Exhibitions
MY ART IS FINE, MY ART IS CRAFT
January 28 - March 29th (Reception: January 31 5:00pm - 8:00pm) Reception Today
Melissa Everett
Tri-Star Arts is pleased to present the next exhibition in their Golden Chain Gallery project space located at the historic Candoro Marble Building. My Art Is Fine, My Art Is Craft by Melissa Everett (Knoxville, TN) opens Tuesday, January 28 and will run through Saturday, March 29, 2025. This show is located within the unique architectural space of a narrow wooden stairwell.
An opening reception will be held on Friday, January 31, 2025 from 5:00—8:00 pm (artist in attendance). The address is 4450 Candora Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37920 and admission is always free of charge.
The following poem by Chelsie Blair Nunn is shared by request of the artist:
if only in my dreams
I can provide solace—refuge for you all
we connect to our inner children
we prioritize play in our communities
we express hope in a dark world
I am a woman in a society that values my contributions
I am confronted with domesticity, and it is soft
color nurtures my spirit
I allow myself to break
my art is fine
my art is craft
my art is comfort
this is not pretend—it is realized
within my role as mother as caregiver
woman artist peace seeker
small batches of quiet cloth
I tell myself often
be a wildflower
Melissa Everett is a self-taught quilter, textile artist, and caregiver living in Knoxville, TN. She received her BS from the University of Tennessee in Therapeutic Recreation in 2005. The philosophies of play permeate her process and journey as an artist.
Her work is energized by textures, simple lines and shapes created by the human hand, rooted in tradition but continually pushing for freedom – and embracing imperfection. She creates surface pattern designs on natural fibers by utilizing fiber-reactive dyes, textile pigments and the traditions of quilt making. Each dyed, painted or printed textile, a unique piece of art, is often cut and deconstructed to be reconciled into a new work.
Everett’s work has been exhibited in national and local shows including QuiltCon, Houston International Quilt Festival, McGhee Tyson’s Art in the Airport. She has also been published in QuiltFolk and Quilt Now magazines. Melissa was born and raised in the mountains of Waynesville, NC where craft, improvising and resourcefulness were a way of life for mountain folk; these values carry through her work and connect her to her ancestors.
