Beautiful mural with a nice little seating area right near it that is well kept, nice flowers and…read moreplantings as well.

As part of the Tippecanoe Arts Federation's goal to bring public art to the greater Lafayette metro…read morearea, a Mural Art Initiative brought artists to visit the towns in the surrounding counties. In 2017, artist Cameron Moberg (Camer1) was selected to create a mural for the town of Fowler. One of two murals done by Moberg (See "Wheat" review) was a full wall covered with monarch butterflies. Centered in the mural in a sea of orange and black is the phrase "Be the Change" in bold white color. In addition, Moberg has included some words on butterfly wings including Fowler and Peace. What is totally cool is that the mural and its motto "Be the Change" inspired the local citizens to organize and fund a new park where an abandoned lot had been left after dilapidated buildings had been torn down. I love when art inspires the people to not settle for the way things are, but to imagine what they could be. Review #3017

I decided to do something rather unique for Veteran's Day this year by taking a quick trip up to…read moreLake County to check out one of Jiffy Lube's most recently completed murals, "Flowers in My Head," a mural that sits on a Jiffy Lube located between the Adam Benjamin VA Clinic and the Gary Area VetCenter in Crown Point, Indiana. The large mural was created by local artist and disabled veteran Ismael Muhammed Nieves, who works under the name ISH. ISH has been a muralist and graffiti writer for over 30 years and is known locally for his work with Eskenazi Hospital, the SubSurface Graffiti Exhibition, and as a founding member of Indiana's first and oldest Latino Artist Collective - Crazy Indiana Style Artists (CISA). He was also an active artist and member for another Jiffy Lube Mural - Three Kings. ISH has dealt with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder for 20+ years. He finally decided to get help when he began to realize how disconnected he was with his family. In fact, ISH is a frequent visitor to the VA clinic across the street. According to ISH's description of the mural, "The mural follows a timeline of the internal emotions, actions, and results a soldier with PTSD may travel. Visually, the mural is divided into two parts starting from the top left corner going left-to-right and the bottom half traveling from right-to-left." ISH chose to portray cartoon characters to lighten the viewing experience and flower symbolism to zone out different areas and allow veterans to focus on talking points. "With full artistic license from Jiffy Lube, I was provided a platform to cover PTSD," said ISH. "I had to find a creative way to approach the subject so it would not trigger a stressful or anxious moment." The mural begins with children running through a flower field. They can barely see above the nose-high flowers and slap each other with the flowers they've pulled from the field. The characters high-five each other when they get out of the field. There is a celebration but it's not necessarily tied to national victory but simply getting out alive. In the next section, they are taking off turtle shell helmets and placing them in a pile, a representation of transitioning from a reptilian mind to a civilian. The next scene in the mural represents seeing yourself in the mirror, with your hair undone and flowers in your hair and feeling unsettled. The rake on the character's boots represents the work ahead. It's a matter of clearing the field and dropping new seeds and germinating healthier thoughts. The seeds being dropped from the air represents the awakening that comes from asking/answering the questions. The pink cloud being combed and watering the ground below represents going through the thoughts that will germinate new perspectives. On the bottom half of the mural (from right to left), the first scene shows scissors cutting hair with flowers. It represents that sometimes the only way to move on is to cut it off. The two girls combing through each other's hair represents the therapy process. The therapist (left) is trained to assist and always learn and develop her practice with each new patient. The soldier (right) has her hair covering her face. It represents shame and/or unawareness. It may be hard for soldiers to seek or know they require therapy. Their hair has the colors of the flag to represent one American helping another. The next scene shows the yellow hand throwing the flowers from their hair into a compost. This represents the energy and value in the memories and lessons learned. Tossing the flowers into the compost provides food for the garden you keep. Moving through the process, the young lady is then admiring herself because she has gone through the process and is happy with her appearance. Her hair is neat and organized and decorated with a red bow. The red bow represents the red poppies above her. It shows she has found a way to accentuate and decorate herself. Lastly, standing behind her is a soldier with a shovelful of freshly made compost. It represents that the work never stops. While Jiffy Lube has commissioned many outstanding murals, this mural may very well be my favorite. It's comprehensive yet created with tremendous clarity. It's quite beautiful and incredibly meaningful. As someone who also lives with PTSD, I'm in awe of just how wonderfully ISH has brought the experience to life in an artistic and meaningful way. Is it worth a 2-hour drive to see it? Actually, yes it is. It's also a remarkable and worthy tribute to America's veterans and I'm glad I could check it out on Veteran's Day 2021.

Went for Matching Mother/Daughter tattoos with Dolly Darling and couldn't be more happy with her…read moredesign and her gentle spirit! Truly a pleasure and a great way to spend my pre-birthday!

Top notch artists work in this place. The artist working me over in my photo is Chucho and he has…read moresome real skills with tattoos and art. His artwork can be seen throughout the city as he has been commissioned for both sculptures as well as murals! Call the office and get set up for a session. I'll post more pictures soon!

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.

Firefly is an awesome public art display that I came across while we were in West Lafayette…read moreIndiana. We had to stop and see this for sure. It was really neat took up the entire side of the building. It was very very colorful and I thought it was just super awesome.

In September 2018, a series of murals called "Wabash Walls!" decorated the neighborhood along…read moreWabash Avenue south of downtown Lafayette. Of those murals, my favorite is "Firefly" by Max Sansing. The image shows a profile of a boy who has discovered and captured a firefly, but instead of being an insect, the firefly is a glowing golden boy small enough to fit in the palm of the larger boy's hand. The imagery is lifelike and done with brilliant colors. I really like how well the artist made it appear the larger boy is looking directly at the smaller boy. I've seen far too many paintings where the artist was unable to capture that connection. I also like that there is an element of fantasy and the unknown in the mural. Review #1544

We went there for the Dinner Murder Mystery Train Ride. We had a blast!! Everyone on the train went…read morethere to have a good time. We all played a part in the entertainment. The food was delicious. The price for the whole event was fair. The actors, train workers, and our server were all AMAZING! The only thing I felt needing improvement was the decor. Very plain. Absolutely nothing in our cart was attractive or appealing. Lastly, there are NO bathrooms available on the train for the guests. You're on there for almost 2 1/2 hours and must wait to depart to get to a bathroom. Other than that it IS worth the time and money.

My only chance stop by was on a week day when no operations were going on so I checked out the…read moregrounds and equipment anyway. For not being open there was only one spot in the small lot left which was weird, what's it like when they are open. The property is pretty nice with lots of green spaces with picnic tables to make a day of it. There is static displays with various railroad equipment from cranes, passenger cars, cabooses, locomotives etc. There is a ticket passenger station and a tower over looking the rails with a huge shed that has cars that you can go in when they are open. Even though they are only open on weekends for train rides you can go during the week with the kids and have a picnic and walk around looking at the equipment so if your driving by it is a nice attraction for the kids.

As Tipton embraces the new murals that are contributing to the revitalization of the downtown area,…read moreit is nice to look back to the first public art in town. Inside the Post Office, a 12' x 7' mural was added to the interior west wall. The mural, painted by Donald Mattison, was started in 1936 and finished the following year. The title, "Indiana Farming", fits the community even today. The mural was commissioned post-Depression as part of a program to help keep artists employed around the state. I know of 36 post offices which were selected as part of the program. The idea being that since everyone used the post office, the mural would be shared by everyone. The mural shows multiple activities related to farming. There is a team of horses hauling the crops into the barn, a mother and daughter folding the laundry from the clothes line, a boy who collected eggs, and several other activities. The mural is done is pastels though it is possible that time has faded some of the colors. If the post office is open, this is a fine example of the cultural heritage of the community. Review #2814

Don't you know everything we do it's better together. This is an awesome public art display that we…read morefound while we were walking around exploring West Lafayette Indiana. They have all kinds of cool places like this check out with all the public art displays cool city go check them out.

In 2018, Chicago artist Rahmaan Statik Barnes was commissioned to paint the corner of the Northend…read moreCommunity Center in Lafayette. Along with his assistants Gape and Dread ski, this street artist turned muralist added a colorful wraparound mural that is 24' high and 80' in length as it wraps around the corner leading to the building entrance. The words Better Together are clearly written over the faces of children and adults that might be found at the community center. In addition to the faces, there are silhouettes of a basketball player and soccer player. Smaller images of kids working together on projects can also be seen. Although painted with spray cans, the detail is fantastic in the bright and cheerful addition to the neighborhood. Review #3712