Once housing the Fountain City Public Library, this wonderful parkside building is the new home of the Fountain City Art Center.
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Please consider donating any unused art books you may have to the center. Other books that can be traded for art books will be gladly accepted as well.
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213 Hotel Avenue Fountain City, Tennessee 37918 865-357-ARTS (2787) fcartcenter@knology.net |
...Other Past Events
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2006 Happenings
EXHIBITS MAKE BIG HIT AT FOUNTAIN CITY ART CENTER
The girls of the
LUNA exhibit
brought a bit of everything to the
Art Center on Friday night, August 11, during their reception.
The variety of their art, the humor in some of the art, and the
complexity of the art enriched the name LU.N.A.—League of United
Noncomformist Artists. They are shown here with some of their
work, and all six seem to be having a wonderful time. The
attendance record for the exhibit grows daily, and the Center
expects many visitors from Oak Ridge where these ladies are well
known.
"Quit For Life" featuring "The Kiss of Death" art exhibit by the late artist Sandy Neuman, is also competing for attention at the same time as the LUNA group. This is a series of profound pictures created in art form depicting the artist's feelings and thoughts as he fought his battle with lung cancer after smoking for most of his life. If you have any ideas of stopping your smoking, this will indeed lead you to the right conclusion. If you have never smoked, you’ll see what having a healthy pair of lungs will add to your well-being. This exhibit will be on display until September 22.
M
ary Wilbourn
Friday, June 23, opened the newest exhibit the Art Center is offering the public with a reception from 6:30-8:30 PM. Mary Wilbourn, a resident of Lenoir City and owner of The Town Framery in Farragut, will show her watercolors and other paintings. Wilbourn has had a lifetime of experience and is a native Knoxvillian, but spent many years of her life in Atlanta where she retired from General Electric.
Wilbourn’s gallery originally was a one-room floating building at Ft. Loudon Marina. She lived on the river in a 50’ houseboat. Six years later the floating gallery evolved into a full gallery on Hwy. 321 in Lenoir City, and now her new gallery is located at 12814 Kingston Pike in Farragut. She shows many local artists as well as famous American artists and classics, pottery and metal work, and gifts.
Richard Thor Taylor, who began his ceramic career in 1975 while attending college in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, will be showing his ceramics at the same time as the above exhibit. Taylor has done endless creations of ceramics and has moved from the earth tones of stoneware to the bright and dynamic colors of under glazes. The Smithsonian Renwick Gallery displays one of Taylor’s pieces. Taylor also currently teaches art at Halls Middle School.
Aurora Harrison-Bull will be displaying oil paintings of her students during the same show. This is a good opportunity to observe what our teachers are doing and the results of their efforts.
IN THE WORKS AT FCAC
The Open Show has only been open two weeks and there’s plenty of traffic daily. But the Art Center has plans for the next show already in the works and working. The Open Show brought so many new and exciting creations that the FCAC is gaining a reputation for showing only the best.
Three artists from Jefferson City will have their works on exhibit from July 13 through August 24. Kathy Hawk, Judy Grover and Sheryl Daniels will bring their paintings to share, and at the same time the pottery of Judy Brater-Rose and Peter Rose will be on display. Wonderful World of Watercolor will also be showing the watercolors of 18 advanced students. The audience for these three exhibits will be in a quandary as to where to look first. It is a feast for the eyes!
Meanwhile Edna Harvey and Roger Bench literally have their hands full of clay and students since they are teaching their regular classes to young people and also the scholarship winners of the Monday Grant. Roger and Edna will continue to sign up new students as requests come in throughout the year. Both wheel throwing method and hand built work are taught and fired in the kiln.
Maureen Lucas has a full class of beginning watercolorists, but there’s always room for one more. Call the Art Center (357-2787) to learn more about this new class. Louise Farley always has her classes full because a course in drawing is a fundamental and essential part of art education. Sandi Vanwinkle is working with her 6-12 year-old students to teach them the basics in drawing, uses of water base paints and charcoals, some art history and how to use “found objects” to create art.
Looking ahead to the fall, by popular demand Jon Houglum will be back
teaching portrait painting with oil. His fall workshops are scheduled
for September 7 and 8, October 5 and 6, and November 9 and 10. Get your
name on the list now. These workshops are just in time for giving your
favorite person a portrait for Christmas.
Another new and exciting class available for summer and fall is “Bunches of Books” with instructor Bob Meadows. This is another way to create something beautiful for a Christmas present. No experience is necessary and with one session, you can create a beautiful handmade book for your favorite person.
Beading and fused glass jewelry are always being taught by our jewelry people—Kris Smith and Penny Berridge. They both have several sessions going on at this time and into the fall.
SUMMER BRINGS NEW SHOWS AND CLASSES
Maureen Lucas is the newest beginning watercolor teacher at the Art Center with classes that begin Mondays, June 4, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. The cost is $95/$80. You may have seen Lucas’ paintings at various Fountain City Art Guild Shows. Her watercolors are breath-taking and now she will pass on some of this accumulated knowledge to those of you who are searching for a beginner class from a professional.
Don’t forget the new “Bunches of Books” class with instructor Bob Meadows. This class begins June 12-July 24 on Tuesday evenings, 6:30 to 9 pm. This is an introduction to the fascinating realm of handmade books. Cost $125/$115 which include materials cost.
The very successful Hillside Garden Party would not have been as good if the following donors hadn’t come forward. Food City donated lettuce for the salad, Linda Wise sponsored the musical guests and sound equipment, Bear Stevenson, professional auctioneer, donated his time. Valley Produce donated fruit, and Jean Greer donated the pasta and potato salad. Ginger and Bill Baxter donated the use of their gardens and rented the tents, tables and chairs and provided the beverages. Jeff Patin and the Creamery Park Grill gave the sandwiches that were served at the luncheon. Many others volunteered their time to park cars, serve food, decorate tables, host tables and bring homemade cookies. That is why Fountain City Art Center was so successful with this event, and they wish to thank everyone who had a part in it.
NEW LOOK AT THE FOUNTAIN CITY ART CENTER
A drive by the Fountain City Art Center at 213 Hotel Avenue will take
your breath away. Not only are most of the flowers in bloom from the
“big
planting”
last summer, but there are also some unusual and exotic Iris, the likes
of which most of us have never seen. Abundant, colorful, wild, and free
are good words to describe the natural look the Art Center has achieved
in its garden.
Along with this bumper crop of
flowers, there’s also a bumper crop of classes beginning daily. Come in
a visit the Center to see the exhibits, the classes in session, the
schedule, and observe just what is going on there. The Terra Madre
Group (Women in Clay) has a limited number of clay works on exhibit
through April 27. The Fountain City Art Guild’s Spring Show and Sale is
on exhibit with over 50 works done by members. The show ends April 27.
The FCAC First Annual Open Show will begin May 12. Create something new and plan to enter this show. It’s open to all area artists (all media) and it will be juried and judged. Entries are accepted Saturday, April 29, 1-4; Monday, May 1, 10-5, and Tuesday May 2, 10-5. The opening reception is Friday, May 12 from 6:30 to 8:30.
Saturday, the 3rd of June, brings more than roses to the Hillside Estate of Bill and Ginger Baxter. That is the date for the Hillside Garden Party, a benefit for the Fountain City Art Center. Ladies, get out your best big floppy hats and summer frocks! Gentlemen, you’re invited too. This year’s largest bash for the Art Center starts at 1:00 and offers a luncheon buffet, a panoramic view on the highest hilltop in Knoxville, and musical entertainment. Gifts donated by local businesses will be given away as well. A big tent serves as a canopy in the front yard of the Baxter home for the individually decorated tables and special events. The Art guild is in charge of the decorations. Donations of $30 per person secure your spot, and tables of 8 can be reserved for your group by calling the Art Center, 357-2787.
The Parkside Gallery, a part
of the Fountain City Art Center, has many
paintings
and objets d’art for sale in this exquisite little gallery. Beautiful
items of jewelry, clay works, stained glass and fused Dichroic glass
lend the viewer excitement for the eye.
The Fountain City Art Center is located at 213 Hotel Avenue. Hours are 9-5 M-W-F, and 10-5 Tu, Th, and Sat. Telephone 357-2787 for more information on classes and exhibits.
Young Art Lovers to Benefit from Monday Grant
As soon as school’s out, the Art Center will open its
doors again to
Knox County students for classes funded by the $5,000 grant from the
Gene and Florence Monday Foundation. Approximately 55 students 7 to 13
years of age will be selected by their art teachers for the opportunity
to take classes in a variety of artistic media. Edna Harvey and Roger
Bench will instruct classes in hand-building and pottery. Tracee Pickett
will conduct classes in her very own creation: “SmArt Art,” a course
which introduces young students to the 20,000 years of art history
and
hands-on activities ranging from hieroglyphs and calligraphy to fresco
making and mosaics. Instructors, students, and parents owe the Monday
Foundation a tremendous thank-you for making these summer scholarships
available again in 2006!
"peaNuts and Pearls" New Exhibit at the Fountain City Art Center
(01/26/06)
The "peaNuts" part of this new exhibit is done by Adam Alfrey, the Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture's Model and Exhibits Prepartor at UT. Alfrey's current visual explorations fall somewhere between "Tongue-in-cheek Minimalism" and "Tongue-in-cheek Expressionism," as he somewhat naively, somewhat intellectually includes or references Styrofoam packaging peanuts as part of his iconography. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's medieval branch--The Cloisters--where Mr. Alfrey interned after finishing his BA degree in Art History from UT, has played a large part in the iconography associated with his art. However, Alfrey remains open to all forms and periods of art, finding the work of contemporary artists, American folk artists, and "outsider" artists as points of investigation and sources of inspiration.
And now for the "Pearls" of this "Duo-Exhibit," Liz Curry plays her part. Curry studied art at the Cleveland Institute of Art, and later earned a BFA and an MS from UT. In her early years she lived only a short walk from the Cleveland Museum of Art which was an awe-inspiring influence. Later in life, she earned an MA in French from UT and taught at Maryville College and UT. At retirement, Mrs. Curry returned to the study of art, and the subject matter which inspired her most is the figure, portraits and still life. She works in oil and pastel and some of Curry's subject matter is thought-provoking while many of her pieces remain realistic.
This is one of those shows you don't want to miss. The reception for the artists will be from 6:30-8:30 pm on Friday, February 3, and the show will be on exhibit until March 17. Come by and meet the artists and enjoy the food the Art Center has prepared for this event.
A new workshop has been added to the winter schedule of classes: "Chinese Calligraphy." The workshop is taught by Chi Chen Cheng on Monday, Feb. 20 from 10:00-4:00. The cost is $100 for members/$115 for non-members. Bring a sack lunch and beverage. The workshop will introduce students to the basic techniques of Chinese calligraphy and will equip them to continue learning on their own. Some materials will be provided and can be taken home for use for years to come. Call the Art Center (357-2787) to register today as we expect this class to fill quickly. Maximum number of students is ten.
You Too Can Try Something New!
NEW CLASSES STARTING ALL THE TIME
Teacher Bios | Volunteers | Newsletter
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Tues / Thurs: 9AM-5PM
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Wed / Fri: 10AM-5PM
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Sat: 9AM-1PM
Sundays Closed
Note: We will close for snow on the same schedule as Knox County Schools.
Classes will be made up in such cases.
Parkside Gallery
Click the picture to view photos of recent center events.
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"We encourage adults of all levels, children after school, and working people after work to come and study at our beautiful art center."
–Sylvia Williams,
Art Center President
–Sylvia Williams,
Art Center President