “en plein air” in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Norway, and England, and they initiated a long tradition of sketching on trips abroad. Unearthed from the flat files, this is their first gallery showing. Some of the works in Venice are featured in my new book Urban Lessons of the Venetian Squares.

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org

Refill with Us at Our Upcoming August Pop-Ups and Markets

All your favorite refills will be available! Bring your own containers (BYOC) or use ours. Just pay for what you fill.

Sun Aug 14, 11-4 - Old City Market on West Jackson Ave
Sat Aug 20, 10-2 at Oglewood Ave, 3524 N Broadway
Fri Aug 26, 9-4 at Habitat for Humanity ReStore, 1511 Downtown W. Blvd

https://linktr.ee/KnoxFill

OPENING RECEPTION Fri Aug 12, 5:30-7:30pm

Working primarily between the mediums of sculpture and painting, noted contemporary artist Radcliffe Bailey (born 1968) incorporates found objects and photographs into richly layered and textured compositions that address history, ancestry, migration, and collective memory. The artist incorporates a multitude of mediums in a variety of works inspired by his interest in diasporic histories and notions of identity and displacement. Several works reference turbulent voyages at sea, recalling the lives lost in Middle Passage, while others celebrate the unifying power of music and the legendary jazz musicians who pushed the limitations of western tradition through their radical compositions.

The exhibition is organized by the Knoxville Museum of Art in conjunction with Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tu-Sa 10-5, Su 1-5. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org. Admission and parking are free.

An ART EXHIBITION of oil & watercolor works: www.cosimaaryee.net

Reception on Sun Aug 7, 2-4 PM
Join us in the Edith Davis Gallery for a fun afternoon of art, mingling and light refreshments

The Rose Center, 442 West Second North St, Morristown, TN, 37814. Hours: M-F 9-5. Information: 423-581-4330, www.rosecenter.org