On Monday morning, three life-size ceramic horses stood on the grassy lawn of Independence Bank’s Bowling Green location.

One horse, “Fabric of Love,” featured a patchwork quilt of bright color blocks, butterflies and farm scenery. Another, named “Resolute,” was reminiscent of Van Gogh’s Starry Night, imprinted with Kentucky’s state flag and molded to a horse-shaped canvas.

The last horse, “In the Presence of Inflorescence,” was colored cyan blue and speckled with flowers and images of popular Bowling Green landmarks, including its red, white and blue water tower and Fountain Square.

Another morning, about six months prior, many Hopkins, Graves and Warren county residents woke up to find a much different world than the one in which they had fallen asleep. Overnight, a series of four tornadoes traveling more than 200 miles had struck western Kentucky, wreaking devastation along their paths and killing 16 in Warren County alone.

Now, with the support of Lexington-based nonprofit LexArts and Independence Bank, the affected communities are using art to heal. The three horses, “Horses of Hope,” were painted by local high school art students in Hopkins County, Graves County and Warren County, respectively.

After their three-day traveling tour through those counties, the horses will be displayed in downtown Lexington until Dec. 2, when they will be auctioned at Keeneland to raise money for tornado relief efforts alongside 50 other ceramic horses commissioned by LexArts for its jubilee.

Typically, the horses go for $15,000 to $25,000 at these auctions, according to Brad Howard, Independence Bank’s Warren County market president. All proceeds will be donated to the counties for specific tornado relief efforts.

Funds raised by Warren County’s “In the Presence of Inflorescence” will be divided equally between family resource centers of the two local school systems, Warren County Public Schools and Bowling Green Independent School District, to be directed to families most in need.

Local student artists Sam Lowe, Elma Kalabic, Alexis Shehan and Hayli Hundley traveled to Lexington to work with professional artist Lennon Michalski in March to complete the project after several weeks of virtual planning.

Much like the disaster recovery efforts, it was a team effort; Hundley said that instead of each artist focusing on one specific part of the horse, they took turns working on each other’s sections.

The original idea was to paint a bright light extending out of the darkness to symbolize the hope of the Bowling Green community, Hundley said. The lighter orange and yellow flowers are intended to contrast with the blue background to that effect. The horse features an outline of Kentucky with a heart where Bowling Green lies, in addition to butterflies and common medical symbols to illustrate regeneration and recovery. The horse’s name also has a deeper significance.

“Inflorescence means to develop and to grow, which is exactly what we did after the tornado hit because everybody came through and helped each other through,” Hundley said.

Several representatives from local schools and government spoke at the traveling horse tour Monday, including Bowling Green Independent School District Superintendent Gary Fields. Fields said that throughout the past two years of struggle due to the COVID-19 pandemic and December’s tornadoes, he has leaned on students for hope.

“As adults we struggle sometimes – the finality, the tragedy in December, what we think we’ve lost through a pandemic – but I know that (the student artists) give me that hope, and I think this horse displays that.”

After the Keeneland auction Dec. 2, the three horses will return to their respective counties to be displayed as permanent reminders of the communities’ resilience.

The auction will essentially serve as a donation opportunity where the bidders will be recognized for their generosity, said Evan Gorman, content marketing specialist at Independence Bank.

The permanent location of the horse has not been announced yet.

“It’s very colorful, so I think that everyone is going to be able to see it, wherever it is,” Shehan said.

– To make a donation, visit 1776bank.com/2022/04/22/horse-of-hope/