This First Friday, come out for the opening of the Biscuit Art Exhibition presented by The International Biscuit Festival (IBF)!

Friday, May 1, 2015

5-9pm; Winners announced at 6pm

The Emporium | 100 S Gay St, Knoxville, TN

Show runs through May 31

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This is my second year serving on the Biscuit Art Committee. It's such a fun project and way to be a part of The Biscuit Festival. You may not be aware, but we spend all year planning for this show! I'm proud of the leaps and bounds it's taken over the past few years, especially in the caliber of biscuit-themed work submitted.

While laying out the show this year, I laughed out loud several times in delight. There are definitely a lot of biscuit-loving comedians out there, as well as some that treat the subject in such a delicate and caring way. I love it. 

While I'm on the committee, a jury decides which works are accepted and the winners (I still don't know who the winners are!) This year the jurors are Preston Farabow (Ironwood Studios) and Claire Stigliani (Univ. of Tenn.).

I'm happy to announce three of my pieces were accepted into the show! My flour girls:

These women were a part of an art show I had last month featuring ten supermodels adorned in food packaging. I didn't intend to submit this work into the Biscuit Art Exhibition, but when time ran out and I didn't have work ready, I decided to use flour packaging for three of the women's clothing. It was really nice to be able to accommodate both shows with once type of work!

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As a way to further support the Biscuit Art Exhibition, I will be selling some of my mason jars (view here) at a discount on behalf of the Show. They will be available during the opening, as well as other IBF merchandise. There will also be real biscuits to eat (I think from Tupelo Honey) and a few pieces from last year up for auction throughout the month of May. One of those pieces is my Makin' Biscuits Cats!

I hope you can come out Friday or sometime in May to see the work. This year we were able to include several 3D pieces which you have to see. 

You may also view and purchase works from the show beginning May 1 on the website. Works may also be purchased through the Emporium. 

Other Biscuit Festival plugs? Go to the festival May 16 and consider volunteering. It's fun! 

For the past five years, I've been developing the Architectural Salvage Program for the non-profit Knox Heritage. We accept donations of historic building materials to keep them out of the landfill and sell them to raise money for Knox Heritage. (You may click the links to learn more.)

The Knox Heritage Art & Salvage Shop Photo by Ryan McGill

In January of this year, we moved into a 6000+ sf building at 619 Broadway near Central Street. This is such a relief after operating out of, essentially, a glorified two car garage with no heat or air for the past several years. It's an understatement to say I am so excited to be in this new building! 

Now we will be able to accept more donations of salvage and offer customers a better retail experience which will mean better fundraising opportunities for Knox Heritage. At the same time, as with any leap in growth, we are incurring new costs, not only with rent, utilities, and insurance, but also with renovations to fit our needs. 

To offset these expenses, we want to offer artist studio spaces and a communal woodshop for individuals to rent. I've been managing 17th Street Studios since 2010, and we always have a waiting list of artists so I'm grateful to offer more studio spaces for local artists. There is also not a communal woodshop currently in Knoxville, but as we've shared the prospect of housing one, we know there's a large amount of interest and excitement surrounding the idea.

Future Retail Space for The Knox Heritage Art & Salvage Shop Photo by Matt Higginbotham

Short term, we will hold First Friday Art Openings, and down the road, we hope to offer classes and workshops. There is a lot of potential for this space!

Currently, we are in the renovation stage of the building, but we are coming into the home stretch for our Grand Re-Opening which is April 3. (Please come if you can!) We had originally planned to move into the space and fix it up over time to accommodate artists and woodworkers, but it became clear pretty quickly that this would take a lot longer than we thought. 

As a result, we've launched a Kickstarter Campaign to raise funds to get this project off the ground sooner. Will you please consider making a pledge to help us move forward more quickly and efficiently? There are all kinds of Rewards for different levels of donations and all donations are tax deductible. 

Here is the link to the Kickstarter Project: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1158170043/knox-heritage-art-and-salvage-shop-makeover

Checking things off our To Do list. Photo by Matt Higginbotham

With these funds, we will be able to better accommodate the artists and woodworkers using the space. We will also be able to provide much needed equipment for our salvage program, such as a trailer, dolly, tools for volunteers, cash register equipment, etc. etc.. You can imagine how much more smoothly this will help our program run if we can provide these things and not have to rely on volunteers for these things.

We have until April 8 to receive $15,000 in pledges. Kickstarter is all or nothing which means we won't receive any donations if we don't reach our goal. Your pledges and you sharing this will make the difference!

On a personal note, I am so grateful to have this opportunity to merge these two things (art + salvage) that I'm passionate about into one place. I've been dreaming of this for many years! Please let me know if you have any questions, please consider giving, and please, help us spread the word on social media.

Thanks so much!

Beth Meadows, Architectural Salvage Coordinator for Knox Heritage

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Early this year, I began making wooden cut-outs of cats inspired by my much beloved cat Juicy. These cats were an extension of the mason jar artwork I've been creating for several years now. Both share a folk art style and are painted or printed on wood. These qualities come from my deep interest in East Tennessee craft and an affinity toward painted wooden toys and signs found in the South.

This past July, I created a series of 15 cats that were displayed together salon-style at Old City Java. Sweet Treats is a more systematic approach of that same idea which incorporates pattern, color, and negative space and allows each piece to work together as a whole. It also was a way to introduce food into this series, a subject I hope to continue. 

Other inspirations for this piece include textile patterns found in women's fashion. 

Sweet Treats is currently for sale as a whole until December 1 at a 25% discount. After December 1, each piece may be purchased separately.

Creating an image for the flyer with a "cut-out" of Juicy. I liked thinking about this as a textile pattern.

First time to cut out food!

I taught my intern the ways of the jigsaw. After she was done she said she felt empowered. My work here is done.

The Juicy cat herself.

At the moment, I'm busy making work for this show. It's a spin off of the cats cut out of wood I hung at Old City Java in July. A re-mix, if you will. 

Please stop by during the opening on First Friday. I'll be doing a stamp carving demo and will have mason jar and fine art prints available for sale.

If you can't make it November 7, stop by later in November during regular business hours. Sweet Treats will be up until December 1.

Hope you can make it!

Patrick Sullivan's paint pen and acrylic on reclaimed wood

For the past several years, I've been making artwork for the centerpieces at Knox Heritage's annual fundraiser, The Scruffy City Soiree. It's been really fun to showcase my artwork made from reclaimed wood this way since it's directly inspired by historic preservation, and Knox Heritage raises money through this event to help save historic buildings. It's a lovely marriage.

Mary Boyce Temple House

In past years, I've painted mason jars on slate and wood to display. This year, I showcased my prints of mason jars on wood but also added a new element: historic Knoxville buildings cut out of and painted on reclaimed wood.

Primed Wood Buildings

I used wood from The Salvage Room. It made sense to use reclaimed wood from historic buildings, but it proved to be a bit of a challenge. With these pieces, before I even touch a paint brush, cleaning, sanding, and cutting the wood is a laborious task. And while the thickest wood used (reclaimed stair treads) looks so great, it is definitely hard to cut with a small hand-held jigsaw.

Through this process, I've learned a lot about woodworking. I've gotten tips here and there from people, but I've basically been teaching myself. I'd love to invest in some really good tools in the future for projects like this, but for now, I'm using what I have. Not using the most efficient tools can put a damper on things, but I'm sure I'm building character with the added challenge. Perhaps.

The drawing begins

Once I cut the buildings, I add wood filler to those that need it and then prime the wood. My plan was to use carbon copy paper to trace the buildings on to the wood because I had to make so many in such a short time, but I had trouble getting the image to transfer so I ended up drawing several free hand. 

If you haven't gathered it by now, I came up against many unexpected obstacles while making these. I learned a valuable lesson from these buildings:  When creating anything new, I need time to hit obstacles. Lots of time. Procrastination is my enemy!

Applying paint

Each building uses a combination of paint pens and acrylic, so they are like little drawings and paintings in one. They are made to sit on a table, shelf, or mantel so there isn't a bracket on the back for hanging. I added information cards to the backs of them to give some current details about the buildings. I chose seven buildings to create and made two of each. They were all chosen based on their significance to historic preservation and Knox Heritage over the past year.

I painted Patrick Sullivan's (Old City), 18th Street IGA (Fort Sanders), Pryor Brown Garage (downtown), Westwood (new KH HQ), White Lily (Old City), Mary Boyce Temple House (downtown), and the McClung Warehouse (downtown).

The finished product. 18th Street IGA

The first set of buildings made their debut at The Scruffy City Soiree on September 27 at The Standard on Jackson Avenue. Those attending the event could purchase them at the end of the night  and partial proceeds went to Knox Heritage.

White Lily Building at The Scruffy City Soiree

In the end, I wasn't able to finish all of the buildings before the event, so I'm currently creating the rest now. Ones leftover from the event are available at Nostalgia on McCalla. Feel free to contact me if you're interested in one!

The Scruffy City Soiree about to come to a close.

Recently, my work has been inspired by painted wooden cut outs of different objects. They are folksy, simple, and colorful.

A perfect example are the wooden couple below. My grandparents have always had these hanging in their home, from their historic house in Brownsville, Tennessee to their farmhouse outside of Memphis, to the retirement community my grandmother now lives in. 

Objects like this that I grew up looking at are beginning to show up in the work I'm making now.

A friend gave me a jigsaw from my birthday (which was one of the sweetest gifts). Now I can take this idea that I enjoy so much and run with it.

The first shapes I cut out were cats. I cut them with the jigsaw in my studio. Then I can take them anywhere to sand and paint. I took this particular batch to my parent's cabin near the Smoky Mountains. So much of this work has to be done outside, which I've really enjoyed.

At some point, they usually migrate to my house where I can draw on them in the company of my muse, Juicy.

The cats below were made specifically for the walls of Old City Java where they hung during the month of August. This series is called A Cat For Every Home.

You may now purchase these and others on my Etsy shop and at Rala and Nostalgia on McCalla  in Knoxville.

Right now, I'm accepting offers on the following pieces of artwork.

Click on the thumbnails to view each piece's information. Then email beth@bethmeadows.com with your offer. 

You can view all of these pieces (live and in person!) right now at Old City Java on Central Street near Jackson Avenue in Knoxville, Tennessee. 

Offers will be accepted until noon on August 31 and each piece will go to the highest bidder.

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This is the second annual Art For the People, and I do it for two reasons:

One- It helps me move work out of my studio to create more space for new work and

Two- I want to put original artwork into the hands of those that want it but may not necessarily be able to afford work sold in galleries. 

"Will she be offended by the amount I offer?" you might wonder. 

The answer is no, I will not be offended, because that's probably all I could offer, too.

I hope you'll participate and help this artwork move to walls to be enjoyed by more and more people. Thanks in advance for your offers!