The Franklin Art Scene returned to downtown Franklin Friday night, featuring an array of native artists and craftsmen spread throughout local downtown businesses.
The art displayed included paintings, photographs, mixed media pieces and even designer fashion.
The Williamson County Arts Council operates the art crawl the first Friday of every month. It lasts from 6-9 p.m. in downtown Franklin, where many businesses offer complementary refreshments and live music. There’s also a free trolley attendees can ride to each stop during the event.
This month’s highlights were contemporary artist Steven Michael Gregory at Franklin Road Apparel and fashion designer Tevis Denise at recently opened CTGrace, a Boutique.
Gregory uses his background in architecture to create beautifully linear and colorful works. His pieces are highly abstract and often geometric.
Denise stopped work on fashion to be a stay-at-home mom. She is finally back with an array of artistically designed custom jackets ready for public eyes. Each one takes 30 to 40 hours to make.
Her inspirations include designers such as Gianni Versace and Coco Chanel. The influence is clear when confronted with the striking patterns, fabrics and found materials her jackets cohesively sew together like a bizarre puzzle, creating a wearable masterpiece.
One of her most interesting works is a jacket with guitar strings and safety pins woven into the denim. The metal pours out like a dangerous magical lace of silver and gold — you wouldn’t want to hug the person wearing it.
She is inspired, to say the least.
“I just used to pour over fashion magazines,” she said. “I couldn’t get enough, and it’s something that put a spark in my head.”
Denise wasn’t always so confident in her artistic talent. She used to be anxious about others enjoying her art. She never felt good enough, sometimes going so far as to destroy and ruin her own work. However, her attitude has changed in recent years.
“Finally, thank God, I can look at something and go ‘alright, I like it, I’ll wear it, and I don’t care who else doesn’t like it,’” she said.
This month’s Art Scene was the first time Denise ever shared her garments with the public.
Young musicians from Music City Strings performed outside the historic Franklin Presbyterian Church at the event.
The Franklin Art Scene will return on Dec. 3.
