Traveling art show stopping at PCPL

This sign marks the edge of the Hemlock Ridge Nature Preserve in northeastern Putnam County. The 39-acre site is the home to an isolate strand of the rare eastern hemlock. Located off CR 1100 N, the preserve is worth the hike to get to the trees along the Big Walnut Creek.

Amid the soft ripples of water along Walnut Creek, a small preserve of tall hemlock trees rustle softly in the breeze. The trees, which line a small area of the creek bank, are nearly 100 years old and are part of the 39-acre land Hemlock Ridge Preserve, featured in a traveling art exhibit now at the Putnam County Public Library. It will remain at PCPL in the Kiwanis Room through June 25.

Titled "Preserving Nature," the exhibit is sponsored by the Central Indiana Land Trust Inc. and Barnes & Thornburg LLP.

A free reception for the public will be conducted at the Library from 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, June 19, with an opportunity to meet two of the artists -- Jeanne McLeish and Mary Ann Davis.

Acquired by CILTI in 2004 with the help of the Herbert Simon Family Foundation, Hemlock Ridge Preserve contains a rare, isolated stand of eastern hemlock, a species surviving in Indiana on just a few moist, steep, north-facing slopes. Hemlocks can live to be 1,000 years old and provide excellent habitat for wildlife. The preserve is located off CR 1100 North along Big Walnut Creek in northeastern Putnam County. Parking is available near the site, and an information box provides a map of the property.

Visitors should be prepared to walk through two fields before reaching the actual preserve. Birdhouse signposts mark the trail. Once inside the preserve, there is a path to the creek, but it has tall grass and weeds along it. Visitors should dress appropriately with tennis or hiking shoes and long pants.

The library exhibit includes paintings created by a select group of the state's finest landscape artists who produced the works for the book "Painting Indiana, Portraits of Indiana's 92 Counties." The library exhibit will include 18 paintings of scenes of CILTI's nature preserves.

"The Preserving Nature Art Exhibit is a wonderful opportunity for the residents of Central Indiana to see the natural beauty that is right here in their own backyards. The artists have done a fantastic job of portraying the beauty and diversity of the natural areas preserved by the Central Indiana Land Trust," states project coordinator Eric MacDougall.

The paintings were on tour at the Artsgarden at Circle Center in Indianapolis, Johnson Center for Fine Arts at Franklin College, The Artist's Vineyard in Noblesville, the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library in Zionsville, and the Carmel Clay Public Library. The final exhibit will take place at a Brown County Art Gallery in Nashville, with a reception sometime in July.

Following the tour, a two-day sale of the paintings will be conducted with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Central Indiana Land Trust.

The CILTI has protected more than 2,400 acres in Central Indiana. Through land protection, stewardship and education, the CILTI preserves natural areas, improving air and water quality and enhancing life in communities for present and future generations. For more information about the trust visit www.cilti.org.

Information about the sale of the paintings can be found at www.wickliffauctioneers.com.