Harpist Marie-Jo Thum entertains attendees at the Johnson County Center for the Arts show opening of 'Pollinators.'
Mountain City, TN. The Johnson County Center for the Arts’ June Featured Show celebrates the world of pollinators. Bees, butterflies, birds, bats, lightning bugs, and even mosquitoes help plants perform this vital role.
This is a community art show and entry was open to all area artists using any medium. Over 20 artists turned in creations from watercolors, oil, and acrylic paintings, to mixed media collages, fabric wall hangings, ceramic dishes and even black light acrylic resin pieces.
With at least 75 percent of all flowering plants on earth needing the assistance of a pollinator, the Center for the Arts hopes this show will help bring attention to their importance and variety.
During the show's opening event held Friday, June 7, Tennessee District Conservationist and beekeeper, Jason Hughes, displayed an observation beehive. Before bringing the hive to the Center, Hughes marked the queen bee with a green dot and challenged the attendees to find her.
Thehoney bee is the best known of the pollinators and is responsible for approximately $15 billion worth of crops in the United States each year. It’s not just food crops that benefit from pollinators but native wildflowers and trees as well. “Conserving our pollinators not only protects our food supply, it also nourishes our lives with beauty and splendor,” said Hughes.
The show opening was well attended and featured live musical entertainment by harpist Marie-Jo Thum. "Pollinators" is on display until the end of June.
The Center for the Arts next show, titled “Eye on the Sparrow,” opens Friday, July 5 and feature the works of nature photographer Kathleen Britts.
The Johnson County Center for the Arts’ gallery store represents over 100 local artists. The Center offers classes in art forms such as drawing, painting, fabrics, ceramics, and linoleum block printing. On the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of June, July and August, it hosts a mountain music jam. You can see a full list of classes and activities at www.jocoartcenter.org.
