Murals with Jiffy Lube

January 2021

Community partnerships are important to any active public art program. Public art has a place not just in residential neighborhoods or central business districts, but in commercial corridors as well.

The Arts Council is pleased to partner with Jiffy Lube of Indiana to commission murals for Jiffy Lube locations in Central Indiana and beyond. This program expands on the arts initiative started by Jiffy Lube in 2016, which placed murals on stores in Carmel and Broad Ripple. The murals collectively serve to further Jiffy Lube’s mission of “growing people through work” as well as beautify the commercial corridors on which the stores reside, and create a sense of place. A call for artists for the 2022 mural series will be released in late summer 2021.

In 2021, three murals will be created in central Indiana:

Joy Hernandez will create a mural for the Broad Ripple Jiffy Lube on College Avenue.

Dan Thompson will create a mural for the Eastgate Jiffy Lube on Shadeland Avenue.

Nekoda Witsken will create a mural for the Carmel/Zionsville Jiffy Lube on N. Michigan Rd.

Three additional murals will be created in 2021, in South Bend, Crown Point, and Calumet City (Illinois). A mural created by the Decatur Central High School Art Club for the Thompson Road Jiffy Lube is also in progress, and is expected to be installed in 2021.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only two murals were created in central Indiana in 2020. Two additional murals were created in Kendallville and Fort Wayne.

Fishers: 13855 Olivia Way

Carl Leck's Behind the Curtain uses astonishing "fool the eye" effects and the metaphor of the Wizard of Oz to encourage us to always search for the truth. The ibis bird is Thoth, the ancient Egyptian god of wisdom, who pulls aside the curtain to reveal the small man who has created the facade of terrible beasts to sow fear and discord. Once the truth is revealed, we can all rebuild a positive future together.

Carmel: 1840 E. 151st St.

Artur Silva worked with apprentice artist Shaunte Lewis to create a digitally-based mural called Anatomy of a Moment. Based on the artists' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, when frequent (almost obsessive) handwashing was the rule, the mural focuses on the multifaceted role hands play in our lives: shaking, patting, holding, caring, comforting, and uniting us. Images of everything hands do help us connect to each other at a time of enforced separation and social distancing.

Five artists and artist teams were selected from an open call and assigned to Indianapolis Jiffy Lube locations in 2019.

Northwestside: 8580 N. Michigan Rd (at 86th St.): ISH (Ismael Muhammad Nieves)
The three figures in the mural represent the fact that this Jiffy Lube location was the third one opened in Indiana, nearly thirty years ago. The idea of “kings” was developed by the mural’s artists, a team of one master artist and two apprentices. In the African American community, friends often refer to each other as “kings” and “queens” in order to convey appreciation, pride, and support. As a mentorship project, the love and support is directed towards the new artists who deserve to have the confidence and stature of a king. A “king” is also graffiti slang for a highly accomplished writer: all three of the artists who created this mural have street art backgrounds. Read more.

Northeastside: 9825 Fall Creek Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46256: Christina Hollering
Our Waterways is a tribute to nearby Fall Creek and the rich and varied life that it sustains. Blue herons, banded water snakes, and dragonflies are combined with abstracted wave and sun patterns and a kayak-and-paddle motif to create appreciation in viewers of the valuable asset that runs literally through their backyards. The waterway is an important part of the ecosystem we all share, and a reminder that in this part of Indiana, we are all in a watershed. Read more.

Southside: 7965 US 31 South (at stop 11 Rd.): Pamela Bliss
Given the opportunity to paint whatever she liked on the wall of this Jiffy Lube store, the artist chose to depict the importance of bees and their drastic drop in population because of herbicides, pesticides, deforestation, and urbanization. When bees are gone, everything in the world, including humans, will cease to exist. True to her style, the artist depicted an illusion of the wall breaking open to reveal a honeycomb, with several bees in various states of maturity flying out from it. The final “bee” is a baby in a bee costume holding a heart balloon, to indicate the importance of bees to human life. The bees appear to be flying towards a giant sunflower, with a world globe in its center. Read more.

Far Eastside: 10520 E. Washington St. (near German Church Rd.): Kyle Ragsdale
Safe Passage is the expression of a metaphor for the world: a collection of random figures, some human and some animal, on an epic journey in an unknown direction with only each other to rely on. The yellow-toned and sparkling paint in the sky indicates that the scene is taking place in some mythical landscape, much as the shimmering gold tile backgrounds of Byzantine church mosaics were understood to indicate the heavenly realm. The figures include historical people George Washington and George Washington Carver (visual puns relating to the mural’s location on East Washington Street), a nun, a giraffe, a polar bear, a crowned cat, bunnies, and a child in a red hat–some of which recur in the artist’s other mural and easel work–and indicate the varied nature of the life that is bound together on our planet. The scene wraps around the corner. Read more.

Avon: 7825 E. US 36 (Rockville Rd. between County Rd. 267 and Dan Jones Rd.): Megan Jefferson
The city of Avon, Indiana, is quickly being developed but there are still farm fields and wide open spaces. The artist of Rural Rhythm, Megan Jefferson, is attracted to painting those wide open spaces – particularly Midwest landscapes – because she grew up in a small farming community in Northwest Ohio. Skies there are big, colorful fields are everywhere, and the land is flat so you can see for miles. The first time she visited Avon, the site of the mural, she was reminded of the rural landscape of her hometown. To create this mural she drove the back roads, feeling nostalgic and took photos of her favorite beautiful vistas. This mural is inspired by one of those photographs and its goal is to acknowledge, preserve, and celebrate the rural beauty that still exists in the town (and in the artist’s heart). Read more.

Six artists and artist teams were selected from an open call and assigned to Central Indiana locations in 2018.

West Side: 5630 N. Georgetown Rd.
Shamira Wilson Young created Interwoven, a metaphor for the energy of movement
inspired by our social fabric, textile technique, and the multicultural diversity of the
community surrounding 56 th and Georgetown. It expresses the interconnected nature of
community and provides a moment of joy for both visitors and neighbors.

Brownsburg: 1280 N. Green St.
Barbara Stahl wanted to pay homage to the older buildings in Brownsburg that are being
torn down in favor of new construction, but in a colorful and innovative way. She used a
play on the word developing and depicted a photographer in a traditional darkroom
creating images of both “old” and “new” Brownsburg, and cleverly framed it as a photo
album page in a three-ring binder.

Glendale: 6275 N. Keystone Ave.
William Denton Ray, working in his own neighborhood, created an abstracted face made
from geometric shapes. The mural’s title, Indivinity, is a combination of the words
“individuality,” “divine,” and “infinity,” all concepts he was thinking of during the design
process. To Ray, every shape is essential in defining the face, and the face is constantly
changing.

International Marketplace: 5444 W. 38^th St.
Blend Creative Minds (Rafael Caro, Erica Parker, and Lauren Neely) chose to reflect the
thriving international culture surrounding the site through their depiction of the Brazilian
folk tale of Boitata, the Fire Snake. According to legend, the snake protects hidden
treasures and brings light into a dark world. The mural’s vibrant colors, and its mix of
brush and aerosol painting techniques, celebrate the diverse and dynamic
neighborhood.

Castleton: 8175 Allisonville Rd.
Carl Leck used his trademark illusionistic technique in Taking the Bait, where a
shimmery winged creature is confronted with a sweet morsel. Despite its unfamiliarity
with the manufactured treat on offer, the bird is tempted by the bait. Is it a trap? Most
definitely!

Lafayette: 2 S. Earl Ave.
Lafayette-based artist Craig Martin took a familiar sight—the purple coneflower, native to
Indiana and thriving in its numerous prairies and meadows—and turned it into exotic
scenery. Tropical Wabash portrays this common “weed” as a noble specimen, shared
by all of Indiana’s people regardless of geography or economic status. As such, Martin is
emphasizing that we all have more in common that we know.