PHOTO: JENNIFER MORAN
ART AROUND
Artful Day Trips
Leiper’s Fork
The 2012 Leiper's Fork Christmas Parade will be on Dec. 8 at 2 p.m.
by Rebecca Bauer
L
eiper’s Fork may be considered an Artful Day Trip, but the experience cannot be described based on art alone. An easy excursion from Nashville, one right turn off
Hillsboro Road onto Tennessee Highway 46 (Old Hillsboro Road) and ten miles in takes you to a wide spot in the road where town meets country and earthy meets chic, giving this village a unique and unmistakable atmosphere. The village is infused with reverence for historical roots and handsomely restored nineteenth-century buildings with tasteful interiors. Storefronts are graced with rockers, old handmade tables, fire pits, and plenty of holiday embellishments. As the season turns cold, they become perfectly warm and welcoming spots to socialize or watch passersby. This mere block and a half has everything from A to Y: Arms to Yeoman’s.
PHOTO: DAVID ARMS
First to welcome visitors to town is The Barn, a rejuvenated rustic space with a tin ceiling and original scent in the air, showcasing the art and artful gift items of David Arms (www.davidarms.com). Arms describes his art as “mixed lifestyle, things I love and are message driven.”
Raku by Melodie Grace at The Copper Fox
PHOTO: JENNIFER MORAN
PHOTO: ANTHONY SCARLATI
David Arms Gallery at The Barn
Next door is the beautifully renovated 1890s McCandless House, now home to The Copper Fox: Art of the American Hand (www.thecopperfoxgallery.com). The gallery features threedimensional artisan crafts, pottery, turned wood, glass, jewelry, and children’s vintage clothing. The space holds abstract to functional pieces from thirty-five artists.
The Copper Fox NashvilleArts.com
December 2O12 | 73
Leiper’s Creek Gallery (www.leiperscreekgallery.com) sits in what used to be the town’s filling station and repair garage. The longest-running retailer represents, in traditional gallery style, twenty-one artists with pieces from abstract to impressionistic to sculpture and includes the renowned artist Anton Weiss. Gallery owner Lisa Fox says, “I think people really like it here. It’s comfortable and makes them think of the spaces they live in.”
PHOTO: JENNIFER MORAN
Laurel Leaf (www.laurelleafgallery.com) has gracefully grown since opening two years ago. It offers handcrafted jewelry, pottery, and fine art representing over twenty artists, as well as oil painting classes and upscale clothing from independent fashion designers. “A little something for everyone,” proprietress Bethany Laurel Reiser likes to say.
Left: Laurel Leaf, right: Serenite Maison
PHOTO: LISA FOX
Just beyond that, a cream-colored colonial with large pillars invites you in to celebrate the art of the book at Yeoman’s in the Fork (www.yeomansinthefork.com), a rare book and document gallery. Signed letters and papers from virtually every U.S. president cover the walls. Shelves display antique first editions and seldom-seen ForeEdge painted books (decorated page edges), including works by most recognized Fore-Edge artist, Martin Frost. “It’s almost a lost art,” says
PHOTO: ANTHONY SCARLATI
Do not stop where the sidewalk ends. Past the stop sign is the twostory high-rise The Galleria with the painted furniture of Suzanne Fitch and the Upstairs Gallery with eight multi-media artists.
Serenite Maison, interior
Mike Cotter, Director of Operations. Yeoman’s offers personalized services ranging from commissioned Fore-Edge books to finding a literary favorite. To be found in these artful havens is an array of more collectibles, antiques, fashion, home décor, and treasured gifts. Way Out West (www.gowayoutwest.com) sells Western couture including Old Gringo and Double D ranch wear. Serenite Maison (www.serenitemaison.com) offers sophisticated interior design with nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century antiques and furnishings. The grand Victorian house on the corner recently opened with Berlin, a home and gift store. And the little cottage that holds Studio Antiques is a short car ride just over the hill. If an appetite beckons, it can surely be satisfied by several good choices: the old country traditions of Puckett’s Grocery with a dash of Creole and nightly music, Southern cooking at the Country Boy Restaurant, or farm-to-table style from Joe Natural’s organic menu. Note also that in the area are several cozy inns worth considering for an overnight stay. Your best bet is to take a peek at www.visitleipersfork.com and pay a visit to Leiper’s Fork between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
PHOTO: JERRY ATNIP
PHOTO: ANTHONY SCARLATI
Leiper's Creek Gallery
Three Swimmers by Buddy Jackson at Leiper's Creek Gallery 74 | December 2O12
Yeoman's in the Fork NashvilleArts.com