Jessie Langley works on her entry for Chalk Walk 2015. Winner: Second Place, College Single Artist.

Because so many people look forward to the Dogwood Arts Chalk Walk each year, we’re republishing this post featuring some of the amazing art from Chalk Walk 2015.  The 2017 event will be held at Market Square Knoxville on Saturday, April 1 — all day!

For the seventh year in a row, artists (professional, novice, and student) turned ordinary sidewalks in Knoxville’s Market Square into magical canvases for Dogwood Arts Chalk Walk 2015.  Arriving mid-morning gets you a view of artists at work.  So you may need another visit after lunch to see finished art. Here’s a little of both.

We began by talking with Michael Gunnels sketching this sassy, bug-eyed cat.

And then watched Curtis Glover capture the Knoxville skyline and Tennessee logo in chalk.

Knoxville collage by Curtis Glover

Some artists campaigned for votes. Like Blythe Lundberg.  And why not? Cute snail on a quilt-pattern background — all finished by lunchtime.  No small feat, we thought.

Snail design with blue background by Blythe Lundgren. Vote for #16!

It didn’t escape us that young, young people were hunched over these drawings, too.  Like the team from Sequoyah Elementary slamming colorful gumballs into their orange machine. And their reward?  First Place in Elementary division.

This sweet entry done by kids from the Montessori School had something extra: origami birds laid on top.

Montessori School entry — Chalk Walk 2015

When we finally looked up, we saw folks on the square in the middle of a party of sorts.  So much going on — musicians, magicians, and kids sketching chalk drawings in their own area reserved for kid spontaneity.

Even furry friends got into the action.  Like this dog belonging to a hard-working artist who kept shushing the dog away from the art only to find the pet smack dab in the middle of the chalk — again.

But I like it here!

Winners

Best of Show

Drawing the most attention, and for good reason, was Shane Sandberg‘s astronaut. Winning Best of Show for detail and a sense of humor (Space guy’s holding a drink called a Shaneberg), Sandberg’s drawing took chalk art to a new level.  Literally.

Working from a picture, Shane Sandberg adds exquisite detail to his astronaut chalk drawing.

Astronaut holding a Shaneberg by Shane Sandberg. (Instagram: @theshaneberg)

People’s Choice Award

Who doesn’t like Anna and Elsa?  It took hard work all day by Deirdre Pokrzywa and Sarah Bellah to bring these young ladies — and Olaf — to life in chalk

People’s Choice Award from the movie Frozen by Deirdre Pokrzywa and Sarah Bellah

Other Favorites

On the Market Square stage, Jessie Steinberg (2014 Best of Show winner) wowed us with detail: a very friendly dog in a garden setting.  (Winner 2015:  First Place, Adult Division)

Nearby, the girls we featured in a previous post (Weekly Photo Challenge: Afloat) were busy free handing a drawing of a girl in a koi pond.  (At least that’s what it looked like to us.) The dreamy effect and the matching koi patterns weren’t lost on us: these two UT Elementary Education majors said they were enjoying the design work as much as the hard work.  (Winner: Second Place, College Collaborative)

After our lunch, we stumbled (literally, since there were so many people in close quarters) upon other notables that struck our fancy.

Old truck by Cody Swaggerty. Winner: Second Place, Adult Single Artist

Diver by the McQuilkin Family. Winner: Second Place, Family Division.

Striped figure by Elena Lawson. Winner: First Place, Middle School Single Artist

Barry Gibb by Erin Pelicano

Lauryn Darby’s entry. Winner: First Place, College Single Artist

Our vote for best detail is this portrait by Sarah and Abigail Gibson.

Great work, don’t you think?  We’re still wondering how artists 1) decide what to draw, 2) select colors and chalks, and 3) stay in the bent-over position for hours.

Mark this on your calendar for 2016.  It’s just one of many artsy events of the Dogwood Arts Festival. See you in Knoxville next year?

Dogwood Arts Chalk Walk 2015

List of winners:  http://www.dogwoodarts.com/chalk-walk/

Sponsors:

Avanti Savoia: http://www.avantisavoia.com/

Jerry’s Artarama: http://www.jerrysartarama.com/

For more information:

“Chalk it up as a great weekend.” The Blue Streak.  http://bluestreak.moxleycarmichael.com/2015/04/16/chalk-it-up-as-a-great-weekend/

The stately wooded gardens of Dr. Alan Solomon

(We are re-publishing this post from 2015 since Dr. Solomon’s garden will be open for touring as a Dogwood Arts Featured Garden again this year, 2017.  For more information on times and location, click here.)

Perhaps one of the most magnificent areas in the Knoxville area, Dr. Alan Solomon’s gardens opens up a forest of greenery in an elegant fairyland setting.  More than 20 acres have been developed by Dr. Solomon who had little horticultural and landscaping experience prior to purchasing the land in 1971.  Now, with the addition of hundreds of wildflowers, coniferous and deciduous trees, and native plantings combined with over 700 tons of rock forming streams and waterfalls, the garden is a blend of natural and planned landscaping in a lush secret garden setting. It’s no wonder that this Knoxville treasure, Dr. Solomon’s garden, has been included in the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Gardens,

As we arrived on the designated Dogwood Arts Featured Gardens visitation days, Dr. Solomon greeted each guest in the parking lot.  And then in his soft-spoken voice, he directed the soon-to-be-amazed visitors to areas of interest, pointing the way on a carefully marked map he had designed. As we walked the property, tall trees formed archways through which we could look down and discover new areas.  Waterfalls added sound to the otherwise quiet surroundings. And all our senses were restored by the peacefulness and natural beauty.

But there was also humor to be found in this stillness.  Life-size frogs kept watchful eyes over the comings and goings of visitors or busied themselves with needed repairs.

The pinnacle of our tour, however, was the sight of Dr. Solomon’s home.  Named GATOP (God’s Answer to Our Prayers), the vast hillside property and the craftsman-style home afford the owners a spectacular view from the front lawn.  Artwork blends in — enhancing the view and offering new textures and forms to complement carefully planned areas.

Lovely craftsman-style home of Dr. Alan Solomon blends in with its surroundings.

Tall sculpture strategically placed to capture the view from the front lawn of Dr. Solomon’s home.

With its elegant twists and turns, this sculpture on the front lawn leads the eye beyond to a glimpse of Knoxville from the front lawn of Dr. Solomon’s home.

A tiny frog perches on the porch of Dr. Alan Solomon’s home with the gardens in the background

It’s not hard to find solace here.  But it’s also not difficult to see that the work of Dr. Solomon and many others have improved on the natural “good bones” of the land.  In some places, we couldn’t decide if gardens were built around art or art was placed in a planned garden. We had no idea what came first. Nor did it matter.  The whole was prettier than the sum of its parts.

Carefully placed sculpture enhances the natural beauty of Dr. Solomon’s gardens

After thanking Dr. Solomon for the opportunity to walk through the garden areas and stand quietly on his front porch, we asked if we could get a picture.  The camera-shy garden enthusiast allowed us to snap him at play with the dogs who have traversed the land so often right alongside him.  A beautiful day.  In a beautiful setting. We felt grateful to have been there.

Dr. Alan Solomon with his faithful companions

For more information on the Open Gardens and Featured Gardens during Dogwood Arts Festival 2015, click here.

For all of the posts on this year’s festival, click here.

This concludes our series on Dogwood Arts Festival 2015.  We hope you enjoyed touring Knoxville at one of the prettiest times of the year.  Please make plans to come see us in 2016 — the dogwoods and the arts and the gardens will be right here!

Bert and Rusha Sams

Whiskey dyed jeans from Marc Nelson Denim, Knoxville, Tennessee

Ad for Marc Nelson Denim — from website: marcnelsondenim.com

Dogwood Art DeTour 2015 took us a lot of places from the open studios of Diana Dee, Melanie Wood, and Shannon Davis to the heart of Knoxville on E. Depot Avenue for the art of manufacturing at Marc Nelson Denim.  Oh, sure.  We’d seen the ads of a handsome couple sporting whiskey-stained denim, but never knew the story — or even the location — of denim jeans causing a buzz in the fashion world.

Founder Marc Hall, born and raised near the old, now defunct, Levi’s plant on Cherry Street, took pride in wearing Levi’s partly because his grandfather, L. C. Nelson, had a flair for fashion and a love of quality.  My grandfather always told me that when you leave the house, even if you don’t have a million bucks, you should dress like a million bucks, said Hall (as quoted on website.)  And thus, the trend began.  Now, this small-batch craft denim brand produces sought-after limited quantity jeans named for Marc and his grandfather, Mr. Nelson.  (Full story here.)

Founder Marc Hall’s grandfather, L. C. Nelson

Our tour began with a greeting from the affable buyer and product developer, Kim Milligan, who directed us to one of the friendliest PR guys in town, Andy Jones.  Andy almost immediately took us to the racks of clothing, like the waxed denim shirt.  (Waxed, right?)

Andy explained that denim starts out white and then takes on the colors given to it — like the indigo blue we’re all familiar with.  Or orange, if you live in Big Orange Country!

Marc Nelson Denim jeans can be bought from racks or customized to a specific fit and size. But you need to wear them.  A lot.  Or that’s what Andy told us: They take on your shape and become part of you.  That’s why Andy — and the instructions on their denimology fact sheet on the website  — recommend not washing them — well, for at least for six months.  Surprised?  We were. But now it kinda makes sense.

Wear ’em for six months so they conform to you!

The newest for Marc Nelson?  The color of whiskey.  Andy again:  That’s right.  We put whiskey in the wash with the denim.  And this is the color we get.

As described on the website blog: We steep raw, natural 12 oz. Selvedge Cone Mills Denim,  in a barrel of Whiskey for 30 days. After the month, we wash it, soften it and hang it to dry. The pair is breathable, yet incredibly sturdy – ready for years of wear and conversations over thick, amber whiskey.   (And no, we didn’t sample the product in the bottles!)

They felt softer to us: whiskey-steeped jeans!

Housed in an industrial district, the Marc Nelson Denim showroom is urban all the way –from displays on rough-hewn wood panels to tables who had a past life in a manufacturing setting.

We wouldn’t have necessarily thought of Marc Nelson Denim being a favorite stop on an art tour.  But with the story, the craftsmanship, the unique quality of the garments — well, why not?  This IS art.  And, thankfully, it’s right here in Knoxville.

Bin full of signature buttons for Marc Nelson Denim

For more information:

Marc Nelson Denim, 700 E. Depot Ave., Knoxville, TN 37917;  800.605.9782; http://www.marcnelsondenim.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarcNelsonDenim?fref=ts

Where to buy Marc Nelson Denim:  http://www.marcnelsondenim.com/locations/

For more posts on the Dogwood Arts Festival 2015, click here.

The Studio at White Fox Beads

First stop after seeing the work of Melanie Wood (Click here for post on that visit), we followed the sign into The Studio at White Fox Beads.  Owner Gail DeLuca proudly toured us through the large open studio on Homberg Drive where artists frequently gather, work, and collaborate — or seek advice as needed.  It was a place for advanced beading (if there is such a term), evidenced by the quality of work on display.

Inside The Studio at White Fox Beads, Gail DeLuca shows Bert some of the materials she uses to create her one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces.

Once you see finished products like this intricate necklace, you understand the quality of this art — and know that this is not where beginners begin.

Intricately woven and beaded necklace by Gail DeLuca

While we wandered around the studio, a friend of Gail’s, Judi Talley of Dancing Fox Designs, remained focused on one tiny element of one tiny silver ring.  So focused, in fact, that she was able to shape a bit of the ornamentation on the ring while answering our most basic questions concerning types of metal, tools of the trade, time devoted to the process, etc. (And yes, she’s wearing two pairs of glasses. All the better to see, my dear.)

Focused on shaping a silver ring, Judi Talley shares her craft while continuously working.

A quick look around assured us that this was no place for novices, but you wouldn’t know it from the welcoming and genuinely helpful comments by both jewelry enthusiasts.  We felt comfortable there.  And we left with the feeling that if you wanted support with gemstones, metal, found objects, or glass beads, you’d find it here.

Tools of the trade at White Fox Beads

Davis Studio

Around the corner, Shannon Davis opened the doors to Davis Studio, a place we’ve passed hundreds of times but had never visited.  According to the Dogwood Arts brochure, three women contribute to the art sold at the studio:  Shannon Davis and Cynthia Tipton specialize in oil and watercolor, and Cindy Marshall does off-loom, beadwoven jewelry.

Shannon Davis poses in front of her colorful self-portrait.

In addition to showcasing the art of these three artists, Davis Studio represents numerous other area artists (listed on the website).  Other services include calligraphy, custom framing, and art classes for adults and children.

Work of Cynthia Tipton and others on display at Davis Studio, Knoxville.

Cynthia Tipton‘s beaded cupcake design (now reproduced on cards) brought out her humor as she added this tidbit onto the paper strip inserted at the top:  You will suffer from extravagance.

Cynthia Tipton’s beaded cupcake design — available on cards at Davis Studio.

When we left Davis Studio, Cynthia Tipton had taken a seat under the tent where she would eventually demonstrate her craft for festival goers.  I’m waiting for a friend to deliver a five-foot canvas that I’m going to work on today, she said.  Too bad we couldn’t get back to catch that action!

Cynthia Tipton waits for a five-foot canvas under the tent where she’ll demonstrate her craft.

For more information on these two studios and the classes they offer, check out the locations and websites below.

Davis Studio, 315 Mohican Street, Suite 2, Knoxville, TN 37919; 865-584-1219; www.davisstudioart.com

White Fox Beads, 5111 Homberg Drive, Knoxville, TN 37919; 865-980-0237; www.whitefoxbeads.com

For more information on Dogwood Art DeTour, click here.

For all the posts on Dogwood Arts Festival 2015, click here.

Soft light bathes the Westmoreland Waterwheel in this painting by Melanie Wood.

Melanie Wood.  Ahh, Melanie Wood.  For those of you following our blog, you know we met her in 2012, wrote about her beautiful home studio and richly colored impressionistic art, and then republished the post again this spring in anticipation of a second visit. We’re grateful for Dogwood Art DeTour 2015  and Melanie’s willingness to open her home once again for visitors to enjoy!

Melanie (who’s truly as gracious as the paintings are lovely) greeted us at the door but then picked right up with her work, just as the Dogwood Arts brochures promised:  “See artists working in their own studios.” And what a studio!  Filled with natural and focused artificial light, Melanie’s art world holds tools of the trade: standing easel, oil paints, assorted brushes, and inspiration everywhere. (Even her clothing that day mimicked the colors she loves.)

Art studio of Melanie Wood

As we faced the patio and the courtyard beyond, we saw paintings on display literally glowing in the morning light: flowers, country homes, even fish in Melanie’s soft colors of blue, gray, peach, rose, and yellow.

Close-up of Melanie Wood painting featuring a blue color palette.

This year, Melanie told us, I’ve modified my color palette a bit.  You’ll see more blues since that’s what is trending in home decor.  (Melanie is vice-president of design for a leading home fashion manufacturer.) One of the onsite volunteers directed us to the dining room to view the “new” paintings on display.  The same subject matter — floral arrangements, still life, homes in the country — filled the room but with the colors of indigo, pale blue, and cream that Melanie is incorporating into more and more of her paintings.

On display in the Woods’ dining room were a few pieces in Melanie’s new color palette.

In the living room, more traditional paintings were on display — mostly studies of people and places the Woods have visited, all with the vibrant color and joie de vivre that typify Melanie’s art.

Painting of ballet dancer hangs above a desk in Melanie Wood’s living room.

Tranformed into a staging area for more paintings for Art DeTour was Melanie’s sunroom. It held paintings a bit more contemporary, perhaps, but with Melanie’s signature soft colors and the muted blues she’s using now. We admired the one of a single boat on still waters for its serenity and peacefulness.

It was during our first visit in 2012 that we purchased one of Melanie’s originals of a home in France.  Today, Melanie’s portfolio includes even more colorful countryside vignettes reminiscent of the travels abroad she and husband Tom still talk about.

If you asked us what we liked best about this stop on the Art DeTour — the artist, the paintings, or the home studio — we would be hard pressed to make a decision.  Let’s just say this:  If Melanie Wood is a featured artist in 2016, we’ll do all we can to see her — and the art — again!

Home and studio of artist Melanie Wood, Knoxville, Tennessee

Melanie Wood, Artist: 1000 Craigland Court, Knoxville, TN 37919; www.melaniewoodart.com; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melanie.wood.731?fref=ts

For more information on the Dogwood Art DeTour or any of the Knoxville Dogwood Arts Festival events, click here.

For more posts on this series focusing on Knoxville’s Dogwood Arts Festival, click here.

In addition to these centrally focused flowers, the town of Knoxville, Tennesee celebrates dogwood blooms as the central motif and focus of the Dogwood Art Festival.  It’s an annual celebration of spring, the profusion of arts in the area, and outdoor activities enjoyed by all.  People from around the world travel to Knoxville for the celebrations.  But those of us who live here take nothing for granted: the arrival of both the dogwoods and the festival have become the center of something beautiful and enjoyable each and every spring.  Hope you’ll come, too1

For more entries in Ailsa’s Travel theme: Centre on her blog Where’s My Backpack?, click here.  

For more information on Knoxville’s Dogwood Arts Festival, click here.  All our posts on the 2015 Festival are located here.

Penrose Horse Stable by Diana Dee

Art DeTour, an annual event of Knoxville’s Dogwood Arts Festival  has become a don’t-miss-this-if-you-can-help-it tradition for us.  We block out this weekend each year because it’s a rare invitation to see the inside of an artist’s studio and get to know artists in our area more personally. For this year’s Festival ’15, we began by meeting Diana Dee Sarkar in her spacious, well-appointed studio on Kingston Pike.  And you’d be impressed as we were right when you open the door.

Welcoming area of Diana Dee’s studio on Kingston Pike in Knoxville.

Diana, formerly an emergency room physician, greeted us and walked us through rooms of this office suite turned studio.

An easel holds art in progress in the studio of Diana Dee.

The tour became an educational one as Diana shared her techniques with us, teaching us about her media of choice from oil on linen to pastel pencils and even silverpoint.

The Bandana by Diana Dee. Pastel Pencil.

She’s a scholar of art, even though she began as a self-taught artist.  But workshops in Santa Fe, Woodstock, and Foster City, California, broadened her perspective and provided the guidance she willingly accepted.  In 2014, she received an MFA in Figure Painting from the Academy of Art in San Francisco.

Charcoal portrait by Diana Dee Sarkar

Subject matter ranges from equine studies to portraits — all capitalizing on the detail Diana deftly manages no matter the medium.  In 2011, during a study abroad program with the Academy of Art University, Diana captured scenes of Venice and Florence as well as life in Corciano, a small hillside village in Umbria, Italy, where she lived for two months.

Venice Small Canal with Laundry by Diana Dee

Bigness of heart also comes through.  She pointed to Willis, the man in this painting who was touched by rescue efforts for abused horses but had found no organization or efforts on the behalf of abused donkeys.  As a result, he began his own charitable activities designed to care for the animals he loved.

Willis & Donkey, George by Diana Dee

Her oils on linen were perhaps our favorite pieces — not just for the textures they offer but also for the bucolic scenery and restful nature of her subjects.

Oil on linen by Diana Dee

Her philosophy of art is embedded in this quote from her website: Even as a child, I took much pleasure in drawing and painting people and landscapes, and as I matured I realized how important creating art was for me a process of centering and finding a place of joy. 

This is one Art DeTour we won’t soon forget.

For more information:

The studio of Diana Dee Sarkar: 6906 Kingston Pike, Suite 203 in Executive Place, Knoxville, TN 37919; 865-603-4465; http://www.dianadeeart.com/

Seemingly afloat is this diver who’s taking a closer look at sea vegetation.

Entry from the McQuilken Family (Steven, Lauren, & Suzanne) in the Dogwood Arts Festival Chalk Walk 2015.

Another entry seemed afloat just by the process of creation:  the artists (University of Tennessee students) were freehanding the painting!  No paper picture beside them.  No preconceived notion of how this should turn out.  Just one artist sketching freehandedly (Is that a word?) while the other one filled in the color.

UT Art Education majors creating a watery picture for Chalk Walk 2015.

End result?  A dreamy, purple-haired lady afloat with the creatures beside her.

Lady with Koi — Chalk Walk 2015

For more entries in the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Afloat, swim over here.

Dogwood Arts Festival 2015: Chalk Walk

Located in the UT Downtown Gallery, this show opened on Knoxville’s First Friday to a packed house.

Yes, teachers can paint.  And sculpt.  And put together interesting collages.  And all the while help little kids who spill paint, can’t think of anything to draw, and would not like to clean up even though the bell is about to ring. Want to see what teachers can do in the quiet of their own homes and studios?  Then you need to visit Art Source 2015: A Knox County Art Educators Exhibition located in the UT Downtown Gallery.  

A large crowd, some who had also been to First Friday at the Emporium’s Regional Fine Arts Exhibition, gathered at this gallery next door to enjoy the creativity of these busy art educators.

A Few Examples: Art Source 2015

We’re not ones to pick a favorite, but the face of this lady in Right Now?!? by Jessica Stewart reminds us of some familiar moments.  What about you?

Close-up: Right Now?!? by Jessica Stewart

The UT Downtown Gallery is located at 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902.

Admiring One by Pam Jolly Haile of Nashville: Regional Fine Art Exhibition

Dropping in on First Friday activities in downtown Knoxville has become a habit for us.  But First Friday during Dogwood Arts Festival brings on even more quality art to see and artists to meet.  On April 3rd, The Regional Fine Art Exhibition opened to a packed house at The Emporium Center for the Arts at 100 South Gay Street.  And the art, juried by Mark Scala, founding chief curator for the Frist Center in Nashville, did not disappoint!

Upstairs, patrons were taken with such such pieces as this almost floor-to-ceiling study in black and white by Caitlyn Wilson of Clarksville.

Admiring the art of Caitlyn Wilson upstairs at the Emporium

Others leaned in to the small three-dimensional compositions like this watermedia on paper entitled Backyard Food Chain by Elizabeth Sanford of Nashville.

Three-dimensional art: Backyard Food Chain by Elizabeth Sanford

Downstairs, guests mingled around the table of desserts in the great room, studied the art on the walls, and then chatted with artists in their studios.

Crowd at the Emporium on opening night of the Regional Fine Arts Exhibition, April 3, 2015

New (at least to us) artist Angel Blanco, premiered his collection of abstract art and painted clothing. Models (Bert really liked this part!) moved throughout the room and posed for pictures in dresses reminiscent of Jackson Pollock paint-slung canvases.

You could hear patrons commenting on the spacious size and interesting decor of Connie Gaertner’s studio . . .

The Emporium studio of Connie Gaertner

And talking with Diana Kilburn about her nearly 25 years of painting watercolors.

Diana Kilburn, watercolor artist

Favorites of the show?  Well, if we had to pick, here are ours.

Reflections, Icefields Parkway, Banff National Park

Photograph

Steve Zigler, Knoxville

Photograph by Steve Ziglar: Reflections, Icefields Parkway, Banff National Park

Thank God for the Bananas

Watercolor

Kate McCullough, Knoxville

Watercolor by Kate McCullough: Thank God For The Bananas

One

3059 Original Thumbprints, 12 Varieties of Archival Paper

Pam Jolly Haile, Nashville

Center shot of One by Pam Jolly Haile

See what we mean when we say quality? And variety!

If you’re in the area, check out the Regional Fine Art Exhibition open April 3 – 25.

And if you’ve been to the show, tell us which pieces are your favorite.

For more information:

Times and location of Regional Fine Art Exhibition: http://www.dogwoodarts.com/regional-fine-art-exhibition/

Dogwood Arts Festival 2015: www.dogwoodarts.org

For more posts on Dogwood Arts Festival 2015, click here.