Venue Fine Arts and Gifts is located close to campus and offers a nice selection of local and other…read moreunique pieces of art, including metal sculpture (Bert Gilbert), jewelry, pottery, wall art, cards, and other cool and collectable items (as a present for you or others). Venue is located within 1 floor of a large architecturally interesting house. As you wander through the various rooms, the art is nicely curated and displayed. The owners were personable, knowledgeable in their wares, and would leave you alone if you wanted. I'm sure I'll be back the next time I visit the Bloomington area.

I love art, especially unique, handmade jewelry and pottery. So when my husband and I accident…read morestumbled across the Venue, I had to go inside. The shop was filled with paintings, pottery, hand-crafted jewelry and other beautiful items. I was particularly excited to discover jewelry pieces from one of my favorite Indiana artisans. The Venue is not a huge place but it's definitely worth the stop. The owners are worth a mention, as they are very personable. In fact, when we mentioned that we were in town on a romantic weekend getaway, they offered suggestions for some must-stops. I will definitely be returning.on future visits to Bloomington.

I love Bloomington Fine Art Supply-- large selection of quality art supplies, and the staff is so…read morefriendly! They're always willing to help me find what I need. Whether you're a professional artist, or someone dabbling, odds are you'll find exactly what you need. The classes and monthly art club are worth checking out too!

The Bloomington Print Collective is RAD! It is a collective print house where the multiple owners…read moreare able to utilize the office and studio space. They have open times when non-members can come in, and the workshops are AMAZING! Where: Corner of 6th & Morton - Entrance is the purple door with their logo on it - located on the south side of the building next to the parking lot - this was the former home of Paper Crane Gallery. Workshops: I have taken the Introduction Screen Printing Workshop and it was great. For just $30 you get a 3 hour workshop where they take you through all parts of the process and you end up walking out of there with finished product. They are super helpful and really informative. I don't know if they have an age minimum but I think with a parent 12+ would be fine. I can't wait to take the image carving class. Free Print Times: They have available times where you can come in and utilize their equipment. The fee is super reasonable ($5/hr) and there are people there to help you. That being said, I recommend taking one of the intro classes first. Gallery/Work for Sale: They usually have some items for sale or on display but this really is more of a functioning studio than a traditional gallery space. That being said, if they do have an open house during a gallery walk I highly recommend you check them out! Odd/Ends: There is no air conditioning in the workshop so come prepared with some water, there are bathrooms on-site, and they can work from images both in-hand or those on a flash drive or emailed to them. They have a ramp into the building but I wouldn't put them in the super-accessible category just because so much of the work needs to be done while standing. Parking is on the street or in the lot located to the south side of the building.

A little slow and quite pricey but very friendly and accommodating. They do much better than…read moreordinary work.

The absolute BEST! I've taken so many things here and it's always excellent service. Great…read moreselection of frames, matting, and the employees are very knowledgeable without being pushy. The framed artwork for sale is beautifully done, too. For reference, I've paid between $45 for matting in a frame I already owned, and $100-$350 for complete framing depending on the size & quality of wood the frame. I always choose the conservation glass, which is their mid-level choice and a good deal. It's been hard to find a good frame shop in other cities, but not with this place in Bloomington. Highly recommended!

Nice historical society with some solid exhibits. They do a nice job of portraying the history of…read morethe county and have some interesting exhibits that rotate. One thing I was disappointed in was a lack of Hoagy Carmichael representation, since their archive has a bunch of items in relation to him, including pieces of clothing. The only mention of Hoagy I found on exhibit was part of a little exhibit on famous musicians from the county. Hoagy was further down on the list and you had to listen to a bunch of other snippets before you could get to him. I expected him to be more prominent in this location. I really liked that they had reasonably priced gift shop and a really nice selection of used books/DVDs/sheet music, etc. While the exhibit wasn't doing much in the way of Hoagy, I picked up some really nice used items in relation to him.

This local-focused, self-sustaining non-profit is a great find! The Center offers a museum,…read moreresearch library, and gift store. There are many special event throughout the year and the exhibits refresh often. The building is on the National Register of Historic Buildings and the volunteers who work there are amazing. The grounds are beautiful. Museum Admission: $2 adults, $1 children, under 5 Free (most special events are free) Parking: street or one of the parking garages located 3 blocks away Food: none Credit Cards: Visa, MasterCard

This sculpture trail was a delightful find in the middle of some of the most beautiful countryside…read moreof Indiana. This is a family owned park where artists work to build sculptures of anything that their imagination can create, all out of metal. The shop where they do their work is on the grounds, and visitors can walk the trails and witness the work being done live. The landscape would be great to hike in by itself, but the art and imagination on display adds an element of wonder and fun to see what is around the next corner. And let's face it, sculpting art out of metal is awesome!!

This place is definitely worth the drive. Kick on your navigation app and head out! It is…read moreabsolutely beautiful, and the placement of the various sculptures keeps you on your toes. There is decent gravel parking, and also a little donation box to drop a few bucks to show them you appreciate what they are doing. It's free, so why not say thank you with funding? There is a lot of abstract art, and it's all beautiful. If you do a full walk through, you will surely find pieces that speak to you. I don't know what it's called, but there is one that is either really called Sun Goddess, or I just call it that. It's beautiful, and has been there on both of my visits, which were about 10 years apart. The sculptures are generally metal, with some being metal and stone, and some worked into trees or other bits of nature. Some have clearly repurposed old pieces of metal, which is nice to see. It does seem to have had a few pieces move or change over a long period of time, which could be for any number of reasons. I think it's the sort of place that would offer you something different if you visited during different seasons. It's worth the trip!

This gem is well-organized for the best browsing. The staff is mostly volunteers who know and love…read morebooks. It serves the good purpose of supporting library programs. The prices put owning books in everyone's reach.

This is seriously the best bookstore in Bloomington. Nearly new books for amazing used prices!…read moreCharming staff! All sales benefit the Monroe County Public Library.

cute art gallery. great varied selection and all local artists. prices are reasonable…read more sometimes their hours can be a bit funny - I think it's still an all artist operated gallery. I've experienced a lot of 'will return at such and such hour'