"SIGNS PAINTED HERE"

     It's a fading art; the sign painter's stylized, indvidualized visions have largely given way to standardized plastic cutouts, quick, cheap...and empty.

     Maybe that's what you want for a sign that says "NO SMOKING within 8 feet of door by state law."  Conversely, it's a lousy way to get the name of your business out there, though the handful of clever artists who put die-cutter "printers" to work in an original way do a little to buck the trend.

     Standing right in the middle of the avalanche armed with little more than a brush and perhaps a stencil, America's remaining sign painters are doing their part and more -- you can find examples in my neighborhood, Broad Ripple (Good Morning Mama's, outstandingly so).  You will find even more examples and, better yet, exemplars at The Sign Painter Movie, a documentary with a fascinating trailer and a long, linked list of folks busily employed painting signs.

     It's a rare trade and a unique skill; I could wield a lettering pen well enough, long ago, but a brush?  That's a whole different art: a pen will guide your hand; a brush requires piloting.

     (Link found at the blog of one of the better-known underground comix artists.  Not unsurprisingly, if you think about it.)

IT'S THE PAUSE THAT REFRESHES

Having stumbled into DecoPix, I found a few peeks at the old Coca-Cola plant in Indianapolis (or what purports to be -- the caption says "Indianapolis" but some of the links say "Cincinnati." Heads, race cars; tails, unique chili. Call it!).

We did have a nifty Deco soft-drink building and at least part of it is still around. The city had its very own architectural terra-cotta company, so it's no surprise a lot of the Art Deco and Moderne facades left here are of that type. (The old Stokely-Van Camp building is a particular gem).

...But there are some interiors to reckon with, as well. I've got to go see this barber shop in Circle Tower. (Which is itself a stunning Deco wedding cake on Monument Circle).