Clarksville, TN – Produced by The Downtown Clarksville Association, First Thursday Art Walk is a free, self-guided tour spanning a 5-block radius that combines visual art, live music, engaging events and more in the heart of Downtown Clarksville.
With 10+ venues, bars and businesses participating each month, the First Thursday Art Walk in Clarksville is the ultimate opportunity to savor and support local creative talent.
The participating businesses are listed below as well as a description of the work they will be exhibiting and services they will be offering during the event.
The Framemaker (705 North Second Street)
For over two decades, The Framemaker has offered a unique selection of frames and art services to the Middle Tennessee area.
Artist Information
Atmospheres
Photography by Ken and Melody Shipley
The Framemaker proudly presents photography by Ken and Melody Shipley. This exhibit is part of Clarksville’s First Thursday Art Walk on March 2nd, 2017. An opening reception will be held from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. The exhibit will remain on display at the Framemaker throughout the month of March during normal business hours (Monday through Friday 10:00am to 5:00pm).
Ken Shipley is Professor of Art at Austin Peay State University (APSU). He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Religious Studies and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Melody Shipley earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from APSU. Their photography exhibit entitled, “Atmospheres” reflects light, form, and color to portray a specific time and place.
The Framemaker is located at the corner of North Second Street and Georgia Avenue, across from the Clarksville Academy.
Edward’s Steakhouse (107 Franklin Street)
Artist Information
Edward’s Steakhouse is proud to host local artist, Gladys Mitchell, during the March First Thursday Art Walk.
Gladys Mitchell moved to Clarksville 20 years ago when her husband retired from the military. Though she painted a little over the years, she really got serious about painting when her husband was diagnosed with cancer and she was diagnosed with MS. “Painting really helps to channel my stressful energy. I mostly paint windows.
I also like black and white on canvas. The paintings helped to express my feelings during the onset of my husband’s cancer an continue to do so. My paintings have no rhyme or reason, I just look at a blank window or canvas and paint what comes to mind. I hope you enjoy my work as much as I do when each piece is done”
Stop in, see the art, listen to the live piano and enjoy the Thursday night special, 1/2 priced $7.00 appetizers and 2 for 1 draft drink specials.
The Roxy Regional Theatre (100 Franklin Street)
Peg Harvill Gallery
Artist Information
The Roxy Regional Theatre’s Peg Harvill Gallery is proud to feature the work of Austin Peay State University Photography Students. Additional gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00am – 2:00pm.
For tickets to and information about our upcoming production, “The Diary of Anne Frank”, please visit www.roxyregionaltheatre.org or call the box office at 931.645.7699.
Downtown Artists Co-op (96 Franklin Street)
The DAC is an association of talented local artists and interested patrons dedicated to promoting the visual arts in the Clarksville-Montgomery County area.
Our objectives are to sponsor art exhibitions of work by Co-op members and regional artists, to provide continuing support for the Co-op and its membership through the sale of art work, to encourage arts education with outreach programs and scholarship fundraisers, and to develop membership services which directly support the arts community.
Artist Information
Downtown Artists Co-op (DAC) is proud to announce ‘Sea and Sky’, an exhibit of Fine Art Digital Photography by member artist Jane (Jaime) Moore. The opening reception will be on Thursday, March 2nd from 5:00pm till 8:00pm. Arik Browning will provide music for the opening reception. In addition to Jane Moore’s exhibit, all DAC Members will have new work on display throughout the gallery.
Jaime has been devoting time to growing as an artist and as a photographer for the last decade. She has exhibited in several group and photography exhibits over the last several years. Her photographs have been recognized with a number of awards throughout the region. She became a member of the DAC in 2015 and “Sea and Sky” is her first solo exhibit.
The DAC will be serving up fabulous appetizers, punch and wine during the opening reception. As always, the DAC opening is a central part of Clarksville’s First Thursday Art Walk, a wonderful evening of art, music and more in beautiful Historic Downtown Clarksville. First Thursday Art Walk occurs regularly on the first Thursday of each month.
Current exhibits will be on display the entire month of March. The DAC Gallery is located at 96 Franklin Street, in Downtown Clarksville, TN. DAC hours of operation are: Tuesday – Friday, 12:00pm-4:00pm and Saturday, 9:00am-5:00pm. See the DAC website at www.downtownartistsco-op.com or visit DAC on Facebook for more information.
DAC thanks Dave and Becky Ferris, Glen Edgin at The Framemaker and Sango Fine Wines & Spirits for sponsoring this month’s exhibit.
Hops Java & Juice (100 Strawberry Alley)
Artist Information
Hops Java & Juice is proud to host Melissa Mel Burch and her exhibit The Definition of Art during the March First Thursday Art Walk.
Her first memory was sitting on the wood floor of an old house, next to a pile of crayons. Most kids would have reached for the colorful sticks, drawn in by the idea of drawing. But little Mel’s gaze was not on the reachable; instead her focus was tuned to the intangible.
“…There was this shaft of sunlight streaming through the window, and I remember being fascinated by the dust particles floating weightlessly in the glow. I didn’t know what to call it back then, but today I know it as… ART.”
Melissa Burch has never been the average hometown girl. Though she grew up among the cornstalks and church steeples of rural Ohio, her eyes learned to see beyond the ordinary. Today, focused on that frequency of light only visible to a chosen few, the artist known as ‘Mel’ reveals that subliminal world to all who are drawn in by the ideas in her ‘drawings’.
Melissa’s efforts may begin as sketches, but her visions are rarely two–?dimensional. In fact they are more akin to a mirror, reflecting the artist’s emotions, and feelings. Her creations are tactile, textured; not only with layers of acrylics, modeling paste and charcoal, but with actual text, itself.
Each ‘Mel’ original tells a story both visually and in some cases, literally; her poetry and prose are weaved through her designs, like threads of a tapestry. And these works of art are displayed not only on the surface of her canvas paintings but embedded in the print of her stylish boutique clothing line.
“When creating my work, I have many rituals. Some of these include listening to music, lighting candles, and an occasional glass of wine. Each piece becomes so much a part of me that in a sense I kind of ‘date my canvas’.”
As multi-¬?faceted as her layered works, this teacher, entrepreneur, creator and curator (of Unlocked Style, LLC), has marketed her creations in both clothing stores and national galleries such as, The Art House, Pop Revolution, Gallery 42, Under The Stars, Club 86, Fit Philosophy, OIO Gallery, Artifact Gallery, Broadway Art, 11 Awakenings, and Eye Candy. And if that isn’t enough, Mel’s passion for artistic creation has also been employed to dress theatrical stages, and design the interiors of both private homes and professional offices.
Update
Mel’s insights have come a long way from sitting on that hardwood floor. In fact these days her focus has moved beyond the traditional crayons of her small town colors, to the fascinations waiting, floating in her ever-¬?growing national spotlight.
Today Melissa “Mel” Burch is flourishing in an entirely different creative state; Tennessee. In that land of lyrics and prose her tactile text of layered canvas is already drawing in Nashville’s storytellers with the tales weaved though her ‘drawings’.
At first, they may not know what to call it. But eventually everyone will know it as… ART.”
Customs House Museum (200 S. 2nd Street)
The Customs House Museum and Cultural Center is Tennessee’s second largest general interest museum. It features fine art, history, and children’s exhibits.
Exhibits:
Radnor Lake: The Photography of Lisa Ernst
February 28th – April 2nd
Planters Bank Peg Harvill Gallery
Lisa Ernst is a contemporary still life artist, floral painter and photographer with a primary focus on nature. “My many walks at nearby Radnor Lake here in Nashville have yielded images of the lake in all seasons,” says Ernst. “I’m always amazed how I can see something completely new every time I’m there, from mist and fog, to snow, sunrises and sunsets, clouds reflected in the lake, and my favorite, the ‘heart tree.’”
March 1st – April 30th
Orgain & Bruner Galleries
Marilyn Murphy is an artist whose drawings and oil paintings create curious situations implying a larger story that often explores dualities both formally and conceptually (safety and danger, peace and turmoil, fire and water). A Professor of Art at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, her work has been shown in more than 300 exhibitions nationally and abroad.
Chris Hornsby: Fracture
March 8th – May 4th
Crouch Gallery
Knoxville Tennessee artist Chris Hornsby’s latest “Fracture” painting series is a haunting exploration into the fractured human nature and the fight within. It’s a combination of stark black, white, and gray “shard” imagery that includes multiple individual paintings that make up large scale presentations. The overall impressions given are the feeling of powerful struggles between strong opposing forces.
Forward March
March 7th – July 30th
Kimbrough Gallery
This exhibit showcases maps, documents, dioramas, flags, and photos from several wars, featuring objects from the collection of Dr. John Olson.
Hunt Slonem: From the Collection
March 9th – May 2nd
The Leaf Chronicle Lobby
A Neo-Expressionist, Hunt Slonem combines Abstract Expressionist techniques with mysticism and animal subjects of Islam and Mexico and is best known for his paintings of tropical birds, based on a personal aviary in which he keeps about 100 live birds of various species. See his work from the Customs House Museum’s collection in The Leaf Chronicle Lobby.
Reading Appalachia: Voices from Children’s Literature
March 23rd – August 20th
Memory Lane
This groundbreaking exhibition of Appalachian children’s literature examines seminal titles published since the 1800s. Come explore our region’s literary heritage and see how children’s literature tells the story of Appalachia. This is a traveling exhibit from East Tennessee Historical Society and Knox County Public Library.
A Fine Note
February 1st – May 28th
Jostens Gallery
This exhibit gives a brief look at the importance of music in Clarksville. Items from the Customs House Museum’s permanent collection highlight the world of music, including instruments, sheet music, photographs, and other artifacts ranging from the 1820s until the 1970s. A majority of the objects featured have a close connection to Clarksville and span from an Aeolian harp to a Jimi Hendrix tape.
Mildred & Mable’s (109 Franklin Street)
Mildred & Mable’s is a unique and fun gift boutique offering something special for every occasion. Custom monogramming and gift baskets available for babies, birthdays, weddings and more.
Mildred and Mable’s is proud to support the March First Thursday Art Walk.
Stop in and check out and new look and all of the great gift and clothing options to transition you into the warmer months!
Rogate’s Boutique (115 Franklin Street)
You are sure to find something new and exciting each time you visit Rogate’s Boutique! Our store offers all the latest amazing fashion trends, while remaining focused on timeless style. And we know how much fun shopping should be, so you can always expect to have a great time here.
Rogate’s Boutique will not feature an artist, but is proud to support the March First Thursday Art Walk.
Stop in and find a few new things to welcome the warmer temperatures into your wardrobe!
Couture Crush (101 Franklin Street)
Couture Crush is proud to support the March First Thursday Art Walk.
Find some new additions for your Spring wardrobe during the March First Thursday Art Walk!
