Southern Indiana Living - March / April 2024

cars and classic signage, including
E.K. Roggenkamp, a car dealership
that played a big role in Milltown’s
history.
“Indiana car shows are big
events here and serve as a way to
bring the community together,”
Johns said. “I love these stories behind
the murals I do. It is one of the
great pleasures of my life to bring
people together through art.”
Johns has completed over a
dozen murals in Southern Indiana,
and another seven in Louisville. All
of them are designed for a specific
location and purpose. In 2020, she
was commissioned by MESA, A
Collaborative Kitchen to paint
a mural that would get “MESA
Kids” excited about cooking.
Just a block from her studio,
on the back of MESA, she created
her Chef’s Mural, which features
portraits of six famous chefs: Julia
Child, Nancy Silverton, Emeril Lagasse,
Anthony Bourdain, Jamie Oliver
and Mashama Bailey. The faces
and unique expressions of each chef
are captured with affection.
In 2021, the City of New Albany
commissioned her to paint
a mural on the side of Mickey’s
Coffee Shop on Vincennes Street
to promote growth in that area of
town. For the background, Johns
chose black and white paint to depict
some of the landmarks of that
area: New Albany High School, the
building where Mickey’s is located
and a rendering of the old Monon
train station. In the foreground —
in bright blues, oranges, and yellows
— she painted a pair of hands
letting go of a kaleidoscope of butterflies.
The main inspiration for all of
this joyful and playful art is Johns’s
children. “They keep me happy,”
she said. Johns also had a happy
childhood growing up in Georgetown,
where her father was an amateur
artist.
“I would sit for hours watching
him paint, and learning,” she
said. She expected to follow in his
footsteps and become an artist.
“I remember once in elementary
school a teacher singled out my
picture to put on the board as an example
of good work,” Johns said. “I
never gave it a second thought because
I already knew that I would
be an artist, and that people would
pay for my art.”
And people did pay for her
work. While still in high school, her
Depicted on the mural is a red-haired opera
singer, whose voice is symbolized by stars
that shoot from her mouth across a wide
expanse, pointing to the grandeur of the
building’s past as one of the finest theaters
in the Midwest. The building, as it was then is
also drawn as part of the mural’s background.
Pictured: (left page) Johns’ mural on the Elsby East building in New Albany; (this page, from top) Carey Johns in her
studio; one of two murals created by Carrie Johns in Milltown.
Southern Indiana Living • Mar/Apr 2024 • 13