Gallery One | The Water is Wide

The Dory by Jeffrey Sabol

Photo: Anthony Scarlati

For Shelley Liles McBurney, owner of Gallery One, her space is her canvas. She populates the walls and floors with works of art that reflect her eclectic tastes. “Hanging a new show is deeply creative for me. I get lost in it, absorbed by some of the same challenges an artist faces: balancing shape, color, and texture; dealing with surface and light.”

The goal is to create an experience that is meaningful for every gallery visitor. “They may see something very different from what I see, but I hope they make their own connections.”

Five years ago, when Shelley opened Gallery One, she felt Nashville was ready for a new art space focused on quality work not shown here before. Personally, she was ready to make a leap of faith and own her own gallery.

A former journalism major with a minor in painting and art history, Shelley began her professional life as a business reporter, which she parlayed into a second career as the senior vice president of communications for the Girl Scouts. Wherever she traveled, however, she was drawn to museums and galleries, increasingly intrigued by the techniques and craft that produced excellence in art.

She began to paint again. Restless after 13 years in non-profit, she was poised to make a change. While looking into the space that once housed Zelda’s clothing store off Harding Road, she imagined the possibilities. Opening a gallery seemed like a natural next step, combining her passion for art, education, and community.

“This is my life’s work. I come here every day feeling lucky to be doing this for a living. I’m inspired by the art that surrounds me, as well as by the company of artists. Artists are a courageous lot. Their example and the work they produce feed my soul.”

To be an advocate she must have a visceral response to the art. The 30 artists currently represented by the gallery encompass all genres and mediums—the common denominators are mastery over their mediums and artistic vision.

Opening December 3 at Gallery One is a benefit for the Harpeth Valley Watershed Association. The Harpeth River winds though 125 miles and six counties in Middle Tennessee, feeding over 1000 miles of tributaries. It’s a critical water resource and is home to a great variety of aquatic life. It’s also where Shelley comes from.

“My family goes back five generations on bottom land by the Harpeth in Kingston Springs. I’ve camped, fished, ridden canoes and painted there. It’s a lifeline for community, offering recreational and historic value—once it was home to Native Americans and their sacred burial grounds. I’ve held painting workshops along the Harpeth and organized outings for hundreds of inner-city children, bringing them out to the family land for a rare day on the river. The Harpeth River is deeply intertwined with my own family and memories. I want to do whatever I can to preserve it for future generations to enjoy. Hosting this benefit brings together my passion for art with protecting this river. I want to help save a place I love.”

Dorie Bolze, executive director of the Harpeth River Watershed Association, is excited about the upcoming show. “It was Shelley’s idea to have an arts fundraiser to create awareness about this natural treasure in our own backyard. What people may not realize is that the Harpeth River runs through one of the fastest growing areas in Tennessee. It simply can’t absorb the polluting runoff and the industrial sewage that gets dumped into it. A quiet threat to this hard working river is the oxygen reduction in the water and its impact on the aquatic life dependent on the river’s good health. By investing in the art of the Harpeth, you’ll be investing in the beauty of the real thing.”

Shelley put out the call to artists statewide and nationally to submit work. She used the quote from the book by Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It, as a point of inspiration.

“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters.”

If there are theme threads through lives, giving shape to action, then Shelley has identified her own. “I believe in living a purposeful life—if we move in the direction of our passions, then success and happiness will follow.” This, apparently, is the river that runs through it.

by Sally Schloss