Bidding Begins Monday, August 31
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Enhance your home garden with a beautiful dogwood blossom art piece from the UT Gardens. The UT Gardens, Knoxville, will hold an on-line auction of approximately 40 dogwood sculptures created by local artists as part of the 2020 Art in the Gardens project. Dazzling Dogwoods: A Garden Art Exhibit has been on display in the Gardens since early summer. On-line bidding is scheduled to begin Monday, August 31, and will close September 10. Members of the Gardens will have an opportunity to bid early from August 28-31. All pieces are currently on display in the UT Gardens, Knoxville, during daylight hours with exhibit guides available at the entrance kiosk. The pieces may also be viewed on-line at utgardens.tennessee.edu.
Local amateur and professional artists donated their time and talent to artistically interpret this year’s theme with a fun and creative design. Each artist was provided with their choice of a 3-square feet or 18-square inch marine-grade plywood dogwood flower silhouette to embellish using media of their choice. Works were mounted and installed throughout the Gardens for visitors to enjoy. The weather-resistant dogwood sculptures will now be sold during an on-line auction with all proceeds benefiting the UT Gardens, Knoxville. The project was designed to promote community participation and foster artist collaboration as well as raise awareness and support for the Gardens.
Instructions for participating in the auction will be posted at utgardens.tennessee.edu with a link to the auction site. Winning bidders will complete their purchase by scheduling a pick-up time on Saturday, September 12. Payment in full will be due at time of pickup. Gardens members will have the opportunity to schedule an early pickup on Friday evening, September 11. Sponsors for the exhibit were Jerry’s Artarama, UT Biosystems Engineering Machining and Fabrication Shop, Lange Customs Woodworking, Edward Dudrick, Susan and Andrew Mehringer, and Sunsphere Media.
For more information contact James Newburn @ 865-974-7256 or jnewburn@utk.edu.
About UT Gardens, Knoxville: The UT Gardens feature more than 1,000 woody plants under long-term observation and 2,000 varieties of herbaceous plants evaluated annually. The Gardens function as an outdoor laboratory, teaching and research facility, and public gardens, sharing their beauty with more than 50,000 visitors yearly. Established in 1983 by the UT Institute of Agriculture Department of Plant Sciences, the Gardens are recognized as an official All American Selections (AAS) test site for evaluating new plants for the ornamental market, an American Conifer Association and a American Hosta Society reference garden, and are a Tennessee certified arboretum. They are a valuable resource for home gardeners and landscape professionals.
You can find the UT Gardens, Knoxville just off Neyland Drive behind the UT Veterinary Medical Center on the Institute of Agriculture campus. From I-40 take Exit 386B onto Highway 129 (Alcoa Highway south toward the airport). From Highway 129 take the exit for Highway 158 (Neyland Drive). Turn left onto Neyland Drive at end of exit ramp. Turn left onto Joe Johnson Drive and right at the next light onto Chapman Drive. Free visitor parking is available directly across from the entrance to the UT Gardens.
Through its mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. utia.tennessee.edu.