Looking for unique and fabulous works of art to enjoy in your home or office?  Thinking of starting or adding to your collection of art or jewelry?  Answer Yes to either question, and you won’t want to miss the extraordinary works on display during the Temple Arts Festival (TAF) in Nashville the weekend of April 10-11. 

Over 50 highly-acclaimed master artists and craftsmen from across the country, most of whom rarely exhibit in Nashville, will offer beautiful, eclectic selections of original glass, sculpture, painting, drawing, photography, ‘outsider art’ and more.  Their collectible works have been displayed in museums, galleries and juried exhibitions nationwide and appeal to TAF patrons from all walks of life.  Festival-goers will find an objet d’art that brings them joy and possibly a sound non-financial investment.  Many return every April, while others will discover it for the first time this year.  If you’ve never been to the Temple Arts Festival before, this is your year!

Art and jewelry will be priced from $40 to thousands of dollars, with many pieces available for under $150.  Sales tax will not be charged, and a substantial percentage of your purchase price may qualify as a charitable donation.  (Consult with your certified public accountant or tax advisor.)

Ellen Simak, Curator of Hunter Museum in Chattanooga, Tenn., will judge this year’s show.  Prizes will be awarded for Best of Show, 1st Place in 2-Dimensional Art, and 1st Place in 3-Dimensional Art.

For the first time in TAF history, a live auction will be held on Saturday, April 10, from 7:00 to 7:45 p.m.  A painting by Yankel Ginzburg and art glass by Dale Chihuly will be auctioned.  Watch for more information on www. TempleArtsFestival.com.

TAF Advance Purchase Certificates are recommended for those definitely interested in making a purchase; you will have the opportunity to browse the exhibition early and make your selections before the general public is admitted.  Available for $125 or more per person, 100% of Advance Purchase Certificates can be applied toward the purchase of art and/or jewelry at the 2010 Temple Arts Festival. For details, visit www. TempleArtsFestival.com, call The Temple at 615-352-7620, or email taf@templenashville.org. 

New this year are TAF Gift Certificates, perfect for graduations, weddings, birthdays, holidays—celebrations of any kind.  Starting at $50, Gift Certificates can be purchased by calling 615-352-7620 or online at www. TempleArtsFestival.com.

Here’s a small sampling of the extraordinary artists who will be exhibiting at the 2010 Temple Arts Festival on Saturday and Sunday, April 10-11:

• Now 92, Sylvia Hyman has been sculpting in clay for the past 47 years. For 12 years, she has worked with a form of sculpture in the genre known as super-realism or “trompe l’oeil” (fool the eye). She chooses as subject matter such familiar objects as old boxes and baskets and fills them with contents that “stir the mind,” all made of clay and capturing not only the appearance of things, but their essential nature, as well.
• Tommie Rush‘s specialty is acid-etched, hand-blown glass.  She creates beautiful yet functional contemporary art glass vessels, from vases to perfume bottles to bowls, with translucent sandblasted surfaces that make the work appear to be illuminated from within.  “I view my objects as a link to something handmade and very individual and personal,” says Rush.  “I want my pieces to be held, touched, and used to make the everyday more enjoyable.”
• Most of Stephen Hatcher’s work is lathe-turned wood inlayed with mineral crystals to create images of striking beauty. Using a technique he developed, he creates his pieces from highly figured woods and translucent crystals which are accentuated with dyes and buffed to a high luster.  Unique in both style and technique, Hatcher’s art is often inspired by the changing seasons and natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. 
• David Patchen creates art glass that explores pattern, color, and transparency through the use of multi-layered cane and murrine.  He thinks of the graceful shapes of his vessels as three dimensional canvases on which to explore how glass holds elements in suspension and bends light. Patchen’s view is, “Colors in contrasting and/or complimentary tertiary tones woven into complex patterns challenge expectations of the amount of detail glass can carry and its place in the art world.”
• When German-born Barbara Heinrich was five, she created her first nature-inspired necklace with pods, dyed noodles and broken snail shells.  Today, designs from nature still dominate her jewelry collections—but with brilliant gemstones, colored stones and gold. “The flow of communication between you, the piece, and the peace should be constant,” Heinrich says. “To this day, when I design a piece, I often don’t know how I’ll build it. I let the piece tell me.”

The schedule of events and admissions is as follows: 

Saturday, April 10, 2010

• 5:30 – 6:30 pm    Collectors’ Cocktail Hour for holders of Advance Purchase Certificates of $250+ per person toward the purchase of art and/or jewelry during the show.
• 6:30 – 8 pm    Patrons’ Party for holders of Advance Purchase Certificates of $125+ per person toward the purchase of art and/or jewelry during the show
• [Cocktails and supper for holders of all advance purchase Certificates]
• 7 – 7:45 pm     Live Auction for holders of Advance Purchase Certificates
• 8- 10 pm    Gallery Opening Dessert Gala – Open to the Public, $15 per person

Sunday, April 11, 2010

• 10 am – 5:30 pm    Open to the Public – Free General Admission

The Temple Arts Festival will be held at The Temple, Congregation Ohabai Sholom, 5015 Harding Road [next to Belle Meade Mansion], Nashville, TN 37205; phone 615-352-7620; taf@

templenashville.org; www.templeartsfestival.com.  Ample adjacent free parking is available for all events.

2010 Temple Arts Festival Chairs:  Beck & Edwin Raskin (Honorary), Rae & Bruce Hirsch, Erica Jacobs, Mary L. Jones, Lisa & Stephen Small, Rhonda & Alan Wernick, and LouAnne Wolfson.

2010 Temple Arts Festival Underwriters:  Phyllis Alper, Dennis Paper, Donna & Jeff Eskind, Judy & Seth Eskind, Hermitage Lighting Gallery, Horizon Wine & Spirits, The Lipman Group-Sotheby’s International Realty, Marlene & Bob Moses, Beck & Edwin Raskin, SEI, Alyse & Charles Sprintz, Elise Steiner, and Barbara & Julian Zander.