Lake Darling has been selected to have a unique art piece created to celebrate 100 years of state parks in Iowa. The Iowa State Park System created an event called “20 Artists, 20 Parks.” This matched various faculty and graduate artists from Iowa State University to create unique pieces for 20 state parks. Lake Darling is one that was selected to have a piece of artwork in this collection. Wood artist and biology professor at Iowa State University, Robert Wallace, created a wooden piece called “The Beauty Within” inspired by the vast amount of walnut trees found throughout the park. The piece features an outline of the park on the surface created from a 22-karat gold leaf. The symbolism of the piece emphasizes the high value, importance, and opportunities the lake provides the park. This and the other art pieces will be available to view at art galleries in Des Moines, Dubuque, Clarinda, and Sioux City during a tour that starts in May. Wallace will return to Lake Darling this summer to talk about his artist-in-residence experience he had while spending last summer at Brighton creating the piece.