By. Alexis Hill, Intern
DMA-events sent out a press release on June 26, stating they have created a new Dolly Parton mural.
Find more in the press release below:
“A new mural, Butterfly Lullaby (Mountain Gospel),celebrating Middle Tennessee’s landscapes and sense of adventure now welcomes visitors to the flagship Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop in Cornersville, which opened on June 24. Inspired by
Dolly Parton’s lifelong connection to the open road, the custom artwork reflects the travel center’s mission of creating a destination where travelers, families and professional drivers can feel at home.
“The mural project was spearheaded by Tullahoma-based nonprofit DMA-events. Inspired by Parton’s decades of life on tour and designed to blend her East Tennessee roots with Southern hospitality, the mural is a focal point for visitors arriving to the one-of-a-kind facility outfitted with an on-site restaurant, coffee shop, gift store, dog park, lawn games and many other features.
“As a Tennessee native, Dolly has always played a huge role in my cultural identity, so being so closely involved with this project was a pinch-me moment indeed,” says Kristin Luna, DMA president and co-founder.
“Nearly 40 feet wide and over 13 feet tall, this original commission draws from two distinct faces of Tennessee in one frame: the rolling pastures and open farmland of Cornersville—horse country, cattle country, wide Middle Tennessee sky—meeting the ridge-line silhouettes of the Great Smoky Mountains. The butterfly at the center carries the spirit of this place: joyful, generous, tough and tender—much like Parton herself, according to muralist Britt Flood.
“The mural comes alive when someone steps into its center, held and enveloped
within the wings, the mountains and the rhythm of the piece—an open embrace for all of us just traveling through,” Flood explains.
About the artist
“Britt Flood is a Southern painter whose work explores the natural landscapes, botanicals, and living world of the Southern mountains. She earned her BFA from Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., and has shaped her practice through years of painting, hiking, and life on the road. Her large-scale public murals layer traditional landscape technique with contemporary gestural mark-making—pieces that feel both rooted in place and alive with movement.
About DMA-events, Inc.
“Journalists Kristin Luna and Scott van Velsor started 501(c)(3) DMA-events in May 2018 as a catalyst to provide free access to art to rural communities throughout the South, with more than 80 large-scale murals successfully completed to date. In April 2021, DMA-event’s Walls for Women’s program was awarded the Daughters of the American Revolution’s state public relations and media award for commitment to historic preservation, education and patriotism consistent with the DAR mission.”
