Dogwood Arts is presenting Keeping Trees, a solo exhibition by Knoxville artist, educator and community builder Ashton Ludden, on view through October 23, 2026, in the Dogwood Gallery, 123 W. Jackson Ave., Knoxville.
Ashton Ludden artwork
The First Friday reception is 5-8 p.m. October 2. It features a tree adoption event with Trees Knoxville. Regular gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Keeping Trees explores Ludden’s grief and love for the towering trees recently removed from her neighborhood for growth and development. Through intimate works on paper, she considers the loss of these familiar giants – and her lack of control over their disappearance – while also celebrating the quiet, often unseen role trees play in our lives.
The exhibition ultimately moves beyond loss toward hope. Visitors will have opportunities to share stories of trees and participate in a tree adoption event with Trees Knoxville during the October 2 First Friday reception.
Keeping Trees invites us to consider what we lose when trees disappear – and what we can do to remember, protect and celebrate the ones that remain.
The artist Ludden lives and works in Knoxville. She has a BFA in engraving arts & printmaking from Emporia State University and a MFA in printmaking from the University of Tennessee. Ludden specializes in the traditional crafts of wood and metal hand-engraving, printmaking, drawing and hand-lettering/sign painting.
She founded Relay Ridge, a collaborative artist space featuring eight studios, a gallery and community printshop, located at 4124 McKinley St. in North Knoxville, at the base of Sharp’s Ridge Memorial Park.
Dogwood Arts provided information and photos for this event.
Lakemoor Hills Garden Club to celebrate 70 years
Lakemoor Hills Garden Club leads transformation of Legacy Park and Gardens.
Lakemoor Hills Garden Club is making preparations to celebrate its 70th anniversary.
The club, founded in 1956, is hosting a celebration for the community from 3-5 p.m. Friday, September 25, 2026, at the Legacy Park and Gardens, Circle Park Lane, off Maloney Road in South Knoxville.
Refreshments will be provided, and information on the club’s history will be available.
“Lakemoor Hills Garden Club has long been an important organization in the greater Knoxville community,” said Linda Haynes, who is involved in the event. “We are expecting many guests for this celebration.”
The club is a member of the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs and has been active with beautification and educational programs in the area. Recent activities include creating the Lakemoor Legacy Gardens and Park on property that was previously a sinkhole. It is now a designated garden on the Knoxville Dogwood Arts Trail and a Certified Wildlife Habitat.
The club also works with the city, county and Tennessee Department of Transportation with landscaping of the three new Alcoa Highway roundabouts between Woodson Drive and Maloney Road.
The Lakemoor Hills club also collaborated with Chapman Highway Garden Club to install a new landscape at the South Knoxville Senior Center on Martel Lane in 2023. Club members also are active in projects at Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital’s Fantasy of Trees and Beat the Winter Blues, UT Gardens, Knoxville Botanical Garden and Racheff Gardens. The club is also involved in Dogwood Trails, the Dogwood Arts Festival and a variety of projects at Mt. Olive Elementary School.
Club meetings are held monthly on the third Thursday at Lake Hills Presbyterian Church. For information about the anniversary event or the club, contact Gina Bond, 804-247-2515 or go to https://lakemoor.org/lakemoor-hills-garden-club/about/.
Nancy Howell provided information and photos for this event.
Notes & quotes
Legacy Luncheon for the Parks is Friday, September 25, 2026, with speaker Conor Knighton, CBS Sunday Morning correspondent and author of a book about his visits to all U.S. national parks. The event is at Johnson University from 11:30-1 p.m. Ticket info here.
Outdoor Knoxville lists hundreds of activities, many free, all outdoors.
Quote: “Poems are made by fools like me/ But only God can make a tree.” – Joyce Kilmer, poet and scholar who was killed by a German sniper on July 30, 1918, while fighting in World War I. He was 31.
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Sandra Clark compiles obituary links and writes the Let’s Talk series for KnoxTNToday – Let’s Talk – Neighbors archive. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn. Get daily articles in our free newsletter. Send comments to news@knoxtntoday.com/.
