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.

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 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

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.

The ArtsPark borders the Indianapolis Art Center in Broad Ripple. The Park and gardens are natural,…read morefor the most part, with meandering paths through natural wooded and open area. The trail is Certified Sustainable by the Indiana Wildlife Federation. We visited on a beautiful Memorial Day morning. I would not have known the garden was here, had I not been looking for the Twisted House sculpture. The park contains 13 sculptures by artists with Indiana ties. In addition, 37 garden features located throughout the park were gift by various benefactors. The art is interesting. There are a mix of concrete walkways and gravel paths. Benches provide seating at various points along the walkways. Free parking is available on the east side of the Arts building and there is no charge to walk through the trails. The park is a hidden gem and worth a visit.

I love the ArtsPark. It's a free, outdoor space that's on the grounds of the Indianapolis Art…read moreCenter. I would often visit when my children were young when we needed a place for them to roam and explore outdoors, so this place holds a special place in my heart. This park is super kid-friendly. The park is contains several art displays, statues and exhibits all throughout the grounds, all set among beautiful landscaping and trees. It's like a gallery without walls. It's also right by the White River, which you can see from a boardwalk that overlooks the river. It's also right by the Monon Trail, so it's easy to get to by bike or by foot. There are a couple of art displays that my kids would play at a lot, and they were the more hands-on pieces. One of them is the "Twisted House," which is a wooden house that's twisted and turny, but kids can go inside. It also makes for a super Instagram-worthy backdrop! "Circle" is another piece in the ArtsPark that my kids gravitated to. It's a Zen-like sculpture composed of a 10-foot ring of black granite with a sand garden on the inside. You can't miss "Crescendo," a bright blue sculpture composed of 6,000 tiles. If you look at the tiles closely, you'll see little uplifting quotes and sayings written on them. I can spend many hours just sitting at ArtsPark among all of the art and nature. It's a beautiful place in the heart of Broad Ripple, and a genuine hidden gem of Indianapolis.

The is a beautiful mural. It overlooks a parking lot that belongs to Marigold Clothing…read more(coincidence, or not?) and is located on the back wall of the Broad Ripple Pub. Marigold clothing is the store to the left, as you are viewing the mural. The mural is the work of Christopher Blice and Jon Edwards of the decorative painting and marketing company Blice Edwards. They painted the mural in 2019. It depicts a small assortment of flowers, featuring a Marigold, hence the name along with a butterfly and a bee. They are set upon a twisted colorful ribbon and a colorful background of mostly yellows and greens. You really need to check out the murals shading while you are visiting. It is amazing. The detail on the mural is awesome. Blice Edwads are very talented and have some really nice pieces across the city. This mural was a nice addition to the area and adds a bit of color. Being that it is in a parking lot, so of it may be obstructed by parked vehicles, but you should still be able to get a good look. Parking to get out and take a closer look at this mural is not an issue. since it over looks a parking lot, be it a private one. But I am sure you will not be there long anyway. There is also some street parking available as well. I was there less than 5 minutes, as with most murals I have visited. 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.

One of the more well known artist groups in central Indiana is Blice Edwards. Together since 1993,…read morethis partnership between Chris Blice and Jon Edwards has been adding beautiful artwork (primarily paintings) to the area based out of their small studio near 54th Street. This mural "Marigold" was added in 2019 just a short distance north of the studio. There is a shop off Cornell that is called Marigold Clothing which has a small parking lot to the west of the shop. A large wall of Broad Ripple Brewpub is adjacent to the south side of the lot. It is this wall that the team has added giant marigold flowers along with a butterfly and honey bee. A large slightly twisted ribbon arcs across the background of the mural adding a rainbow of color to the wall. All visitors to the shop who park in the lot (rather than street park) will be able to see this unobstructed artwork. For fans of this art, know that you can find other pieces by the duo around town, including up in Westfield (although the piece was a sculpture that is being moved for construction). Down on East Michigan near Mass Ave, a three story image of James Whitcomb Riley was painted. A giant pegboard mural featuring lots of tools is painted at the former Angie's List campus. And all around their studio, including the Posh Petals Floral shop and the patio "Butterflies" of Gallery Pastry Shop, are featured more of the team's work. Review #3328

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.

The irony of allowing humanity to fall so deep into greed that the unhoused population sit on this…read morebench without anywhere to call home. Says lots without saying a word.

This is a very powerful and intriguing piece that is located off to the side of the Roberts Park…read moreUnited Methodist Church. This sculpture is the work of Timothy Schmalz, a Canadian sculptor and devout Catholic, who was commissioned by Roberts Park United Methodist Church to create this bronze sculpture in 2015. It also goes by the name Jesus the Homeless. As nice as it is, this piece is not one of a kind. There are a bunch of them placed all around the world, well over 100. The original was made in 2013 and is located at Regis College, University of Toronto. Other locations that you will find the sculpture include Australia, Singapore, Israel, South Korea, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Columbia and the Dominican Republic to name just a few. This sculpture is very realistic and detailed. Which brings me to a funny story. In October 2020, police in Ohio were dispatched to a report of a homeless man sleeping on a park bench. Ironically, this call was made within 20 minutes of the Homeless Jesus sculpture being installed. Yep, some called the police on the statue. I will admit, I had to do a double take to make sure it was not real when I saw it. And you are certain to be fooled if you are driving by. It should be noted the the sculpture in Vatican City has received the blessing of the Pope. The bench is about 7 feet wide and depicts a covered figure, assumed to be Jesus, laying on it. The only real identification being the crucifixion wounds on the figures feet. For the low price of 99.99 you too can have your own mini-homeless Jesus made by the artist himself. The sculpture is just off of the Roberts Park United Methodist Church parking lot and runs along Alabama Street. There is tons of metered street parking available in front of and adjacent to the sculpture. There is also a commercial parking lot directly behind it that you can pull into, get out and take a closer look too. I guess you could also do a safe and strategic slow rolling drive by and get a a half decent look, but I do not recommend that. You will not get the full effect of the sculpture. As with most sculptures 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 sculptures, murals and attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. Brickhead3 and Viewfinders would be a great start.

The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Center is the garden and nature area of the Newfields…read morecomplex. This property used to be owned by the Lily family, of the Eli Lily Corporation. The grounds are beautiful and large. This includes the Lily House, greenhouse, multiple gardens, and an over one mile walking trail. I recommend touring the mansion, it's historic and beautiful with a large number of artifacts including an antique car. The greenhouse gave my husband and I a chance to see flowers in the winter. I highly recommend the Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park!

What a little slice of heaven located just 15 minutes from downtown. This space is located on the…read morebackside of the art, museum and free to access for the community. Parking is easy and you cross the street to visit the rotating exhibits, walk the trails and see the lake. It's a fun way to have art and nature all under one umbrella. I recently Took my son here for 30 minutes of running around and it was great to see all of the new exhibits. Highly recommend checking this out. It's welcoming for all ages.

This is a great spot for locals and visitors alike! We stopped by from out of town thinking it…read morewould be a good winter activity for our little one while it's too cold to walk much outside. The conservatory exceeded our expectations! Admissions is affordable at $5 per person, but it was free the day we visited because of a reptile show! We got to see tortoises, skinks, salamanders, tarantulas, snakes, and more! Inside the conservatory, there are fish and a couple other critters permanently on display. The signage around the gardens is informative and interesting- and the plants are simply beautiful! So well cared for and healthy. I could have walked around the loop 5 times and noticed new things each time. There are several places to sit and relax throughout the gardens (we fed our baby on one of the benches). There is a restroom and coat racks- which you'll need because the gardens are quite warm! What a great find for the afternoon! Bonus that it's located right in a park, by a library, several cute places to stop and eat, and public art. The only downside I can think of is that there wasn't a ton of parking- probably more accessible when there isn't a special event going on!

There is something about plants and nature that brighten up my mood. I came here on a gloomy rainy…read moreday, and it was the perfect decision to lift up my spirits. It's close to the highway so easy access and near my house - double plus. The admission to get in was $4 per person, and they take card - another plus for being inexpensive. They have plants for sale and host events/activities, the lady working was friendly and explained all of that. They have brochures in the front as well. Inside is so astonishing, there is so much to see. It's so beautiful, I adore and admire all of it. I love how things are labeled and have informational tidbits about the plants. They have ponds with live fish and waterfalls around. They have a restroom and it had a window so of course there is a plant inside, I love it. I'll have to take note next time I go here that it was very warm inside, I felt very hot so dress accordingly. There is parking available. Check hours before coming, holidays vary.