Staff Reports
FORTVILLE — The Main Street Arts and Music Festival in historic downtown Fortville plans a popup art gallery event celebrating Indiana’s agrarian history.
“Fading Skylines,” held 5 to 7 p.m. July 19 in front of the Fortville grain elevator, 9 Noel Street, will feature a portion of Greenfield artist Cathleen Huffman’s series of grain elevator paintings.
Huffman’s grain elevator project attained Legacy Project status as part of Indiana’s Bicentennial celebration. Her collection of watercolors give life to once vibrant structures now forgotten, according to a news release.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
The event will take place in the shadow of Fortville’s grain elevator in the heart of town, where a portion of Cathleen’s collection will be on display. An interactive watercolor table will give attendees of all ages the opportunity to paint their own grain elevator. One of a kind Fortville watercolor pieces will be on sale during the event, and Cathleen will be attending to speak about her works.
This event will coincide with the Fortville Summer Concert Series featuring Henthorn performing in adjacent Landmark Park from 7 to 10 p.m.
Cathleen Huffman is a watercolor artist, preservationist, and educator in Hancock County Indiana. Historic architecture is her favorite artistic subject and she has been searching for Indiana’s oldest grain elevators to photograph and paint in watercolor. She hopes to document this part of our agricultural history with her paintings.
Huffman paints both in studio and en plein air, but is particular to the strict form of transparent watercolor technique. In 2015 her grain elevator paintings were approved as a Bicentennial Legacy Project to help Indiana celebrate its 200th birthday. Over 30 of these paintings are now on display and part of this program, which will also look at creative ways to use historic grain elevators today.
