Can you identify the mystery church in the 2017 Cherry Blossom Festival painting?

Artist Teresa Smith has been photographing beautiful old buildings for decades.

Some time back in the 1970s, she came across an old white wooden church somewhere near Macon.

“We have not been able to place or name the church,” Smith said. “Even my Sunday school class could not locate the church, and I couldn’t remember that far back.”

Her photograph is wrinkled and faded, but she brought the old building back to life in her 2017 fine art print for the Cherry Blossom Festival.

“I wanted to do a print that represented the essence of Cherry Blossom,” Smith said in between signing prints at the festival gift shop at Travis Jean on Cherry Street.

She titled her painting of flowering yoshino cherry trees by a pond in the foreground of the church “Reflections of love, beauty and international friendship.”

“Because that was the phrase Carolyn Crayton used 35 years ago to coin the Cherry Blossom Festival, so it’s kind of a little bit in her honor, as well,” Smith said.

Smith brought the photograph to the reception, hoping someone could identify it.

“I honestly think it probably is no longer standing, but now it has a final resting place, so to speak,” Smith said.

Copies of the painting are now on sale, along with the porcelain plate and coffee mug featuring a Sterling Everett painting of the Central City Park Round Building.

Everett, who is known for his watercolor and oil paintings of architectural masterpieces, said he wanted to draw attention to the beauty of the old building that was recently restored.

“During the restoration, the windows were duplicated and put back in,” Everett said. “And with all of the work going on in the park, we thought it would be nice if it could be the plate.”

Macon native Mark Ballard also took a historic look at the festival as he designed the 2017 lapel pin.

“For my inspiration, I just went back to one of the mottos the festival has always had, which is love, beauty and international friendship,” Ballard said.

A heart circles a cherry blossom with the number 35 etched in gold to signify the years since the festival’s founding in 1982.

The first year is written on a leaf in the lower right side of the pin and 2017 is marked on a leaf at the top left.

“So we’re kind of doing a little revamping and going to the next phase of Cherry Blossom,” he said.

Ballard also will be back as host of the fashion show luncheon at Anderson Conference Center on March 30.

Festival board chair Stacy Ingram made the announcement during the reception and had this warning: “So, get your tickets before they’re sold out.”

The International Cherry Blossom Festival runs March 24 to April 4.

This story was originally published March 3, 2017 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Can you identify the mystery church in the 2017 Cherry Blossom Festival painting?."