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

The Twisted House is a whimsical, quirky sculpture in the ArtsPark. The house is the 2005 work of…read moreJohn McNaughton. McNaughton was a founding member of the Art Department of University of Southern Indiana. He passed away in 2022. The Twisted House is typical of his fun-loving approach to art. The wood sculpture has a storybook appearance. I can imagine that kids (and maybe even a few squirrels) would have fun visiting and playing in the structure with the crooked door and roof that curves over into the ground. The sculpture brought a smile to my face. The Twisted House worth a visit if you like art. There is no charge to walk through the quiet and serene park. There is free parking at the east side of the park.

It was a cold crisp day in late November when I visited the house. I knocked on the door but…read morenobody was home. Just kidding. It is a piece of artwork. It reminds me of the nursery rhyme about the old woman who lived in a shoe. It is just one piece of outdoor artwork and sculptures available on the grounds of the Indianapolis Art Center. I found plenty of parking available at the Center's parking lot. Then it is short walk from the lot.

During my visit to nearby Fishers, Indiana I was excited to see a new youth-inspired installation…read morethat is to become a regular feature located at Brooks School Park. It's called the Fishers Art Wall, an idea that was first inspired by the 2018-2019 Mayor's Youth Council (now known as the Mayor's Youth Academy). Inspired by Mayor Fadness's question ""What are creative places doing to create creative spaces?," the youth council began looking at Venice, California's public art walls and how they'd become a local tourist attraction while creating a public for public art and place-making. The result is that such businesses as Hagerman Construction, Sagamore Concrete, Gilliatte General Contractors and Faegre, Baker, Daniels among others agreed to donate their services and a Fall 2019 date was set to begin creating the Fishers Art Wall that is now in place. The Fishers Art Wall is a two-sided 40' x 5' wall with 4 1" reveals creating up to 8 separate panels. It can be divided multiple ways allowing for variation during each art rotation. There's to be four revolving periods of art throughout the year. Two of the periods will feature local artists, while the other two will be devoted to Hamilton Southeastern Schools. The emphasis is on creation of either a 2-D mural or graffiti style artwork with acrylic or spray paint or as directed by staff. The emphasis is on celebrating diversity and inclusion within Fishers and the guidelines note that the art work should align with the vision of the Fishers Arts & Culture Commission that goes - "To reflect both what the community is today and what it hopes to be in the future... a smart, vibrant, and entrepreneurial city energized by and experienced through arts, architecture and culture." For local artists, there's no fee to submit work and no permit required for the painting. There's also an allowable reimbursement of $250 per panel ensuring that artists are compensated for their work. The wall is to be maintained and prepared by the City of Fishers before/after each rotation. I fell in love with the Fishers Art Wall, which is located along the Mud Creek Watershed and adjacent to the parking lot. It's a beautiful option for local art and the current installation emphasizes what is really an Indiana theme right now - the idea of being "All IN." I initially eyeballed the exhibit and just assumed it was a cute art thing similar to the rainbow bridge in Broad Ripple, but closer inspection revealed it was a formal and permanent installation with signage explaining the project. To be honest, I drove by it four times just soaking it in. If you're by Brooks School Park, I'd definitely check it out. If you're a local artist, you might also think about submitting for future installations.

Located on the back of the Fishers Police parking garage facing the Nickel Plate Trail, a new hand…read morepainted mural was added by Hoosier artist Becky Hochhalter in 2021. It is located between North Street and Lantern Road and can be easily seen If you walk the trail. The mural shows activity on the trail, and features a covered bridge, kids listening to music, couples dining on patios and significantly, a memorial tribute to fallen K-9 officer Harlej who was killed in November 2019 during the arrest of a suspect. The human officer Jared Koopman who was Harlej's partner and Koopman's family stopped by to help paint this part of the mural which seemed quite moving to the artist. So glad to see the Fishers Art Council engage with local artists to bring art to everyone, not just thosewho attend galleries. Review #3931

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.

How did I not know about this ? I found it purely by accident. Took a wrong turn due to road…read moreclosure along College... spotted a huge flower out of the corner of my eye and since I love murals, I had to go and investigate... Wow... just wow... you gotta love a neighborhood coming together like this and beautifying the area. No dark & grimy alley here. Almost every house displays a different flower or other nature motive along at least 2 city blocks. Take a stroll or cruise through it. So worth it. Pictures don't do it justice. Each mural is unique and works well with the building it adorns, but taken all together, this is a true masterpiece.

This is an amazing spot. What makes it so amazing is that many of the residents got together to…read moremake this happen. The murals are mostly on garages of private homes along an alleyway. This project was the vision of local resident of Deborah Jacobs of RippleBnB. Most of the works were painted by renowned artist Jules "MuckRock" Muck during here 2019 residency here in Indy. Local artist Abigail Staffelbach has added in some of her work to the alley. There are all very nice and depict different flowers. They all do, however, have a common theme. They are all titled "Be (fill in the blank), such as Be Free (red poppies), Be yourself (bouquet of pink and red flowers), Be Joyful (sunflowers with a black background), Be Love ( red roses, of course with a red background), Be Grateful (Indiana corn field against a blue sky), Be remembered (sympathy arrangement of white roses and white chrysanthemums), Be Peace (with white and yellow daises and purple cone flowers. This mural cover 2 sides of the garage and has a black and a white background), and Be Authentic (purple petunias on a rustic barn). There is also a fence that is painted at the end of the alley that has a Bee and is titled Just Bee. These are not your usual MuckRock style art, and only has her tag in the lower portion of most of them. There is parking available on the street adjacent to the alley and you could also just pull up into the alley to park and get a closer look. There are a lot of flower murals that line the alley, I counted 8 in all (7 by MuckRock and 1 by Staffelbach). Bravo to that neighbor hood. My favorite was Be Love because the red on red worked for me. The second was Just Bee. In addition to the bees, you will find a signature MuckRock rabbit. Even though there are a lot to sort through in this alley, I do not think it is still a pretty long stop. I recommend filling out a larger itinerary with this and some of the other wonderful murals and/or restaurants in the area. Trust me, there are a ton of them. I love this mural project and how the community came together to make this happen. It is a beautiful thing. It is a must see if you are mural hunting in the Broad Ripple area. I really enjoyed this area, and I am sure that you will too.

In 2016, the two Geist area roundabouts were nearing completion when public art was added to the…read morecenter of the two locations. In an effort to slow motorists down, raised platforms were installed in the middle of the roundabouts and then sculptures placed on them to partially block the view of oncoming traffic. It was thought that the reduced vision across the roundabout would trigger a slowing of speed which would ultimately make the intersection safer. The sculptures are also lit at night to call the driver's attention that "Hey, there is something right in front of you, so slow down!" The sculptures also help block the headlights of oncoming traffic directly into the eyes of motorists on opposite sides of the space. The roundabouts were designed and installed by Rundell Ernstberger Associates who have made a number of art and park installations around central Indiana. Each piece has an 8' base for the installations to sit on. The theme of each installation was sailing to tie into the nautical theme of Geist. On Fall Creek at Brooks School Road, a Multiple Sail Roundabout was installed. It has shades of light blue and yellow/green panels making up the sails. The piece is 35'3" in height above the base and is 22' long. Over at Fall Creek at 96th Street, a Single Sail Roundabout was placed. The sail is done in a light blue and sports a logo of "Geist District" on each side of the wedge shaped sail. The piece rises 33' above the base and is also 22' long. Great theme and placement for art installations to be noticed. However, without any place for parking in the area, it is difficult for visitors to truly take a good look at the details in the brief time they approach the roundabouts. Review #1284

In 2015, Gabriel Lehman created this whimsical mural on the back of a Noblesville business. The…read moremural features a little girl who has a magic (and quite large) teapot that creates clouds which drift off the mural and escape across the back of the building with a 3D effect. The little girl was inspired by the building owner's daughter. The artist Lehman frequently uses fantasy and children in his works. For more information about the mural and other public art in the metro Indy area, go to: https://www.indyartsguide.org/public-art/olive-amazing-cloud-machine/ Review #1218

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