1. “Man-on-the-Street” Sculptures
By J. Seward Johnson Jr., American realist
Some people might find seeing a life-size statue along Main Street to be a bit bizarre, but I see it as endearing. There is something classic and iconic about the sculptures that makes me feel at home.
“Unconditional Surrender”
A soldier embraces a nurse with a big kiss, mimicking one of the most famous photos in history, the “VJ Day Kiss,” snapped by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt to commemorate the victory over Japan, with the end of WWII on August 14th, 1945
Located on Main Street just east of Range Line Road near Artisan Masterpiece and PillowTalk.
“Things To Do”
A business woman sitting on a bench with a pen and notebook while deep in thought with her sunglasses in hand.
Located on southeast corner of Range Line Road and Main Street, right outside of the Renaissance Fine Art & Design Gallery.
“Holding Out,” depicts a woman carrying a bag of groceries in one arm and two additional shopping bags in the other.
The sculpture is located on the sidewalk in front of Joe’s Butcher Shop and Fish Market, on the south side of Main Street between 1st Ave. SW and the Monon Trail.
“Who’s in Charge”
A young boy in overalls and hat sitting on a man’s shoulders
Located in front of Simply Sweet Shoppe at 30 N. Range Line Road, one block north of the Main Street & Range Line Road intersection.
“Sidewalk Concert” – A street musician closes his eyes as he plays a sweet song on his violin, leaving his case open for spare change.
Located in front of Carmel Music Center along Main Street just West of Range Line Road.
“There, Now You Can Grow” – A little girl, with a straw hat hanging from her neck and wearing overall, waters nearby flowers.
Located next to The World’s Smallest Children’s Art Gallery at 1st Avenue NW and Main Street
“One Man’s Search”
A man wearing a Carmel High School sweater sits on a bench reading a book
Located between Huddles Frozen Yogurt and Canine Cloud Nine (110 West Main Street, Suite 115 & 120), east of the Monon Trail.
“Confirming Predictions” – A gray-haired businessman, focused on his newspaper, sits comfortably on a bench.
Located along Main Street just East of the Monon Trail in front of ArtSplash Gallery at 111 W. Main Street, Suite 140.
“The Right Light”
An artist at work painting his view of the Carmel Arts & Design District archways
Located on the northwest corner of the roundabout intersection at W. Main Street and 4th Avenue.
“First Ride” – A young, smiling girl takes off on a bike as her father watches and lets go for the first time.
Located at the intersection of Main Street and the Monon Trail.
“Oh, It’s You, Welcome!”
A police officer greeting and waving to passersby
Located on the northeast segment of the Main Street & Monon Greenway intersection.
2. Flowers & Fountains
The flowers hanging from lamp posts throughout Carmel add a nice pop of color and really enhance the beautification of the city. Adding a fountain to the center of a roundabout is a great way to utilize the otherwise unused space.
3. Roundabouts
I have really grown to love roundabouts because they seem to save me time and there is something fun about them. In fact, Mythbusters just did an experiment to find out whether a 4-way stop or roundabout is more efficient and the roundabout took the cake. Carmel really seems to be getting it right with over 80 roundabouts in the city to date.
4. Art Galleries
It’s great being able to walk down the main strip and see so many galleries and art displayed in the shop windows. Every second Saturday of the month these galleries open their doors for a gallery walk from 5-10pm.
5. Classes for the arts
Restyled offers several different types of workshop classes on how to restyle used furniture and home items.
Midwest School of Voice offers a modern vocal performance program, hourly lessons, and guitar, piano, and ukulele lessons.
There are also several art galleries that offer classes in studio.
Nancy Keating of ArtSplash teaches a fabulous mosaic class , info can be found at her website : www.mosaicsandwine.com
Susan Mauck of French Bleu Gallery will be teaching open figure drawing as well as some wonderful new classes, for more information contact her at susanmauck@gotown.net
Kathleen O’Neil Stevens of Renaissance Gallery is always adding classes and workshops with award winning instructors for oil painting, pique assiette
mosaic, Decorative finishes, pastel painting, iPhone artistry, watercolor,
mixed media, jewelry making, acrylics, plus several open figure drawing
sessions a week. You can visit her website at
www.renaissancefineartanddesign.com
Magdalena Segovia and Mary Johnston of Magdalena Gallery of Art
teach many different levels of art classes from children to adult. Please see a listing of availability at www.magdalenagallery.com.
Artisan Masterpiece will be offering children’s creative summer camps. Please see the listing of camps available:
www.artisanmasterpiece.com/Summer_Camp.html
Lynne Medsker of ArtSplash will be teaching a wonderful “Introduction to Mandala Art” class at different times during September & October. Making a mandala is a very soothing process that can be enjoyed by anyone, more information can be found on her website:
www.lynnemedsker.com/classes.html
6. Revitalization & Glimpses of History
The city has done a lot to make Main Street an exciting place to be while holding true to the historical aspects of the town.
Little touches of the past throughout Carmel make me happy. This depository box can be found on the side of one of the art galleries.
Woody’s Library Restaurant was formerly the first Carmel Public Library built back in 1913. The restaurant has kept a lot of the history alive by displaying bookcases with shelves full of books in the dining areas.
7. Public Art
Brick Head sculpture by James Tyler located outside the Evan Lurie Gallery.
Art located outside the smallest children’s art gallery.
Located on the west side of the Carmel Old Town Antique Mall building, 38 W. Main Street
CHS Mural
A mural designed and painted by Michael Lee and his wife, Erin Ballentine-Lee, in cooperation with local students from Carmel High School.
Located on the west side of the Carmel Old Town Antique Mall building, 38 W. Main Street
“Eternal Spring”
A whimsical piece entitled “Eternal Spring,” created by artist Jerry Joslin, depicts a dancing woman surrounded by flowers.
Located at the corner of W. Main Street and 3rd Ave NW
8. Local Shops
9. Great Restaurants
10. Room for growth
A handful of buildings are available for rent and I’m excited to see what moves in next.
11. Bike racks
Biking to the Art District on the Monon Trail? No problem. There are plenty of places to park your bike and then grab a bite to eat or venture into some of the shops.
12. The Monon Trail
The Monon Trail cuts right through the Art & Design District and makes it extremely easy to get from Indy up to Main Street. On a nice day you’ll see lots of people riding bikes, walking dogs, and enjoying the trail with friends and family.
