I currently have artwork on display at Coffee & Chocolate. Below are details and photos of the work. I hope you can find the time to see it this month!

Photo by Matthew Higginbotham

Models and Buildings

Drawings by Beth Meadows

at Coffee & Chocolate, December 2013

327 Union Ave SW, Knoxville, TN 37902

All work is priced upon request. Please contact beth@bethmeadows.com

Patrick Sullivan's (on black) paint pen and acrylic on acetate, lace and fabric, recycled frame

Artist Statement:

I have a strong interest in things that are beautifully crafted and designed to stand the test of time. I also listen to pop music and buy things that are made to be thrown away year to year.

My subject matter is historic Knoxville buildings and models from fashion magazines. The frames used for the models are recycled and the windows have been salvaged from historic buildings in Knoxville. 

As I make these drawings with previously discarded materials, I think about their original creator, the time and thought they put into what they made.  

Historic Knoxville Buildings paint pen and acrylic on acetate, lace and fabric, framed in salvaged windows and recycled frames. Photo by Matthew Higginbotham.

I wonder: If the flippant consumer determines the value of things, won't even the most well-designed objects be subject to the landfill?

I like to imagine that one day I might walk into a thrift store and see one of my paintings hanging on a wall. What one might regard as a debilitating thought has pushed me to make better work. Better work that does not become too precious to me as the maker. 

Two Models ink, marker, and colored pencil on paper, recycled frames

Bio:

Beth moved from her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee to Knoxville where she graduated from the UT with a BFA in Studio Art in 2007. She currently manages The Salvage Room for the non-profit Knox Heritage, receiving and selling historic building materials. She is also the Director and an artist of 17th Street Studios, a work space for artists near downtown Knoxville.

Models in recycled frames. Photo by Matthew Higginbotham.

Please visit my Etsy shop today, December 3, and tomorrow, December 4, and receive 20% off your entire purchase in observance of Cyber Monday, which I am extending through Wednesday. Click here to enter the shop.

When you checkout, use the coupon code WBHSALE to receive 20% off.

Happy Shopping!

Here are a few items you'll find there:

Bidding on work from Art For the People ends today at noon! 

To make an offer email beth@bethmeadows.com with the title of the piece and your offer.

I'm taking any offers for this work. There is no minimum bid. The highest offer at noon today will win! 

Thank you!

I was featured in the Knoxville News Sentinel for their Artist Spotlight a couple of Sundays ago. Not only is this exciting but also pretty emotional for me, for lack of a better word.

When money is tight and I feel like I'm working too much, something like this goes a long way.

I loved the timing of the article, too. It came out a couple of days before my show at Old City Java and my group show at the Birdhouse with 17th Street Studios.

 I had been toying around with the idea to have the show Art For the People at OC Java where anyone could bid on my work. While it's important for me to support myself financially to continue down this road, I want to learn at the same time how to make my artwork accessible to people. I want people to understand it and also feel like it's something they could take home with them. 

Art For the People at Old City Java. Photo by Matt Higginbotham

 My work at Old City Java is still up and I'm still taking offers on it. To learn more about this, go here. I REALLY want this work to be yours!

The show Amalgam Volume 2 also just opened last weekend. This was a wonderful experience for me. I've been managing 17th Street Studios for about three years now and am finally feeling like we are hitting a stride. I'm so impressed with the artists I share my work space with and their work. I'm grateful to be a part of this space and group of people.

Amalgam Volume 2: A 17th St Studios Member Exhibition at The Birdhouse

 If you want to check out either show, Art for the People will be up until October 28 at Old City Java in Knoxville and Amalgam Volume 2 will be up until October 27 at the Birdhouse. I also have artwork showing at Fido in Nashville until the end of the month. 

 *JIC you didn't know, this title is supposed to be funny.

My art show began today at Old City Java in Knoxville, and it's a little bit different.

I've been showing artwork in Knoxville for over 10 years. As a way to say thank you to the city (and anyone else) who has encouraged me along the way, I present:

Art for the People!

I will take the best price for these pieces, so don't be shy and make me an offer by emailing me at beth@bethmeadows.com. You may make an offer up to noon on Thursday, October 31.

$5, $10, $50, $1,000,0... anything!

And if you LOVE a piece and have to have it, ask me for the buy It now  price, and it can be yours!

Your support and encouragement mean SO much to me! Thank you!!

If you'd like to see the titles, materials, and sizes for each of these pieces, go here. 

 Old City Java // 109 S Central Street // Knoxville, TN 37901

Last week I was busy making drawings for a Knox Heritage fundraiser called the Scruffy City Soiree. Last year, I painted mason jars on slate tiles for their table's centerpieces. This year, I drew historic Knoxville buildings, and they were really fun to make.

Most are about 4 x 6", drawn on two sides of a piece of acetate and layered on top of fabric. Then they are placed in vintage frames.

There is a bumper sticker I've seen that reads "Historic Preservation is the Ultimate Recycling." These drawings of historic homes and buildings are made using mostly recycled materials- the frames, acetate, and fabric are from thrift stores or have been given to me. It's one of my favorite things to do with art- take discarded items and make them something precious again. 

5th Ave Motel- SOLD

Crescent Bend

Custom House

Ramsey House

Cal Johnson Building- Sold

Ramsey House- Sold

Cal Johnson Building

Patrick Sullivan's

Blount Mansion

The Bijou Theater- Sold

501 Arthur

JFG Coffee Sign- SOLD

Patrick Sullivan's- Sold

Crescent Bend

5th Avenue Motel on Gold

JFG Coffee Sign on Lace- SOLD

Church on Lace

Bijou Theater on Gold

Mabry Hazen House- SOLD

I hope one day I'll be able to do the same with a beautiful old building. That could be the ultimate work of art.  

At this moment, I haven't listed any of the remaining drawings from the event online to sell, but if you are interested in purchasing one, please contact me. Through the end of October, partial proceeds will benefit Knox Heritage. They will be hanging at Old City Java beginning Wednesday, October 2, but please contact me if you'd like to see them before then.

I'd also be very interested to make new ones with the building, house, and fabric of your choice, just let me know!

My show at Fido in Nashville started last Tuesday and will be up through October 29. I hope you'll stop in if you're in the area. 

Most of this work is from the past year, but there are a couple of new pieces made with fabric and paint. Each piece falls in line with the theme of fashion I've been focusing on over the past year or so. 

Hanging the show 

If you have any questions or comments about any of the work, please don't hesitate to contact me. If you're interested in purchasing anything, you can email me at beth@bethmeadows.com or go here.

 Here is the artist statement for this show: 

My work lately has been inspired by a subscription to Vogue my sister gave me a few summers ago. Most pieces began by tearing out pages from these magazines- photographs of scenes, models, and clothing.

I enjoy looking at fashion photography for aesthetic reasons- colors and patterns, for example- but also like being aware of new trends. I admire designers' innovation and craft, and on a business level, like to see how they market their specific look. 

From a consumer's standpoint, I am intrigued by how much people are willing to invest in good design. I also wonder how important an item's timelessness is to them. 

This work is about design and the market that is out there for it. It explores trends and what it takes for something to be considered a classic.

Fido

1812 21st Ave S

Nashville, TN 37212

A long time ago, I meant to say thank you (from the bottom of my heart) to anyone who voted for me as Best Artist in MetroPulse's Best of Knoxville Reader's Poll. I received Runner Up, a thing that was far off my radar, which made it a very sweet surprise.

A good friend of mine asked what this little victory meant for me, and I'd like to share that response with you:

First, I'm extremely honored. I can easily belittle things like this, considering the size and status of Knoxville, but this where I make art. It means a lot to me to find recognition here, in this place I call home.

As you may know, Knoxville is not a burgeoning mecca for the arts, but there are two main reasons I like being an artist here.

 One, Knoxville is accessible. I can live here affordably and cultural happenings, such as live music, exhibitions, festivals, and community activities, are easily available to anyone. It's easy to get around, it's easy to get tickets to things, and it's easy to do a lot of really wonderful things for free. I assume this is why Knoxville was once called "the couch," and I love my couch.

Secondly, I like the challenge of living in a city that isn't necessarily a strong center for the arts. There is potential here and much work to be done, to allow good art and artists to thrive here. A path has been laid out for me, to make the best work I can, to show it here, and to encourage and support other talented artists to do the same.

I think pursuing art would be a struggle anywhere, but it definitely has been in Knoxville. I've had to learn quickly, things that work and things that don't, but I have learned a lot and that's been extremely valuable to me. I realized a long time ago, though, that no matter what, I will always make art, until I'm physically unable. That was a good realization to have, that while it would be wonderful to make a living through making artwork, that's not necessarily the end goal for me. The end goal is here. The end goal it to make.

 I often wrestle with knowing if I'm in the right place and pursuing the right things, more so in the past, but it still happens. A reassuring thought is when I think of myself being old and gray, I see myself walking in the woods of East Tennessee. That older version of myself reminds me of how grateful I am to be an artist, living and working here now, to be in this place that has been both a challenge and a comfort, a place that has made living out what I want to do possible.