New Blount County Public Library artwork memorializes Joy Bishop

A new abstract sculpture in the lobby of the Blount County Public Library is meant as a reminder of a woman who helped build it.

Made of Tennessee pink marble and based on Texas limestone, the sculpture represents Joy M. Bishop, who died in 2023 at 89; it was unveiled during a gathering at the library held Friday, March 22. It was a visual, tactile and emotional experience for the audience of dozens who were invited to view and touch the sculpture and exchange stories about Bishop.

She lived in Blount County for almost 30 years before her death. The projects she spearheaded and supported are also a list of what have become major community institutions including the Clayton Center and the Friendsville campus of Pellissippi State Community College.

The project of Bishop’s that likely looms largest for most residents of Blount County is the library at 508 N. Cusick Street, the building of which was one of Bishop’s first forays into public life after her move. That made the library a natural home for a piece of art meant to memorialize her, longtime friend Carolyn Forster told The Daily Times.

A committee of Bishop’s friends — Forster, Sharon Hannum, Gaynell Lawson, Rosemary Barker and Denia Lash — spent part of last year in mourning, but also hoping that there was a way of remembering her that could do some good. Noting her support for the library, they decided on placing a piece of art in the library as a way of remembering her. A campaign seeking funds for a sculpture to commemorate her met and exceeded its goal — around $20,000 — in under six weeks.

Donations to the campaign came largely from Bishop’s personal connections. Forster said Friday that she was surprised and pleased by the speed at which the funding campaign met — and then exceeded — its goal.

The committee gave additional funds to the foundation that supports the library Bishop helped build.

Remembering

The artist who created the sculpture, Bill Cook Jr., said that one of the things that struck him in hearing about Bishop was “how much of a dynamo” she was. That energy inspired the smooth, curving sculpture he produced, he said.

Though Bishop, a Texas native, intended the move to Maryville as a retirement, the list of her accomplishments in the county community is lengthy and spans buildings and programs throughout the area. But even aside from her effect on the Maryville cityscape, Bishop — her way of inspiring people — continues to influence those who knew her.

Forster noted in a recent interview that Bishop helped her process and recover from her grief at her husband’s death, inviting Forster to travel with her to locations including Mexico and Vietnam. The trips helped bring her out of her grief, she said. But on a daily level, “She accomplished something just by inviting people to lunch,” Forster said.

Members of the community told similar stories Friday. Dozens of Bishop’s friends, family and associates gathered Friday to remember her.

Joy Bishop was a trailblazer — a woman who was a first in many areas — Monica Gawet, friend and neighbor to Bishop told the newspaper in a March phone interview. Gawet is the president of Tennessee Marble Company, and donated both the marble and limestone used in the sculpture. She said that the pink marble used in the sculpture had never before been used as art in Blount County. It was right that the material used to represent her share some characteristics with her, she said.

“She was a true Southerner,” Gawet said. “She wanted to know your story.”

Fran Leonard said that Bishop “was like a light. If there was something this community needed, she was there.”

She was also generous with children. Former Maryville Mayor Tom Taylor remembered a visit to Bishop’s pristine, white living room with his then-two-year-old granddaughter, who immediately alighted on a bowl of chocolate candy placed on a living room table. Bishop, he said, offered the toddler several pieces of candy while the visit went on — a fact the little girl remembered with gratitude months later.

Sharon Hannum recalled an instinctive connection with Bishop. “We understood each other,” Hannum told the newspaper. That understanding could lead to lighthearted fun, too, she said. Hannum and Bishop would have sleepovers and chicken wing-fests.

Nastascha Bishop told the newspaper that what she remembers most about her grandmother are the small moments that come from time spent together. “We would just watch Jeopardy! together and relax,” she noted.

Looking ahead

The sculpture isn’t the only physical memorial of Bishop. Bronze plaques bearing her name now mark both ends of the bridge connecting the library to downtown Maryville.

“I think it’s particularly appropriate that she bridges from the library to downtown Maryville,” Taylor said Friday. “Joy was a pillar of this community, no doubt. But probably her special gift was that she empowered the rest of us to work to be pillars also.”

And others presented different official recognitions of Bishop alongside their memories of her. Maryville Mayor Andy White, who told the crowd he regarded Bishop as a mentor, and who helped prompt his run for office, presented a proclamation naming March 22, 2024 “Joy Bishop Day.”

Forster told Bill Pope, chairman of the Blount County Public Library’s foundation that excess funds — $12,600 — from the sculpture campaign drive would be given to the library. The foundation, Pope said, opted to use the funds to start the Joy Bishop Memorial Fund — to support capital requests from the library.

Taylor added to that donation, presenting Pope with a $25,000 check for the foundation. The money came, Taylor said, from Bishop, who asked that $25,000 be given to the library foundation.