“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” — William Arthur Ward
TOAST
LOCAL ARTIST Jane Yelliott, 82, is exhibiting her “Family Zoo” watercolor portraits this month at the In-Town Gallery.
“These personal studies are of her relatives with their beloved pets, from dogs to donkeys,” said In-Town spokeswoman Helen Burton.
“Trees, flowers, mountains and lakes are all beautiful things to paint; but animals, and children in particular, are just incredible creatures to paint,” the artist said.
The most prominent artwork in the “Family Zoo” exhibit on the front wall of the gallery is a life-sized tan-andwhite cow named Esmerelda, Ms. Burton said.
“Jane painted this on a sheet of plywood for the Cherry Street location of In-Town Gallery in 1984. It was hoisted up to the roof and secured above the entrance facade. When the gallery moved to its present location on Frazier Avenue in 1994, Jane gave it to her son, Grant, and daughterin-law, Shula, for their farm in Ooltewah,” Ms. Burton said.
Esmerelda is the third in a series of six cows that Jane has painted, one of which was commissioned by the Smithsonian Institute. It’s a two-sided cow in black and white that is exhibited at the zoo in Washington D.C., Ms. Burton said.
In the 1990s, Chattanoogan Ruth Holmberg commissioned her to paint the “Parade of Turtles,” a collection of colorful turtle designs on large black porcelain tiles for the floor of the Tennessee Aquarium, in honor of her husband, Bill, Ms. Burton said.
“Later, Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, N.C., commissioned her to create a series of murals made with hand-painted tiles depicting the evolution of food throughout history,” she said. “Years ago, she won the masonry competition with her brickand-mortar design for a sidewalk bench on Market Street that features lively cats and fish painted with ceramic glazes on large slow-fired bricks.”
Ms. Yelliott’s exhibit continues at In-Town Gallery, 26A Frazier Ave. on the North Shore, through Aug. 31. Call 267-9214 for information. EAR TO THE GROUND
THE 14TH ANNUAL
Southern Brewers Festival will be back on Riverfront Parkway on Aug. 23, to benefit Chattanooga’s Kids on the Block.
Twenty-one microbreweries from across the United States will participate in the festival from 2 p.m. until midnight, according to a news release. The event, presented by Big River Grille and Brewing Works, will showcase more than 42 premium ales and lagers and will feature live music.
Advance tickets are $13 available at southernbrewersfestival.com or by calling 757-5259, or $15 at the gate. Admission includes a commemorative mug and one token. Festivalgoers who take the Fat Cat Ferry from the North Shore will enter through the entrance gate located on the dock.
This year, Party on the Pier passes are being sold for $60 per person or $110 per couple, the news release noted. This includes complimentary food and beer from Big River Grille & Brewing Works, a special commemorative mug and token, plus preferred seating on the pier for band-viewing and the first-round competition of the Krystal SquareOff National Eating Contest. A limited number of Party on the Pier passes are available.
The sole beneficiary of this year’s festival is Chattanooga’s Kids on the Block.
For the last 29 years, the organization has featured lifesize puppets designed to teach children and adults about social concerns and differences, said organization spokeswoman Sue Chesky. The programs are free to schools in 12 counties, thanks to funding from United Way, Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, Unum, Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee, Chattanooga Area Brain Injury Association, Tennessee Donor Services, and individual donors and fundraisers such as Southern Brewers Festival.
For more information about Kids on the Block, visit southernbrewersfestival.com or call 757-5259. HEARD ON THE TOWN
A GROUP OF Hamilton County teachers recently participated in a nature workshop at Sapelo Island, Ga., thanks to a gift to the Chattanooga Nature Center, said Tina Harvey Crawford, the center’s director of development and marketing.
“During the 1980s and 1990s, the Chattanooga Nature Center hosted yearly trips for Hamilton County teachers at various ecological hot spots across the United States as a unique alternative to traditional training. One of the teachers attending the trips, Judy Whitaker Sivils, infused what she learned from these experiences into every aspect of her teaching,” Ms. Crawford said in a news release.
“This past spring, Ms. Sivils passed away, and her family and friends honored her lifelong commitment to learning by endowing a memorial fund through the Chattanooga Nature Center that would revive the educational experiences,” she said.
Ms. Sivils’ daughter, Becky James, knew the indelible mark the trips had on her mother’s life, the information noted.
“After climbing Mount St. Helens in Washington, her approach to education was enriched, as the experience taught her not just about ecology but about her own abilities,” Ms. James said. “Education is not found in textbooks. It is the world that surrounds us. That was the lesson she shared with her students and the reason why this trip was so important to our family.”
The teachers who participated in the University of Georgia’s Marine Institute on Sapelo Island participated in marine debris studies, beach and marsh transecting and profiling, sea turtle nesting research discussions, archaeology activities, and a cultural lesson from Sapelo Island inhabitants — direct descendants from the original slaves, Ms. Crawford said.
“The Chattanooga Nature Center’s teacher workshops take teachers out from behind their desks and encourage them to learn more about the environment so they can pass along these lessons to their students,” said Jim Watson, a 35-year teacher who developed the Sapelo Island workshop and organized the trip.
Teachers who participated in the workshop are David Wehunt and Brian Gabor,
Soddy-Daisy High School; Stephanie Parrott, Falling Water Elementary; Marcus Pollard, Maplewood High School (Nashville); D’Arcy Hughes, Lookout Mountain Elementary; Mary Lewis, principal of 21st Century Academy; Katie Sewell, Ooltewah Middle School; Cynthia Campbell, 21st Century Academy; Phyllis Copeland, 21st Century Academy, and Suzanne Haizlip,
Spring Creek Elementary.
For more information about the ecology workshops, call 821-1160, or visit chattanature.org.
