Francis Akosah
akosahf86@gmail.com
Akosah was born in Ghana and received his Bachelor of Art in Metal and Leather Integration at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, in 2018. He completed a Master of Art in Studio Art at Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois in 2021. He has recently completed a Graduate Assistantship at the Doudna Fine Arts Center. He currently is an art instructor at University of Tennessee teaching sculpture.
Wilson Browning
(865) 242-4729
Wilson Browning, a Knoxville native, discovered darkroom photography early and studied commercial studio photography at Pellissippi Community College. After briefly working at The Maryville Daily Times, he found his passion in photographing live events and local bands. Under Christian Lange’s guidance, he documented Knoxville musicians while apprenticing in industrial product photography. In 2014, he left Knoxville to work as a rafting guide, eventually settling in Chattanooga. There, he helped establish the Safelight District darkroom and learned timber frame restoration. Returning home in 2018, he mastered welding and fabrication, eventually building a backyard forge for artistic metalwork and furniture making. Browning experiments with various forgings and fabricates works of metal for himself and other artists and artisan furniture makers.
Bill Cook Jr.
billcookjr@gmail.com
Cook grew up in the foothills of East Tennessee. He attended the University of Tennessee and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1995. It was there that he discovered sculpting. In the late 1990’s, he started using marble as a sculptural medium and he was hooked! He relishes the tremendous physical, mental and spiritual effort that is necessary to coax beauty from material that has such inherent resistance to change. With each piece of sculpture that he breathes life into, he aspires to learn something new and increase his ability to express himself using the magical medium of marble.
Maggie Connolly
mail@caoyustudio.com
Maggie Connolly is a classically trained ceramicist in high craft. In 2013, she became the first American graduate to earn a MFA in Ceramics from Tsinghua University in Beijing. In 2017, she became the second American to earn a Ph. D. from the Tokyo University of the Arts for studio ceramics. From 2019 to 2020, she spent a year as an Artist-in-Residence at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Currently, she is a full-time professional artist at Mighty Mud Studios in Knoxville.
Gwendy Kerney
gmk@maxmaureen.com
Now disengaged from the daily grind of an attorney’s career, I am focusing more time on my passion for color in whimsical sculpture and recycled furniture projects. My artistic resume includes both public and private sculpture installations: Knoxville, TN (Dogwood Arts Festival and UT Gardens); Boone, NC (Rosen Sculpture and Downtown Boone Development); Charleston, SC (North Charleston Sculpture ); Jackson, MS (MidSouth Sculpture Alliance); Sandy Springs, GA (Art Sandy Springs and Hammond Park); and, Crossville, TN (Fairfield Art Guild Sculpture Park).
Joe Kyte
joe@topiaryjoe.com
Joe Kyte, known as Topiary Joe, is a master of plant sculptures, creating stunning topiaries worldwide. His home on the Cherohala Skyway is a jungle of indigenous plants, insects, and even a dragon-shaped mailbox. Joe got his start at Disney, inspired by their topiaries, and learned to weld from his father. His work includes life-size giraffes, a 62-foot dinosaur, and elephants for Prince Charles and Camilla. He’s mingled with stars like Annie Lennox and The Rolling Stones but loves his East Tennessee home, where he enjoys fly fishing and the Cherokee National Forest. Joe stays ahead of trends, shaping the future—one topiary at a time.
Gerry Moll
gerrymoll@mac.com
Gerry Moll, MFA (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor), is a mixed media sculptor living and working in the Historic Fourth and Gill neighborhood. Gerry established MollWorks in 2011, an art studio dedicated to public art, commissions, and exhibitions. Gerry possesses a firm belief in the power of art for positive transformation. He has dedicated himself, and focused his talent as an artist, to work that affirms our best qualities as a community. His public artwork includes such projects as the TRAshball Collective, Southern Red Oak Tribute, and the Invasive Species Sculpture Project with several recent works on display at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens. He is also co-founder of the Native Plant Rescue Squad and founder of the Labor Day Sunflower Project.
Jim Parris
jparris@bsmlaw.com
Parris makes metal sculptures, including sculptural furniture, for both indoor and outdoor use. “I practiced law for many years but quit when I realized that I had already had all the fun I could have doing that.” He has exhibited pieces in Art in Public Places in Knoxville and similar programs in North Carolina and Georgia and at ArtFields in Lake City, South Carolina. He is a native of East Tennessee and a UT graduate.
Tanya Sharma
Tanyaesha@gmail.com
As a sculptor, my work is primarily focused on the dynamic interplay between materials and emotions, with a particular emphasis on metals, glass, and ceramics. I employ various techniques such as casting, glazing, patinas, welding, and forging to convey the often-unseen complexities of human experience. Through my art, I explore themes of resilience and vulnerability, reflecting the tension between outward strength and inner fragility.
Eric Sherwood
ericsherwoodasia@gmail.com
I make stuff because I like to, they take on whatever they want, roam free I guess. Climbing easily, in ways I can’t explain.
Joshua Shorey
josh@bapodesign.com
Joshua Shorey is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Knoxville, TN. He owns BAPO Design, a commission-driven art studio focused on creating objects of extraordinary beauty. The studio specializes in one-off artworks in Sculpture, Lighting, and Furniture. Joshua received his MFA from the University of Tennessee in 2017. Joshua makes art because he wishes to live in a more beautiful world.
Emily Moorhead-Wallace
emily.moorhead@gmail.com
Emily Moorhead-Wallace is an art and artist advocate with a bachelor’s and master’s in fine arts. Her artwork is exhibited nationally, including public sculptures in Chicago, Illinois, and Cincinnati, Ohio. She owns New Roots, an art services company that installs, transports, and manages art collections throughout the eastern half of the U.S.
Moorhead-Wallace is a 3D mixed media artist with degrees from the University of Tennessee and Washington University in St. Louis. He is the owner of Metal Magic Interiors Inc., a design and fabrication studio that has been providing quality, handmade products for over fifteen years. With combined art and design experience, they are well-versed in projects of any scale.
As creative collaborators, Emily and J Taylor use public art to promote the collective voice and sustainable environments.
