If you go
› What: Opening reception for all-member show “Fresh.”› When: 5-8 p.m. Friday, May 6 (regular hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday).› Where: In-Town Gallery, 26A Frazier Ave.› Phone: 423-267-9214.› Online: www.intowngallery.com and facebook.com/intowngallery.
New members at a glance
› Ellen Biven says she has loved drawing and painting from childhood. Her student days at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Virginia Commonwealth resulted in a BFA in Art Education. Along with teaching, she has continued to study painting and printmaking.“I find the constant color and light shifts in the sky from dawn to dusk are awe-inspiring,” she says. “There is no better way for me to begin my day than with a glorious sunrise.”› Ron Lowery is an aerial photographer whose bird’s-eye views of the United States appear in two colorful coffee-table books. He explores the geography of large slices of the United States from an open-cockpit plane he and his son built. His largest challenge was flying 14,000 miles to retrace the route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He also has a commercial studio that serves clients worldwide.› Charlie Yowell made his first moveable art pieces in 1988 using wire coat hangers. From that start came the moving, stained glass and copper pieces often used outdoors. His current work is of animals using glass geodes and other objects that move. Yowell describes them as works with strong light and weather-proof using materials including acrylic, glass, stone and metal with solar collectors.
In-Town Gallery would never mount an exhibition in which details didn't matter. But twice a year, members of this artists cooperative really put on a show.
May and November mark the twice-yearly "refreshes," when any paintings, jewelry and three-dimensional works that have been in the gallery for more than six months are removed and new works are brought in. The November refresh kicks off the holiday gift-giving season. The May refresh is accompanied by a spring cleaning frenzy to shake off old energy and renew the space.
According to spokeswoman Jennie Kirkpatrick, the gallery actually closes for a couple of days "to patch and paint getting things prepared for a pristine new look."
People passing by on Frazier Avenue will notice that the windows are even covered during the housecleaning. But all will be revealed Friday with the opening of "Fresh," the spring all-member show.
"Fresh" also will introduce three new members of the cooperative - Ellen Biven, Ron Lowery and Charlie Yowell - and showcase their work.
The rest of the space will be filled with paintings, photography, turned wood bowls, lamps and other handcrafted wooden items, glass pieces, metal sculpture and pottery pieces contributed by the member artists.
Most of the artists will be in attendance at this first Friday reception to greet visitors and talk about their works. Kirkpatrick says these all-member openings are always particularly festive.
"It takes a while to see it all," says Kirkpatrick, "so have some refreshments and chat with the artists while taking it all in."