HIGH CONCEPT
Conceptual artist Jamie Pawlus. You might know her interactive “Care/Don’t Care” pedestrian sign along the Indianapolis Cultural Trail on Mass Ave. or the large “Don’t Be Afraid of the Space Rays” sign in Fountain Square (that made me slam the brakes on my car because it looked like an official INDOT construction sign, if INDOT had a sense of humor).
On July 17, Pawlus wore a massive cat-head mask with a face-covering and carried a sign near the Twin Aire Plaza that said, “Cool Cats Wear Masks!” Her pop-up performance was part of Indy Art & Seek, a cool new series of 100+ Indy neighborhood art interventions (or “moments of delight”).
GET LIT
Teacher Collection candles from Unplug Soy Candles in Fishers. Give one to a teacher, or buy one for yourself, light it, and send good vibes to the teachers (and bus drivers, classroom volunteers, and other staff members) who could risk their health, and possibly their lives, if schools reopen too soon. Thankfully, several Central Indiana districts are starting the year virtually and have postponed the start of the school year. And yes, I know this sucks for children and working parents; I’m a full-time working mom with a teen who’s starting her freshman year of high school. Note: Unplug celebrated its grand opening in Fishers on July 25.
ALL AGLOW
Leaping Fish The Original Rowers Rub Balm, $30. OK, it’s not made in Indy. BUT: A gorgeous and exquisite Indianapolis “woman of a certain age” told a few of us Indy Mavens about this hidden gem of a skin-care product. It was developed by rowers as a natural moisturizing salve to treat sores and chafing from sweating and exercising. Most of my water-sports activity lately has involved intermittent showering, but this balm is fantastic for softening and smoothing your hands, elbows, and knees, and selectively adding a little glow to your face.
NATURE WALK
Shrader-Weaver Woods. My friend and I saw exactly two other people when we escaped Indy one Sunday morning to hike the two easy/moderate loops in this medieval fairytale-like old-growth forest where I expected (hoped?) to run into Maleficent. Birders love this state nature preserve, hikers claim to have seen evidence of beavers and bobcats, and apparently spring puts on a spectacular wildflower show and winter is beautifully haunting.
5299 N. County Road 450 West, Connersville
TREAT YOURSELF
Massages from Teresa Hermosillo at the Irvington Wellness Center. I met Teresa at a “feminist pool party” on the Eastside that featured a disco soundtrack and a trampoline. She told me about her husband, her three kids, and her life growing up in Zacatecas, Mexico. Teresa is a Reiki master and certified in aromatherapy, and she’s trained in Swedish and deep-tissue massage, and cupping. She also used a bamboo massage stick that made me damn-near melt into the heated table. Teresa learned from her grandmother, who, she said, “had healing powers in her hands.”
