The Factory Gallery

Summer Featured Artists

Discover a vibrant collection of artwork from talented local artists, proudly presented by the Williamson County Arts Council. Each piece on display is a testament to the creativity and passion of our community. Whether you’re an art enthusiast or a casual observer, you’ll find something that speaks to you. Best of all, every artwork is available for purchase, allowing you to bring a piece of local artistry into your home!

Learn more about the featured artists below! To purchase a piece, please call The Factory at 615-791-1777 or email frontdesk@factoryatfranklin.com.

Madeline Kiel

Bio

Madeline Kiel grew up on a cattle ranch in the gold country of Northern California. She spent her childhood riding horses across mountain ridges with her mother, gold mining in the American River with her father, and listening to southern rock late into the night with friends. She started painting at five years old, and if you’d asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, the answer was always the same: an artist. Life took her on a winding path first. She studied music in LA, dropped out of college to travel the world as a missionary, and spent six years working in the projects of Nashville with kids, addicts, and families who needed someone in their corner. At 22, she picked up a paintbrush again and something clicked. What started as personal therapy became an obsession with painting humanity — the pain, the joy, the stories that hadn’t been told yet. Today, Madeline is a Nashville-based Western Pop Art painter whose work gives a face to the cowboys, Native Americans, and cultural icons who shaped the American West but were never fully seen. Her paintings have landed in the homes of collectors like country star Eric Church, been featured in COWGIRL Magazine and CanvasRebel, and her limited edition prints sell out within days of dropping. Every piece she creates is rooted in fine art, Western heritage, and pop culture, and in a story that’s been hers since she was a kid on that ranch.

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John Carter Cash

Bio

John Carter Cash has been involved in music all his life and is an accomplished and award-winning record producer, film producer, writer and director. Also a singer-songwriter and author, his works within the creative world reach far beyond just music production. The grandson of Maybelle Carter and the only child from the marriage of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, he preserves the family legacy. He is caretaker to the musical heritage of his ancestors.

He began his walk as a music producer with his mother June Carter Cash on her CD, Press On, which won a Grammy in 1999. He then went on to work with Rick Rubin as Associate Producer on his father Johnny Cash’s Grammy-winning records “American III: Solitary Man” and “American IV: The Man Comes Around”, the latter receiving three CMA awards. He also produced his mother’s record “Wildwood Flower”, which won a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk album in 2003. His 2004 production “Unbroken Circle: The Musical Heritage of the Carter Family” received three Grammy nominations.

John Carter is co-Producer on Marty Stuart’s album, Badlands. His production on Billy Joe Shaver’s “Everybody’s Brother” helped earn a Grammy nomination in 2007. He worked extensively with Loretta Lynn beginning in 2008, co-producing over one hundred songs for the country legend. Loretta’s 2016 release “Full Circle” received immense critical acclaim, earning a Grammy nomination. He won a Grammy for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella in 2024 for “Folsom Prison Blues” with The String Revolution and Tommy Emmanuel.

John Carter has produced hundreds of recordings for dozens of artists within the past twenty years, including Dr. Ralph Stanley, Elvis Costello, Jamey Johnson, Chris Cornell, George Jones, Dailey and Vincent, Mavis Staples, Brooks & Dunn, Lynda Carter, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, Sheryl Crow, John Randal and Jessi Alexander, Josh Turner, Kris Kristofferson, Norman and Nancy Blake, Jewel, Tim O’Brien, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Wylie and the Wild West, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Earl and Randy Scruggs, Rosanne Cash, John Cowan, Rodney Crowell, Vince Gill, Tony Rice, and John Prine. In total, he is the winner of two Grammys and a producer on five more Grammy Award winning records.

John Carter’s first music album titled “Bitter Harvest” was released in 2003. His 2010 album “The Family Secret” is available everywhere and received a three starred review in Rolling Stone. His album, “We Must Believe in Magic” was released in 2017. THE CASH COLLECTIVE, a band project album with guitarist Justin Johnson, released “Hey Crow” in 2020. His newest release is Snow of the Sand (available now), the first single from his album “Pineapple John,” available September 12, 2025.

He is the author of three children’s books, “Momma Loves Her Little Son,” “Daddy Loves His Little Girl,” and “The Cat in the Rhinestone Suit.” He wrote his mother’s biography, “Anchored in Love” and “House of Cash: The Legacies of My Father Johnny Cash” on his personal relationship with his father. His first novel, a fantasy titled “Lupus Rex,” was released June of 2013. He is also the author of “The Cash and Carter Family Cookbook.”

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Jim Messina

Bio

Jim Messina is a singer, writer, guitarist, producer, recording engineer, as well as a multifaceted painter. He was the founding member of Jim Messina & The Jesters, a member of the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield at the tail end of their history, a co-founder of the country-rock band Poco, and then half of Loggins & Messina. Since then, Jim has been releasing critically acclaimed solo albums and playing to audiences across the country. Recently, with his new band, The Road Runners, Jim released his latest live album Here, There & Everywhere.

When not touring the country, Jim enjoys working with different mediums of art. Inspired by his mother and grandmother, as a young boy, Jim enjoyed watching them paint barnyard images on pottery. In the early 1980s, Jim was introduced to watercolor and painting structures, flowers and landscapes, as seen in his three watercolor paintings on display: Murphy’s, Wells Fargo, and Upham Hotel.

Later, Jim found a new medium: acrylics and his love for New Mexico, especially its architecture, art and music. His work on display: Taos Ladder, Taos Turquoise Door, and Taos Purple Door, are primarily painted using three colors together with Titanium White and Payne’s Gray. By varying the highlights, shadows, and color intensity, Jim created the illusion of distance and dimension. As he says, “It’s all a big experiment in projecting illusion into reality. No AI is allowed here.”

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