The Town Branch Bourbon Barrel Project
This project embodies the roots of Lexington, encompassing bourbon, McConnell Springs and Town Branch all in one. Through out time bourbon and the Town Branch have gone underground only to resurface later more distinguished and improved. Bourbon ran through prohibition, while Town Branch and McConnell Springs have adapted to the expansion of Lexington.
The barrel design is to showcase a map of Lexington. I created this barrel to illustrate how the rivers run under and through the city: Town Branch flowing under Vine Street and McConnell Springs flowing above and below West Lexington. I opened up the barrel for two reasons. First, the open design allows the viewer to see how Town Branch is encased under Vine Street. Secondly, it invites the viewer to encounter an element of the bourbon barrel few ever get to see. Many have seen a bourbon barrel but to see the charred insides, the heart of the barrel, is something entirely different.
In my research of the Town Branch Bourbon Barrel I learned a lot about the rich history of bourbon and Lexington. Bourbon has resurfaced and has continues to grow exponentially. The Town Branch, and Wolf Creek, which feeds into Town Branch, have not been as fortunate, experiencing deterioration in aquatic habitats. Luckily, in the last couple years organizations like www.wolfrunwater.org, www.townbranch.org, and www.mcconnellsprings.org have made efforts to resurface awareness of the rivers.
With this barrel I hope to help create awareness of the beauty and necessity of Town Branch and Wolf Creek. Lexington would not be the city it is today with out the waters its since overgrown and buried. With the efforts of city organizations and projects like The Bourbon Barrel Project on Town Branch put on by the Lexington Arts Council, Town Branch will once again be a building block of Lexington.