FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. — Murals bring rural art and community pride to small towns across the State of Tennessee. Journalists Kristin Luna and Scott van Velsor and their Tullahoma-based nonprofit DMA-events work throughout the South and locally as advocates and facilitators to make sure communities in southern, middle Tennessee don’t get missed. And their process is unique. Rather than dictate an artists’ work, the duo assigns a theme and lets the artists imagination do the heavy lifting. The results are murals with similar themes but entirely unique visions like the Crafting Whiskey mural in Lynchburg and the new White Dog and the Spirit of the Process mural in Fayetteville.

Created by Kim Radford locally, and Megan Lingerfelt in Fayetteville, each mural focuses on the world-renowned Lincoln County Process with two strikingly different results.

Fayetteville’s newest and largest mural pays tribute to the process responsible for putting Tennessee whiskey on the map. DMA-events tasked Lingerfelt with coming up with an “out-of-the-box idea” that represented how Tennessee whiskey is made and its significance to the area. The result is White Dog and the Spirit of the Process, Lingerfelt’s original creation that now permanently lives on the side of Dragonfly Gallery & Design in historic, downtown Fayetteville.

“Reading about the whiskey-making process – and specifically the Lincoln County Process – I couldn’t help but grin when the colloquial name for raw distillate ‘white dog’ was mentioned,” the Oak Ridge-based muralist explains.

“It immediately conjured an image of a free-spirited animal tromping around, a puppy not fully matured and full of energy. That inspiration translated into the mural – specifically using sugar maple leaves as that is what is used to make the charcoal that the white dog is filtered through. The trees are warm and glowing with spots of light, like embers in the burn or fireflies on a warm Tennessee night.”

Lingerfelt worked long days through stormy weather alongside her mom, artist Jeanne Seifried, to complete the two-story mural in downtown Fayetteville just before Mother’s Day.

White Dog and the Spirit of the Process is central to a handful of distilleries – Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Cascade Hollow Distilling Co., Nearest Green Distillery, Prichard’s Distillery, Big Machine Distillery and Company Distilling – making it an easy detour for travelers tackling the Tennessee Whiskey Trail.

“Megan perfectly captured the essence of what the Tennessee Whiskey Mural Trail is meant to celebrate. Each mural tells a story that honors the whiskey-making tradition in a deeply personal and imaginative way,” says Ryan French, executive director of South Central Tennessee Tourism Association.

“Her depiction of ‘white dog’ as a pup dashing through a sugar maple forest is sheer brilliance. It’s an inspired, next-level interpretation. I can’t say enough good things about these first two murals – they’ve completely exceeded my expectations. I’m thrilled to celebrate them as part of the Tennessee Whiskey Mural Trail for years to come.”

Art as a deep dive into region’s rich whiskey roots

Managed by public art nonprofit DMA-events, the Tennessee Whiskey Trail Mural Project is part of the Tennessee Whiskey Country Campaign, a collaboration between the Tennessee Distillers Guild and Tennessee Whiskey Trail, South Central Tennessee Tourism Association and the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. This mural was also sponsored by the Fayetteville-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to bringing unique art to rural communities, the project serves as a way for visitors to dive deeper into the region’s rich whiskey roots, while driving more discovery and economic activity into the towns surrounding each distillery.

“We’re thrilled to see the Tennessee Whiskey Trail Mural Project come to life – each vibrant mural brings the story of our state’s spirits to the streets,” says Charity Toombs, executive director of the Tennessee Whiskey Trail. “These works of art beautifully blend history, production and a touch of whimsy, offering guests an immersive new way to experience the Trail. As each mural is completed, it will be featured in our digital app and count as a bonus stop for all Trail travelers.”

Trail travelers who check in at the murals can stop by the Tennessee Whiskey Trailhead to collect their bonus poker chip, exclusively available at the Lynchburg location. The first mural, Crafting Whiskey by Kim Radford, is located at the Retreat at Whiskey Creek in Lynchburg. The next Tennessee Whiskey Trail Mural Project will begin in Wartrace in late-June. Each completed piece also will be featured on the Experience Tennessee app. •

{The Lynchburg Times is a non-partisan, locally owned and locally operated community newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee and one of the few women-owned newspapers in the state. It’s owned by a native and Tulane University-educated journalist with over 20 years of experience. It’s supported by both readers and community partners who believe in independent journalism for the common good. You can support us by clicking here. }