Seeing, being seen, walking the dog, eating on Market Square while the kids screw up their courage to run through the water play fountain, serendipitous art, it’s all happening in downtown Knoxville.

This Fourth of July holiday my photographer husband Kurt and I captured some of the independent spirit and wisdom of a few of Knoxville’s most intriguing and fabulously themselves women (and men!). Besides checking out Knoxville’s human artworks, we also photographed some of our city’s delightfully eclectic art currently on display.

First, let’s visit with four beautiful Knoxville treasures: Haley, Donna, Abby, and Bev via photos and video shot on Market Square.

Razz-ma-tazz Haley

Haley

Style inspiration: her grandmother who lives in Massachusetts and sends her packages with clothes and vintage jewelry. They are the same size!

Personal style: Grandmother casual as her co-workers call it

Style secret: serendipitous scrounging first thing in the morning

Stylin’ Donna

Donna

Clothes resources: thrift-store finds and Fizz boutique on Market Square

Natural pick-me-up: she changes clothes every two hours!

Other creative outlet: Donna writes the “Bad Habits and Benevolent Spirits” column for Knoxville’s alternative weekly Metro Pulse. Check out her latest article “Staying Sane Amid the Vortex of Time” at:

http://www.metropulse.com/news/2014/jul/02/old-news-staying-sane-amid-vortex-time/ 

Joie de Abby

Abby

Style secret: lets her mood (sassy, comfortable?) dictate her daily fashion choices

Busy lifestyle: combines attending college with working at Fizz, Knox’s clothes-horse nirvana on Market Square

Disclosure: she’s our gorgeous niece and is as kind, intelligent, and fabulous as she is lovely!

Yes, we love her!

Fabulous Bev

Bev

Style inspiration: Cyndy Lauper, amazing singer/songwriter, musician, and style icon who has advised that “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” since the mid 1980’s

Bev’s take-away: have fun with your clothes

Time capsule: channels funky and fun styles from the ’60s and ’70s

Closet boost: she works at Fizz boutique downtown

Gracing the window of the Emporium Building is a group of sculptures by artists, and practicing attorneys, Jim Parris and Gwendolyn Kerney.

Leaving Market Square, we walked the brief and easy stroll over to see the art freshly on display for Knoxville’s First Friday exhibit at the Emporium Building. In the window was a delightful collaborative exhibit by local artists Jim Parris and Gwendolyn Kerney.

As the accompanying explanation said, their “work is inspired by the elements that creative them” and plays “with metal, glass and wood to create the unexpected.”

Jim and Gwendy are both practicing lawyers so their delightful work is unexpected in another sense. as well. Check out more of Kerney’s work on her Web site at:

http://girlBGlad.com

Marion Greenwood’s 1955 mural “The History of Tennessee” depicting the musical heritage and folk traditions of West, Middle, and East Tennessee is on exhibit at the UT Downtown Gallery in Knoxville through August 9.

Delightful Jim at the UT Downtown Gallery.

Southern gentleman Jim with his bow tie, straw hat, vest, and watch chain was taking in Marion Greenwood’s mural “The History of Tennessee” currently on display at the University of Tennessee’s Downtown Gallery.

Kurt asked if he would be so kind as to allow us to record his July-Fourth style, and he kindly obliged us as he noted that we just missed a guy in a boater hat who had passed on the street. Just when we had despaired that most passersby were dressed in red, white, and blue T-shirts, Jim reminded us there was a snappy dresser that just swanned by in a boater hat!

For more about Marion Greenwood and the UT Downtown Gallery, visit:

http://web.utk.edu/~downtown/

And the final word on Fourth of July style in Knoxville goes to this couple who surfed the red, white, and blue in a whole new way–and looked great doing it!

//Anna — 7/5/2014