A former library employee has work on display in the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library.

Lesley Wysong, curator of the Kokomo Art Center, has dozens of pieces of art in the lower level of KHCPL Main. Each of the paintings and photographs highlight pollinators.

Wysong explained she stopped working at the library during the COVID-19 pandemic. Around the same time, she began painting butterflies.

She began with small watercolors. The collection of pollinator paintings has since grown past 170 pieces, including a large 8-by-8-feet acrylic on rain board that depicts the life cycle of a monarch butterfly and sculptural pieces that are on display in the KHCPL South butterfly garden.

“I can’t stop,” Wysong said, chuckling.

The majority of pieces in Wysong’s pollinator series depict Indiana pollinators — all of the paintings on display in the library can be found in Indiana, and she was fairly certain all of the photographed pollinators could be found in Indiana as well.

“They’re crucial. They’re important to the cycle of life,” the artist said, explaining her appreciation for pollinators. She later added, “It’s also therapeutic for me. I’m just fascinated by the little things in nature.”

Wysong explained she’s begun painting the pollinators larger, hoping more people will pay attention to them.

“This is important,” she said. “Nature is important. It’s something that we should take notice of and take of and help preserve.”

When Wysong worked at the library, processing new books, she would help organize visiting art exhibits. She had always wanted to display her own work in the gallery, but never got the chance.

“I said life’s short, let’s do it,” Wysong said.

The artist added it was fun to get a portion of her pollinator series together in one place. She estimated there were 25 pieces in the exhibit — which is titled Wild for Pollinators — and hoped to add another before the exhibit closes Nov. 30.