Little Green Thumb at Garfield Conservatory…read more We tried a new-to-us program today and it was honestly SO cute! This peaceful, hands-on story time was such a sweet way to spend the morning with the kids. The kids got to: Feed & pet the chickens Read stories about the sun Use the sunshine to melt crayons into cute animal shapes Pick peppers Check out dried sunflowers & their seeds Have a little dance party Plant beets Explore the garden It was such a calm, down-to-earth experience that combined story time, gardening, animals, crafts + outdoor exploring--perfect for little ones! Garfield Park Conservatory -- Indianapolis Ages: 2-5 $6 per child Registration required Next Little Green Thumb: September 16 | 10-11 AM Join them in Blake's Garden to learn about gardening and help plant, grow & harvest in the vegetable garden. There will also be a story, craft + time to explore! Definitely adding this one to our list of sweet Indy activities for little kids!

The conservatory offers a variety of plants, flowers, and serene views of the waterfall. The…read morewaterfall and fish pond was definitely my favorite view out of everything offered at the conservatory with their scenic views and decor. The sunken garden was an okay view, the fountains were beautiful but there wasn't any other foliage, flowers, or scenery out there to enhance the view. The garden definitely has potential to be better than it is.

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.

Many years ago, when I went to school in Indianapolis, this was not a part of town I would go to…read morefor any reason. Now, it is my favorite part of the great city of an Indianapolis. It's filled with fun things to do and terrific restaurants. It is my go to place when visiting and the place I point people to when they ask me for a recommendation.

As a tourist visiting for a weekend: having lived in Silver Lake (LA, CA) for a few years and…read morehaving walked around a bit and dined in this area (Fountain Square), I think it's safe to say that this is the or at least one of the hipster areas in the Circle City. The area feels artsy and very pedestrian/bike friendly. The restaurants look nice, but not overly expensive or unapproachable. It's funny because when I visit new cities, I tend to gravitate towards the restaurants in these type of areas. On this trip, I ate at both Milktooth and Bluebeard - both wonderful places to eat. I also had drinks at Four Finger Distillery and Inferno Room. It's located really close to the main downtown Indianapolis area. I actually parked in the area between here and the downtown area when I went to the Colts game on the Sunday I was here.

I have passed this mural many times and not noticed it. I decided to make today a mural finding…read morefield trip. The mural wraps around two sides of the Indy Auto Man's Service Center, the front and side and covers 2,400 sqft. It was commissioned in 2021 by the Indy Auto Man Car Dealership and created by Nekoda Witsken. She was assisted by Travis Neal, Bezol One, and Dan "Invisible Hometown" Handskillz. it is meant to represent the business's core values of initiative, growth, integrity, transformation, and resourcefulness. Employees were polled as to which symbols and heroes they felt best represented these values and their feedback was then used to design the mural. The mural not only has the dog, it has MLK, and Freddy Mercury. I like this mural it is large and very detailed. The colors really pop out and pull you in. You can park in the business's lot to get out and see the mural up close. I highly recommend planning out stops at some of the other wonderful murals that are within a mile or two of this one to maximize your time. Fun fact: This mural served as the backdrop to the inaugural Indy Arts Fest as well.

One of the most talented and successful local artists stays busy adding new murals faster than I…read morecan keep up with her. Local artist Nekoda Witsken collaborated with some other local artists to work on an enormous two sided mural on the south side. One of the special details of this mural is that instead of just using brushes, she used spray paint on this metal surface. The front of the building has many figures and faces (including a full sized Fredddie Mercury. Over on the right side of the building you will see the title of the mural as well as a larger than life image of her dog "Potato".. There is also a dog tag with names of people who love Potato as well as the artist. one of the things I enjoy about this artists' work is that there are many styles of art that she can choose to use. I've seen enough of her art that I can arecognize much of it without her signature. Even when she worked with other artists to complete the work, she has such distinctive touches that I can still find them. Review #3969

This is a very colorful and eye catching mural that you will find on the side of Speedway tax…read moreservice. It is overlooking a parking lot which is good and bad. It is good because it makes parking here to get a closer look very easy. It is bad because cars are normally parked in front of the mural, blocking a decent portion of its lower section. The mural was painted in 2022 and is the collaborative work of Andrea Townsend and Chris Nusbaum, who was commissioned to do the piece by the Speedway Arts Council. Nusbaum, a Speedway Arts Council board member, digitally designed the artwork, While Townsend led the painting. You may not be able to tell, by how nice it is, but it is part of a community paint project. Over 250 people assisted with painting the mural. The mural depicts the words "Speedway, Indiana, Since 1926", set against a rainbow spectrum background. You will find a checked flag to the left of the words and a1926Indy Car, to honor the year the town of Speedway was incorporated, to their right. It is a very nice mural with awesome detail and artistic work. You will notice though that the 100 foot wall that the mural was painted on was not in the best shape to start with and not well prepared/preserved. Outside of that, I still like the mural and find it very interesting. I am also a sucker for community paintings. Anyway, as with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. So, 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.

This is a gorgeous mural by Andrea Townsend that brings bright color to Main St. in Speedway. The…read moreIndy Car and checkered flag part of the mural really embodies the community and it fits in perfectly, especially since it's just steps away from Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Beautiful mural that wraps around the building! Butterflies, cone flowers and a shout out to the…read morestate of Indiana. Located on a church building in downtown Plainfield and really brightens up the alley it's in.

You can tell that this was once an awesome mural. But those days are long behind it. The mural was…read morepainted in 2017 by the FAB Crew, with the assistance of an artist named Gamble, as a tribute to the Cincinnati-based, nationally-known graffiti artist Speedbeard (Jason Brunson), who passed away suddenly in 2017. The mural depicts Speedbeard's pet French bulldog, Frenchie, the inspiration behind many of his characters The dog is wearing Speedbeard's trademark black t-shirt, and has parodies of Speedbeard's full-sleeve tattoos. You can see that the painting has a lot of detail and their inspiration bled through. However, the mural is greatly deteriorated and the wall that it is painted on is actually chipping away piece by piece. I had to do a double take to make sure that I had the correct mural. This mural needs a lot of help, but may be beyond saving. As with most murals, this is probably not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. There is parking available in the alley that the mural is in and it is easily accesible. However, you can probably even do a drive by. It is best to plan out additional stops at many of the other wonderful murals in the area to maximize your trip.

The FAB Crew (Sacred 317 & 6Cents) and Gamble worked on this mural in the summer of 2018 as a…read moretribute to famed artist "Speedbeard" out of Cincinnati. Speedbeard owns a French Bulldog, has a beard, and full sleeve arm tattoos. The bulldog and the arm tattoos were incorporated into this mural along with the neck chain with Speedbeard on it. If you have a knack for reading the graffiti style writing, you can see the artist's names, though I struggle with the two on the right side more than on the left. The dog looks real. The rest of the mural is a swirl of vibrant colors. Very visually effective in catching the eye of passersby. I hope this one will last longer than most of the other great murals that have been at this location. Review #1878

I had seen photos of some sculptures at Celadon Trucking Company on the internet, so I called and…read moreasked if it would be okay to come to their campus to walk around and see the pieces. Although many of the art installations are viewable from the street, I thought it a good thing to make sure I was cleared to wander around their campus. Sure enough, I was given a visitors pass and one of the marketing people accompanied me around to check out the numerous pieces. Sadly, by the time I made my trip, one of the pieces had already fallen into disrepair. Basically, the founder of the company loved art and began contacting Herron School of Art about having the students create art pieces to be purchased by the owner and displayed here. Cool opportunity for the students and a great way to improve the campus for the company. Here is a list of the eight pieces I found intact: Face Behind a Nation - Dennis Green - 2005 (9' x 4') Truck on a Steek - Kevin Huff - 1999 steel Ordered Column - J Craig Riddle - 2001 (12' aluminum) Terpsichores Polychromed Towers - Rhonda Kearns - 2000 (6 to 8' ceramic, glass, and granite) Lines in Negative Space - Donald Mee - 2000 steel (8' tall, 2200 lbs) Mankind - Cary Chapman - 1999 steel Evolutionary Tree - Michael Wilken - 2000 steel (12' 4900 lbs) inMOTION - Brent Gann - 1999 steel For me, the fun of the discovery was trying to see the connection between the title and the object in front of me. The pieces are quite diverse, though a great number of them are made of weathered steel. Note: at the time of my visit, the 9th piece was still there, but needed repair. It was called Wood Grids & Aluminum #2 by Kristina Estell (1999). Review #1329

This mural is starting to show signs of wear and tear. This mural was painted by Amy Hommell in…read more2016 as part of the Johnson County Community Foundation's 25th anniversary. It is pretty abstract. It is some colorful circles on a bright blue background. The perimeter of one of the circles looks like piano keys. There is a tree that runs up the center of the mural. It is a simple design, but it had to be that way because it was a community paint by the number project. That had members of the community, even those without artistic ability, to do the painting. I am a fan of community art. I guess it is the sappy side of me. The mural is located on the side of a photography studio, overlooking a small parking lot belonging to De Baun's Service, Inc. So, parking and getting out to get a closer look at this mural is simple and easy, if that is what you want to do. As with most all murals that I have reviewed, this is probably not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. You may want to consider planning out additional stops or making this part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip.

In the inaugural year (2016) of the Color the County mural program of Johnson County, a site in…read moredowntown Greenwood was selected for a new mural by Amy Hommell. Hommell is a full time artist with a degree from Indiana State University and is the owner of Teal Canary Art Studio. The mural has a background of blue sky and rolling green hills with a series of overlapping circles with intricate patterns within them. In the center is a large tree with new leaves growing. The only negative about the mural was the site selection which is often partially blocked by dumpsters from the neighboring business. Review #1260

This mural(s) is part of Jiffy Lube's mural program in conjunction with Indianapolis Art Council…read morewho commissioned local artist Megan Jefferson, with the assistance of her husband and a few Avon High students to paint them. It is a two-part mural, one on each side of the building. The first mural was painted in 2019. The second mural was painted in June 2022. The murals were painted directly on textured cinder block, making painting the surface with a brush tedious work. So, Jefferson, used exterior latex paint with a paint sprayer to complete the mural. I must admit that the two murals kind of resemble each other. Which is by design because Jefferson wanted the two pieces to complement each other. I like the layered color scheme that Jefferson uses in the murals. The original mural was completed in a day by Jefferson and her husband. For inspiration, Jefferson drove around rural Avon taking pictures of interesting scenery. This mural depicts a rural area set against a setting sun. The second mural depicts some birds against a colorful sunsetting sky Flying in formation high above an Indiana corn field, or at least I assume it is in Indiana. I like this mural. It is very pleasing to the eyes. As I mentioned earlier, the color scheme is awesome and the art work is on point. The murals are very colorful and somewhat basic, but I like them. I also like that Jefferson used her platform to help students learn the craft. I saw an interview that they did and they were so stoked. Parking here to get a closer look is pretty simple. You can pull into the Jiffy Lube's parking lot or the mall's big parking lot next door, get out and look as long as your heart desires. I pulled into the big lot and the mural was right there. Anyway, as with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. So, 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.

By now, folks around central Indiana are noticing more and more Jiffy Lube locations with larger…read morethan life murals. As part of the "Every Part Matters Mural Project", Jiffy Lube has been seeking artists to bring art where people go, and sometimes, least expect it. Begun in 2016, the art project has all types of images and will add five new ones in 2019. The first to be completed is this Avon location. Inspired by her travels through the rural area surrounding Avon, artist Megan Jefferson created this beautiful sunset landscape of rural Avon as the subject. The Arts Council of Indianapolis has helped the owners of the Jiffy Lube stations to seek out artists. The project has become so popular now that Jiffy Lube is getting far more submissions than it has stations to paint. It's nice to have options! Review #2658