I was in the Yard District in Fishers playing Pokémon GO and found a PokéStop linked to this mural…read more I decided to go check it out and even posted a picture of it on my story on social media. I think the art is great and the message is wonderful. I wish it was in a more noteworthy visible spot though!

I love when I find public art when I am out and about in the indy area, I was walking through the…read morefishers yard district and noticed this colorful piece and had to take a snap of it. Upon further research, I found out that it was painted by Nekoda Witske, who is a part of the hue mural group, I really enjoyed looking at this since it was bright and just really makes you happy (if you're into colors) and is a combo of a face and a rose. I'll have to seek out more of her work around!

One of the rising stars in the metro Indy public art scene is Nekoda (Koda) Witsken who is from the…read morearea and has returned home after extensive travel and education to brighten the lives of people in the area, exposing them to art without the confines of having to visit a museum by placing her murals inside restaurants and other businesses as well as on the side of a building or on the supports of an underpass. Her murals seem to have a vibrant color to them and sometimes have larger than life images. Sometimes they seem abstract and other times, timeless landscapes or portraits, but what ever she paints, it is a pleasant surprise to enjoy. This mural located inside the El Lago Mexican Restaurant dining room covers the entire east wall (over 25 feet!) There are two parts to the mural which you can check out in the photos attached to this review. If you want to take time to enjoy looking at the mural, just order a fine meal and sit and look at the mural while you dine. Do yourself a favor and check out this mural the next time you are in the Geist area! Review #3879

In 2020, a new abstract mural was added to the alley side of a garage at 1080 Christian Avenue in…read moreNoblesville (near the roundabout of 10th and Greenfield Avenue). The mural is colorful and is a tribute to the nearby actual carousel of Noblesville. The mural was painted by a trio of local artists: Nekoda and Croix Witsken and JD Bills. The mural is a bit difficult to see in whole since the alley is not very wide and so it is hard to get the large mural to fit into your camera screen. But traffic is minimal, so if you find a place to park at the shopping center across 10th, it is just a short walk to this alley which is the road that has the liquor store on the corner. The mural is about a block to the east of the liquor store on the opposite side of the alley. Most notable for me was the horse head that is associated with most carousels. There are also numerous flowers adding shapes and color to the mural as well. Review #3793

Located within walking distance from where all the action is in town made it easy to get around…read morewithout a car. The neighborhood is charming and filled with friendly people. My accommodations were extremely comfortable, clean and truly exceeded my expectations. There are only three quest rooms so it is very quiet and relaxed. The food was absolutely outstanding, especially the chocolate chip cookies!!! Kelly and Joe made me feel like I was at my home away from home. I will definitely return and highly recommend a stay.

We just returned from a stay at this B&B in the charming town of Carmel IN. Our stay was fabulous,…read morethanks to our hosts, Kelly and Joe. The property is lovely, and our room (Anna Lynn) was spacious and comfortable. The pillow top King size bed was spectacular! Joe and Kelly's breakfasts were absolutely phenomenal. Everything was gourmet quality, and served with care. They are lovely people and we enjoyed chatting with them each day. I fell in love with their little dog Ted, and it was very hard to say goodbye! We have stayed in many B&Bs and the Old Town Carmel was one of the best! Would highly recommend this to anyone seeking a relaxing stay in the Indianapolis area, as it was an easy drive to the city. Lots to do in the Art & Design District.

First time in this booth style antique and vintage store. It is located in Westfield to the right…read moreand behind Big Hoffa BBQ. You never know what you are going to find in booth style shops. Prices were good and bad. As always prices are controlled by each individual booth owner so some are reasonable and some I would consider unreasonable. The staff in the store were all real friendly and they held our items at the counter as we shopped to keep our hands free for more items, yes that is a problem Just kidding, nice of them to do. I failed to get through the entire store so I will have to make a return trip, my friends are faster than me as I like to look at absolutely every piece to make sure I do not miss than gem I was searching for. I keep a running list of things I want to find as well as a list for some of my friends. I found plenty to bring home on this day and we had a fun time reminiscing and searching through each booth. It is a good place to spend several hours. I will definitely return.

Customer service needs some work. Lady at the front was extremely dismissive and rude. She was…read moreunable to provide helpful assistance on how the process had been updated and made us feel like we were idiots for not already understanding. We will be taking our business elsewhere.

This sculpture is located right outside the main entrance to IU Saxony Hospital and was created by…read moreJeff Laramore. It is made of steel and frosted glass and has three sections that look like an orange wedge. The pieces are 20 feet tall and are set over a bubbling fountain. I visited in the winter, so the fountain was not so bubbling. It was off. As I mentioned previously, the sculpture is located at a hospital, with free parking. There are tons of spots available. So, parking and getting out to take a closer look would not be an issue. The sculpture is located in a roundabout in front of the hospital, so you could also get a good look from your vehicle as well and not even get out. The sculpture is supposed to resemble of a seed from one angle, and leaves from another, but I did not see it. I saw an orange wedge. But to each its own. At night the sections are illuminated and intended to be a glowing, reassuring beacon. During the day the sun shines through. I wish I could have seen it at night. I have seen pictures, and it looks very nice. As is the case with most public art that I review, this is probably not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. It is probably best to plan out additional stops and make it part of a larger itinerary to maximize your trip.

One of my favorite artists is Jeff Laramore. He has contributed numerous pieces throughout central…read moreIndiana and it seems that everything he does is on a large scale. Whether its co-designing and installing the 92 county reliefs on the side of the Indiana State Museum, or creating vibrant installations like the Voss Model or "Gateways" in West Lafayette/Lafayette, the art is something that will attract and hold your attention. So, I wasn't surprised when I drove by the IU Saxony Hospital to see "Harmony" set at the front of the building in the parking area. The piece has three main sections that rise over 20' in steel and frosted glass wedges. The individual wedges are curved from top to bottom and have radiating rods that extend from the middle of the sculpture to the outer edges. The rods are reminiscent of veins in a leaf. When viewed directly towards the center, the narrowest point of each wedge is closest to the viewer and then widens as it reaches inward. The overall shape of the sculpture can appear like leaves or as a nut shape, depending upon your angle. And at night, the whole installation takes on a glow as the lighting changes the color from the cool daytime blue/green to the glow of a bright yellow. Review #1293

In the roundabout at 151st and Carey Road in Hamilton County, a gleaming stainless steel sculpture…read moresits atop a pedestal. Hoosier artist Steve Wooldridge (from Sheridan) created the piece in 1999 and it was installed recently in this location. From the front and back (north and south views I think), the piece is very narrow with two long and slightly angled support columns reaching up to a cluster of arcs attached where the columns meet. The attachments not only form arcs when viewed from the side, but also are curved away from the supports at the top and bottom of the arcs to add the effect of wings when looked at from the front. There is also a smaller attachment at the back of the arcs that could be interpreted as the body of the dragonfly. There are three shapes which could creatively (if not biologically accurate) represent the three body segments of the insect (head, thorax, and abdomen). On a clear day, the piece is truly eye catching as it rises above the landscaping in the center of the roundabout. Review #1292

Beautiful, love when the sun hits the sculpture. So impressive & it makes me smile as it does look…read morelike a dragonfly!

This piece is part of the 2020 Jiffy Lube Mural project, in conjunction with the Arts Council of…read moreIndianapolis. It is the work of Artur Silva and Shaunte Lewis and is not your typical mural. It is not painted directly on the building wall. The image was printed on vinyl and installed on the building. This is the first digitally-created artwork in the Jiffy Lube mural program. So, obviously it is on the side a Jiffy Lube. The mural is abstract. It goes from color in the center to black and white as it gets toward the outer edges. The left side of the mural is a mirror of the right side. It mainly consists of a lot of colorful hands. There is also a heart thrown in for good measure. The hands are based on Silva's friends' performing various actions with their hands. He also used screenshots of films highlighting the role of hands in telling a story. I will say that it is an interesting piece that I found very intriguing. I was trying to figure out which each hand was doing in the mural. I like the way the color portion of the mural contrasts with the back and white portion. They both really pop. I just pulled into the BP gas station that the mural overlooks to park. It was very easy. As with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. You may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip.

As part of the ongoing commitment from the local owners of many Central Indiana Jiffy Lubes,…read moreanother new mural was added to the south wall of the Jiffy Lube on 151st in Westfield. The artists for this piece were Artur Silva and Shaunte Lewis. The artwork is a mixture of bright colored pieces surrounded by black and white "sketches". There are many images of hands that I haven't had a chance to understand what they represent. It is a definite eye catching mural as I noticed it from 151st even though it was just beyond a BP gas station on the south wall of the Jiffy Lube on Thatcher Lane. For more information about the artists and Jiffy Lube art program, see the link to the Arts Council of Indiana that I have added to the Business page of the mural. This piece was added in 2020, so something good came out of that year! Review #3861

This is statues of little children running around, pulling some kind of rope or doing something and…read moreholding hands just playing. I have no idea what it's called what it's called but cool to check out.

Crack the Whip is a bronze collection of seven kids playing a crazy game where they hold hands and…read morerun in a circle leaving the last kid in line having to hold on due to the centrifugal force that "whips" them from side to side. As a kid who played this, the thrill came from feeling like you were about to fly! The problem was that it almost always ended with the last kid or two falling to the ground. But we were kids and it was worth the fun. The bronze was created in 1986 by artist/company J Seward Johnson Jr who many will recognize as the creator of the bronze series in the Carmel, Indiana Arts District. The mural sits right at the entrance to the Sheraton Hotel at Keystone at the Crossing, just north of the fashion mall. Review #1519

My late buddy Ken N. (RIP) explains the history of this mural better than I ever could. So if you…read morewant to know actual information about the Fortville Indiana Mural, read his review. As for my review: I think this is a great mural! It's big. It looks like a sepia photograph. My opinion about the Fortville mural is simple and based purely on aesthetics. I tend to turn off my brain with art (murals and public art and otherwise), and just let the artwork wash over me. This mural is painted on the side of a building that houses a local gem: 305 Wine Garage. You should definitely check out that place! But even if you don't, you should check out this mural. I love that Fortville felt that it was necessary to paint this mural on this wall, when they so easily could have not. Art in public spaces is some of my favorite art, and I love that this exists here.

To celebrate Indiana's Bicentennial, the state and a number of towns/cities added public art to…read morecommemorate the occasion. Fortville was one of the places that celebrated by adding this mural by local artist Mike McEvers in 2016. With help from local students, McEvers created this north facing mural that shows the train and trolley history of the area. The mural is done is muted colors to create a sepia toned effect. In the middle of the mural is a portrait of Cephas Fort who was the original property owner when the railroad came through in 1849. The railroad named the station Fortville in his honor. Above the mural, "Fortville Indiana" is stylishly written with "Founded 1849" and "Statehood 1816" painted between the title and mural. The mural is 14' high by 24' across. Review #1366