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.

This is a very long mural that is the work of The Department of Public Words, a group that spreads…read morepositivity and encouragement through art. The mural runs along the Monon Trail and was completed in 2014 after 8 months of work. The mural had collaboration from the Meridian-Kessler Neighborhood Association, SmallBox, Terra Pro, LLC, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, the Girl Scouts, CFI, the Indianapolis Art Center's Teen Art Council, and Sherwin-Williams chipped in with paint and supplies. The mural was painted to replace aging and deteriorating ones that were becoming more of an eye sore than anything. The mural is nice. I like the detail put into each train car. Each car has a positive word or phrase like "Smile", "I Heart You", "You are beautiful", "Do great things", and "Eye believe you can". Each car was made from numerous four feet tall by eight feet wide stencils to cover the 5,000 square foot surface. It is very colorful and detailed. I almost mistook it as a real train from a far. Dave Combs of DPWords said that "the purpose of The Love Train is to bring positive messages to people in a beautiful way". I think it definitely accomplishes that. I really like this mural and the work or the Department of Public Words. We can never have too much positivity, especially in the times that we are in now. This is one of the few murals that you could make a special trip to see. If you are not going for the trail, but just going to see the mural. The easiest place to park to see it is the parking lot of the Half Littler House. It is a very short walk from there. Even though I spent more time here than most other murals that I have visited, this is still probably not a very long stop. I was there less than 15 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other wonderful murals in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip.

If you wanna check out some cool art then this the place. This spot is like 2 miles from the famous…read moreBroad Ripple Village. The Monon Trail Love Train is a long wall with lot of art in different colors and captions but of the same format that looks like coaches. Walk all across the wall and you'll find amazing Angel Wings( see my profile pic)and Pink Cranes. There are 2 different angel wings which are Instagramable. Check out my Insta profile:: Mr.harven

Broad Ripple is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Indy, and part of the reason is because of all…read moreof the beautiful murals everywhere. This is one of the murals I see frequently, because it's right by the Rainbow Bridge and my favorite store in Broad Ripple Village, Good Earth. So, according to the artist's website (her name is Abigail Staffelbach), this mural is actually called "Fire Station 32 Mural." At least, that's what it's labeled on her website. The name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue or conjure visions of flower gardens, but it is painted on the side of the Broad Ripple fire station, so it makes sense. Sometimes pragmatism wins. This is a beautiful piece of public art, and fortunately, there are other murals by Staffelbach in the area that you can check out.

Public art mural of some brightly colored and beautiful flowers on the back of the firehouse in the…read morebroad ripple neighborhood of Indianapolis Indiana. My family and I on a weekend getaway from louisville was dining in the area when after eating we decided to discover the area around as it was a cool looking place. We pulled over to check out this rainbow bridge public art when my daughter pointed out this awesome mural just off the banks of the canal water from the bridge. Very fun photo op that is a wonderful piece in an area with all kinds of cool Pieces of public art.

This mural is part of Jiffy Lube of Indiana mural project, in conjunction with the Arts Council of…read moreIndianapolis. It is the work of local artist Nekoda Witsken, who is also the owner of Hue Murals. She completed the mural in 2021 in about 2 weeks. This is a unique and interesting mural. It is in Witsken's signature "color explosion" style. And it also seamlessly incorporates a regaining wall that it in front of the primary wall. It has a 3D cutout flower panel on it. The mural itself is not painted directly on the Jiffy Lube wall because the wall is exposed brick. Witsken used large specially cut aluminum dibord to create a floated surface on which to paint. The mural depicts the colorful image of a black woman's face and a nonbinary person with their arms up above their head while they are standing in front of a sunflower. The retaining wall has a 3D flower and continues with the black woman's neck and top portion of her body. There is also a very close up image of the upper right side of a face. This piece grabs your attention. I like how Witsken uses colors. Witsken aimed to paint a mural that featured empowered, diverse people in terms of both gender and race. She hopes this mural inspires people to take a deep breath, grow their positivity, and be open to those around them. Witsken is very talented and I am a fan of her work. You claims that this piece is her best work thus far. You should really check this mural out if you are in the area. 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. You could start with the Lincoln Mural (another of Witsken's pieces) or Lincoln Park.

When one of your favorite local artists proclaims that their latest work is their favorite, you…read moreshould make a point to see it in person. Even though I live southwest of Indy and this new mural is north west, I am so glad I went. She was still working on the mural so I got a brief moment to chat with her. Now I will have to make a return visit to capture the final version. Hopefully some other Yelpers will stop by who can add more photos until I get back to the area to share. As part of an ongoing series sponsored by Jiffy Lube of Indiana, the business wants to be a good neighbor and bring art to the community in unexpected places. In its fifth year at the time of this installation, the business coordinates with the Arts Council of Indianapolis to find local artists who would be willing to take on the opportunity to have their work seen by lots of folks who might not make it to galleries or art museums. One of the limitations is that the mural should have nothing to do with vehicles or that might be interpreted as simply advertising. The artists are given a great deal of freedom to be creative which is one reason this artist Koda Witsken enjoyed working on the project. All artists are paid for their work too! According to comments on the artist's website (Hue Murals), the mural was inspired by the chance to show gender and ethnic diversity as well as the native flowers of Indiana. One of the most impressive things about the mural (in addition to her amazing sense of color and talent) is that she hand paints with brushes (no spray cans for her) the entire 400 sq ft area! Imagine painting a 12 x12 room just over 8 ft tall with paint brushes, no roller? My hands ache just thinking about that task! Another challenge the artist had to deal with is that sometimes the mural may be replaced, so to preserve the art she paints on specially cut aluminum dibord which can be attached and then removed for another location later. In some of my photos you will notice the white dibord before she had a chance to finish the mural with painted jewelry. Personally, I love how the artist can see colors within color. Her work can be found all over the north side and she is adding more locations in the metro area. For more of her work check out my Collection of reviews and photos on Yelp. Review #3941

I took a Make It Take It: Wheel Throwing class. I wasn't really sure what to expect but I had a lot…read moreof fun playing and "trying" to make something. It was a 2 hour class and I believe the tutorial took about 30-40 minutes of that 2 hours. You get to make 2 pieces, but I only made 1 because I kept messing up. LOL. I'm glad I brought an apron, and I suggest you do too if you choose to take this class. What I ended up with is a trinket looking dish. They keep it for about 2 weeks to fire and glaze it with the color you choose. I'll add a photo of the finished product when I get it. It was a lot of fun, but I really wish I would've had more time. I will do this again.

Dropped in for the Ash + Elm Autumn fest, what a cool place! Parking was fun but did find street…read morespots not too far away, there's clean bathrooms, a nice green sprawl for all the wondering around tents. Neat place.

The village mural is a massive mural showing people of a village from bike rider to a dj located in…read morethe broad ripple neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana. My family and I was visiting Indy from Lousiville for the weekend when we dined in the surrounding area. While driving through broad ripple we noticed this massive piece on the side of a qdoba so we pulled over to take some photos and check out This massive piece up close. Overall a great piece on a neighborhood full of fun and cool public art pieces.

This piece of art is located in ArtsPark located behind the Indianapolis Art Center. It is a water…read moredrop shaped stainless steel framed piece covered with 6000 UV-resistant, bright blue-tinted Plexiglas square tiles. Some of the tiles has writing on them that answer the question, "what you have discovered". The piece demands your attention when you enter the park and really catches your eye. Its dimensions are 19 feet wide, 12 feet tall, 6 feet deep. The piece's creator is Beth Nybeck and it was made in 2012. It is the result of Indianapolis Art Center's first National Endowment for the Arts grant. definitely a must see and you can see other nice pieces of art in the park as well. And for the very low price of free.

There is a large blue sculpture on the northeast side of the Indianapolis Art Center. The piece…read morewas created by artist Beth Nybeck during a one week residency at the Center in collaboration with people in the community. The piece has a base structure which is covered in 6000 tiles that have writing on them. Folks in the community were asked to write down on the tile the answer to "What have you discovered?". So, the piece has an eye catching pop of color to draw your attention, and then answers to the question if you get close. The piece, created in 2012, was only supposed to be temporary, but has maintained its place beyond the original plan of 3-5 years. Review #1531

Broad Ripple has some cool murals, and this one is one of them. It's located in the heart of Broad…read moreRipple, or what they call the Village. Right now, this mural is not super accessible because there is a lot of construction going on just around the corner. This mural is in recognition of Mpozi Mshale Tolbert, an Indianapolis photojournalist and DJ. He's not around anymore, apparently, at least in a human body. But the mural lives on and depicts him with angel wings, vibing on the ones and twos. This piece of public art takes up an entire wall of a building. It's very large and it's located in an alley.

Very large and impressive mural in the broad ripple neighborhood of Indianapolis Indiana…read more Me and my family was dining in the broad ripple neighborhood while on a weekend visit from our home town of Lousiville. After we dined out we explored the surrounding area to discover several wonderful pieces of public art such as Thai great piece. I am not familiar with the subject portrayed in this great looking mural. I imagine it is someone of local significance and is very well done.

Although I often think of public art as being large, this small bronze piece is one of my…read morefavorites. Created in 1962 by Arnaldo Pomodoro, the bronze is shaped like a large polished plate that sits at an angle. At the edges, it remains plate-like. In the center, the smooth finish has been removed as if dug into, revealing an irregular pattern of striations and cross cuts. Since the piece sits on a pedestal outdoors, the lower portion of the piece holds rainwater like a large birdbath. The piece is beautiful and in a sense, functional. Review #1569