Finally got to see the ice tree! This is one of those community gems that's worth a visit. If you…read morefollow their Facebook page, they keep you updated on the condition of the tree, give tips for parking, and suggestions for when to visit--in my case, I saw a note about when peak season, if you would, ended and the descent from tree to ice cube would begin. I visited on a Tuesday afternoon in February. We had a random 50 degree day after weeks of cold, so it was an interesting contrast. But it was easy to find, the driveway was labeled well so I knew where to enter, park, and exit. My mini BFF and I were the only two there for the first couple of minutes. Soon enough a couple showed up. Then, right as we were about to leave, another three cars pulled in! The ice tree is beautiful. The details had me mentally saying, "ice palace for one! Ice palace for one!" in my best Olaf voice. The colors were a nice touch. The sun backlight the structure and it just shone. I believe they said it's 40 feet tall this year. Definitely worth a quick trip to see it!

I've heard about and seen this place on social media for awhile and wasn't sure if it would get…read morecold enough to make it this year, however winter showed up in full force! I went with a friend and we went over to check it out, it's fun to see, and I like that they add color. It's on a private residence, but they have a great horse shoe drive way to use. Check them out!

It was a nice day in January so, I decided to take advantage of it and go for a stroll. There was…read moreno better place to do it than the Cultural Trail, That is when I stumbled across this gem. This is part of the 12-part series Glick Peace Walk. It was made possible by the generosity of Gene and Marilyn Glick and was installed in 2010. With the exception of two, the walk runs along a section of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail on Walnut Street, between Meridian Street and Capitol Avenue. There is metered street parking of the streets that run perpendicular to the walk and you may be able to find some areas to pull into, if you are not going to be long. The walk celebrates the lives of individuals who made peaceful contributions to humanity. It honors luminaries that made peaceful contributions to humanity. This luminary garden, as it is referred, is dedicated to Samuel Langhorne Clemens, AKA Mark Twain, a writer, humorist, and entrepreneur, best known for the books Tom Sawyer and Huckelberry Fin. The garden was designed by Rundell Ernstberger Associates, RLR Associates and Circle Design Group. The garden also has an informational placard, a small bench to sit on and a curved surfboard shaped piece, made of glass, aluminum, with Anthony's face on it that illuminates at night. It is eye catching, especially with it lined up with the other 10. I really like these luminaries and what they stand for. They are eye catching, ascetically pleasing, and educational. Definitely worth a peek. It looks great for being almost 15 years old and the area is adequately maintained. This is definitely a spot to check out. I would not make a special trip for it, but if you are in the area, traveling on the cultural trail or at the Main library branch, it is definitely worth a peak. It not only gives you the opportunity to stretch your legs and get some fresh air, but you can also learn a little too.

The Glick Peace Walk (Cultural Trail) has a collection of ten islands that are located on Walnut…read moreStreet between Meridian Street and Capitol Avenue including a luminary & information kiosk about Mark Twain. The installation was added in 2010 as one of twelve (total) to celebrate the achievement through peaceful means by contributors to our country. The installation uses glass, aluminum, and lighting along with an informational kiosk about Twain and a timeline embedded in the concrete beneath.  Instead of writing about all the great things Twain has done, I will simply direct you to the kiosk. Review #1800

The French Market hosted by ST. Joan of Arc is always a fun place to go. They have lots of vendors…read moreranging from food, art, jewelry and so much more.

Ooo la la! What a great festival! St. Joan of Arc puts this festival on every year. It has so many…read moregreat foods that you can't normally get locally. Tarte Flambé, beef bourgeon, fresh Cafe Du Mont beignets, ratatouille, and so much more! They have live music and lots of local venders as well as a bake sale. They have lots of volunteers from the church and school that do a great job of putting this event on. They offer tours of the gorgeous Roman Catholic Church during the event. They offer mass in French also. This is a great festival that if you haven't been you should put on a beret and head over to it.

A collaboration between the Arts Council of Indianapolis and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful was…read moresupported by the Lilly Endowment's funding to produce numerous art projects around Indy as part of the "Indy art & seek" program. One of the installations took advantage of some pre-existing concrete formations at the pull off near the Old GM Plant to look over the Rock Flat at White River. The bare concrete serves as a deterrent for motor vehicles from driving on the nearby trail (meant for pedestrians). When artist CS Stanley saw the raised rounded concrete shapes on the flat concrete surface, it seemed to resemble the shapes of a popular children's toy block/brick. So, the artist took advantage of the existing shapes and used primary colors to bring a lighter and brighter point of interest to the concrete and also help visitors find the observation area for overlooking the man made dam that creates white water on the White River. At the time of my initial review, I didn't understand the constraints of the art challenge which does not allow the modification of the structure. So the minimal artist involvement in creating the piece was not a lack of artistic vision, but restraints of the challenge which was to find existing structures and enhance them to call attention to their form and existing art. While I appreciate the brightness, I am not sure the artist did as much as he could to hold my visual interest . The primary color catches your eye, but for me, didn't hold my interest which was quickly drawn to the nearby view of the white water or the historical kiosks nearby with information. I would have liked the artist to add a bit more originality to the installation. I understand there were rules that the artist successfully followed. My rating is first to let know Yelpers there is a point of interest to check out and to give a sense of how I perceive the overall art when there are other pieces around town to check out if you have limited time. I appreciate when corporate and governments support art programs. Unfortunately, there are sometimes too many restrictions . I guess it is their money, they can do what they want. I get the sense that while appreciative of the funding, the artist might have enjoyed a bit more freedom to make the installation more original than it exists now. Review #3831

Excellent and clever use of the existing elements to create a clever and unique installation!…read more I always appreciate the extra effort it takes to create within established boundaries and make the finished work special! This intervention is a wonderful and artful addition to our city scape!

This piece is part of I-70's Corridor Public Art Project, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. It is the…read morework of then art student Kathryn Armstrong, who fabricated the piece in 2010 when the city was trying to get all pretty for the Super Bowl. It consists 34 pod-like forms of varying sizes and colors and is located off of I-70's exit 77 (Holt Road) . It is spread across the on and off ramps. This work was a collaborative effort between Herron's Center for Art, Design and Public Life, Eli Lilly and Company, and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. (KIB). The table looking pieces are very colorful and Armstrong intended for them to naturally interact with the green space. The individual structures are made of Concrete and paint, anchored down by heavy duty steel cables. The grass around the pieces is somewhat maintained. I understand they cannot cut it every week, but the grass was high and was in need of a good trim when I was there. You can easily see the piece as you I driving down I-70 in either direction. It welcomes visitors driving from the airport to the city. The pieces are in good repair, but as you can expect with 12 year old painted surfaces, they are starting to lose their luster and fade. They are pretty sturdy. I was able to stand on top of one with no issues at all. If you desire to get a closer look, you could pull off at the exit, park on the shoulder get out and take a closer look. I would just caution you that it is an active road (be it an off ramp) and to be careful crossing the street. I had been by this piece many times and always wondered what it was and today was the day I decided to go in and check it out. This is a nice conversation piece that definitely demands your attention. It is a simple design that many of you may have past on a number of occasions. Anyway, as with most sculptures and art works that I visit, this is not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. As I mentioned, please be very careful if you do stop. I recommend making this a part of a larger itinerary or visiting here on your way to somewhere else such as the airport.

I drive by these every day on my way to and from work . I…read moreremember this was done in an effort to beautify our city in time to host the super bowl. I am unsure if visitors were very impressed by the effort. It does add a bit of color to the exit and I guess it is something different. The pretty pastel colors of these shapes remind me of Easter eggs. Especially since they are sprawled out in the grass. Like deformed eggs, or those that have been stepped on. I know that sounds bad, but I do like them. And isn't art anything that makes you feel something?

In a spot that used to be used when SubSurface was an annual art event in Indy, it is nice to see…read moresomething fresh and new located in the alley north of Virginia Avenue near the Fountain. Traveling artist Jules "MuckRock" Muck stopped by Indy and has favored the city with more than a dozen new pieces of her artwork. This fantasy style painting displays a character that looks like a cross between Princess Leia and Jabba the Hut from Star Wars. To add even my attention, the character is painted as cyclops! And for those who remember the controversy in 2018 over the mural at Beholder, a smaller version of the "amorous" bunnies is preserved in miniature form as their spaceship beams up earthlings. What I like about the murals by Muck a is the widespread style depending upon the artist's inclination and what the building's owner is interested in. Here, the style fits in with the nearby graffiti art that lines the alley. Review #2876

Theses murals are the work of world renowned graffiti artist Jules Muck aka MuckRock in 2019. There…read moreis a little parking lot nearby that you can park in and get out and take a closer look at the murals. It is not a time consuming spot, nor is it one of my favorite murals. There is a mural of a dog with lasers coming from its eyes know as "Terminator Canine". They incorporated on of the building's drain in this mural. The artist makes it look like the dog is melting the drain with his lasers There is also a cyclops dog laying down known as "Anubis-Cyclops", and a worm or french fry (I could not figure that one out) with a beer in his hand and smoking a cigarette. I really did not get that one. In my opinion, this is not MuckRock's best work. I am a fan of a lot of her other stuff though. Anyway, I This is a brief stop, I would say 5 minutes or so. So, it is best to plan out stops at many of the other wonderful murals in the area.

In the Old Southside neighborhood, international artist/muralist Jules Muck added murals to three…read moresides of a building right along Meridian. The Mural on the south wall features "Terminator Canine" where the eyes of the giant dog shoot lasers to melt the drain pipe. On the east wall, is a cool character that is either some type of caterpillar or maybe a tuber wearing sunglasses and smoking a cigarette. On the north wall is a different type of dog. This one "Anubis-Cyclops" is resting peacefully, but has a single over-sized yellow eye that Muck has used on multiple murals around the country. Review #2894 One last thing: If you read any reviews by Tati (Las Vegas), she is writing fake reviews. Don't like them. These murals were created in August 2019 so there is no way this fake reviewer could have been here in 2018. I've filed multiple claims for false reviews against her, but Yelp hasn't done much about it. She is stalking my account and it's really sad that blocking someone doesn't work when they become a follower before blocking.

Brickhead 3 sits in the center of Bill Gray Plaza, a small pocket of space directly across from Ann…read moreDancing and it fills it with an unmistakable blocky geometry. The Brickhead series is all about the human head as a recurring theme, pulling from imagery tied to past cultures and ancient civilizations. This one adds a 21st-century twist with a sound component meant to echo a "calculating mind," mixing permanent thought patterns with fleeting ones. I missed hearing that in the street noise but I did get here in the very last light of the evening and it made the bricks pop with a warm contrast that really brought the form to life. It's easy to overlook this plaza when Ann Dancing is pulling the crowd, but Brickhead 3 rewards the detour. The scale, the texture, and the way the piece blends the form with modern sound makes it a surprisingly engaging stop on an Indianapolis art walk. [Review 1035 of 2026 - 239 in Indiana - 26214 overall]

These cool brick head sculptures are showing up around Indiana, so am finally getting the scoop…read more The giant head sculptures are the work of American artist, James Tyler. According to the plaque, Tyler is an Indianapolis native, who now works in New York. The sculptures are made of terra cotta and treated with metals to give unique a patina on the surface. The head on Mass Ave (outside Bru Burger) is entitled "Brickhead 3". According to a nearby plaque, the sculpture is supposed to have an audio feature that is activated by nearby movement. Unfortunately, I did not notice an audio feature during my walk around the sculpture. Perhaps, the feature is turned off during the winter? Brickhead 3 was made in 2004 and placed permanently on Mass Ave. I love that an Indy artist is featured locally. The head is whimsical and seems blend in with nature. The surrounding green space could use a cleanup. There is metered street parking nearby (if you are lucky). Worth a visit if you like art.