Ton of fun

What would you do with a ton of marble? Saturday’s “One Ton Show” held at Custom Marble and Design in Knoxville revealed what ten regional artists would do if given a ton of marble to create whatever they pleased. The show was co-sponsored by Bruce Bennett/Custom Marble and Design and South Knox Heritage, and was part of a project to help preserve the Candora Villa in Knoxville. Candora Villa, now on the National Register of Historic Places, is the former showroom for the Candora Marble Company, a business that once produced what show participants called “most of the marble you see in Washington, D.C.” South Knox Heritage has plans to turn Candora Villa into an arts center, and the recent show helped put the project into the spotlight, using local and regional artists to showcase work in marble. Beve Michaels of Seymour, one of the artists selected for the show, said that she was required to present a proposal to the show’s organizers in order to be considered. Her proposal of doing a piece that reflected her experiences in Africa was selected, along with nine other artist proposals. Michaels, who has a background in anthropology, said that the “One Ton Show” was open to all artists in Tennessee, but as it happened, all the artists selected were those from the East Tennessee area. Once chosen to be part of the show, Michaels and the other nine artists were given a chance to look over available pieces of marble at Custom Marble and Design to use in their sculptures. “With the advice of Bruce Bennett, we chose pieces that matched our proposal and concept,” Michaels said. The piece sculpted by Michaels is titled “A Tribute To Africa,” and stands six feet two inches tall with an eighteen-inch base. Similar to the Washington Monument in shape, the piece features tribal designs and “petraglyphs,” which are ancient African symbols found in stone. “I lived in Zimbabwe for five years and studied sculpture there with Joram Mariga, a prominent sculptor in our community,” Michaels said. “I love Africa, and I love the people there. They have such dignity, especially in that they don’t have much but they share what they have.” Michaels said that Bruce Bennett deserves recognition for all his contributions to the show’s success. “He provided all the materials and equipment,” Michaels said. “He’s one of the founding members of South Knox Heritage and deserves gold stars for all he has done in putting together the show.” In sculpting her piece, Michaels said that she was pleased to have access to Bennett’s modern grinders and saws and other tools to create her tribute to Africa. In Zimbabwe, things were a lot more primitive. “When I worked in Africa, I used an old-fashioned hammer and chisel,” Michaels said. “I had chisels made from exhaust valve stems of an old Volkswagon. That’s Africa, though, where modern tools are scarce and you just use whatever is available.”