It starts with straw.
Locally grown, cut and baled right here in northern Indiana. Then a handful of artists show up with sketches, paint, plywood, props and the kind of imagination required to look at a giant round bale and think, Yep. I can work with that.
That is how the Giant Straw Bale Art Trail comes to life each fall. And while the finished creations get plenty of attention, the artists behind them deserve a little spotlight too.
Meet the Artists
Desirée Beauchamp Boucher
Whimsy With a Purpose
Desirée grew up in Elkhart County, studied at the Herron School of Art and Design and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with concentrations in sculpture and printmaking.
She later returned to the area and settled in Middlebury, where she has been active in the local arts community for years. Her approach is simple: make people smile.
That philosophy fits the Straw Bale Art Trail pretty perfectly, where a little whimsy goes a long way.
Josh Cooper
From Graffiti to Giant Bales
Josh grew up doing graffiti and has been creating art for about 25 years. Today, he runs Hive of Light with his wife in downtown Goshen and has worked on murals throughout the region, including projects in Goshen and at the Elkhart Visitors Center.
This year, his work includes the wonderfully weird Six Seven creation celebrating Cariloha Shipshewana’s seventh year in business. Because apparently a giant straw bale is just another canvas.
Annette L. Jones
Clay, Murals and a Whole Lot of Creativity
Annette has spent more than 30 years making art. Pottery has long been one of her favorite mediums, but her creative résumé also includes painting, papier-mâché, mural work and teaching art through the Elkhart Art League.
More recently, she has expanded into large-scale murals and mobile painting parties. Which makes the move from pottery wheel to giant straw bale feel almost completely logical. Almost
Marla Miller
Painting the Things She Loves
Shipshewana artist Marla Miller has been drawing for as long as she can remember and began painting as a teenager.
She works primarily in acrylics and loves painting nature, animals and scenery. Her work has grown from selling pieces in a local Shipshewana shop to appearing at art shows and festivals throughout the year.
She has also tackled large-scale work, including a mural for the Town of Nappanee.
And if you spot the giant JoJo’s sweet mustard creation or Visit Shipshewana’s Tourist Tom, those are hers.
Zac Nogood
Stencils on Pretty Much Everything
Zac is a stencil artist from North Webster who paints on just about anything.
Clothing. Cars. Walls. And yes, hay bales.
His bold stencil style brings a completely different look to the trail and is a good reminder that straw bale art does not exactly come with a rulebook.
Amy Psinas
The Muralist Who Keeps Coming Back to Shipshewana
Amy is a retired high school art teacher from Illinois and a longtime vendor at the Shipshewana Flea Market.
She has completed more than 50 mural projects throughout her career, including the Riding the Pumpkinvine mural at Trail Riders and the giant 40-foot Shipshewana mural at the Flea Market.
So when it comes to painting something enormous, Amy is very much in her comfort zone.
Her work has become part of the visual story of Shipshewana, whether it is stretched across a wall or wrapped around a bale of straw.
So How Do You Paint a Giant Bale?
Very carefully.
Each display begins with a concept. The artists sketch the design, paint the bale by hand and then add whatever extras are needed to bring it to life. That can mean arms, legs, signs, hats, wooden pieces or props.
And the surface itself is not exactly cooperative. Straw is rough. Round. Uneven. A single giant bale can take hours to paint, and some displays use multiple bales plus additional structures to create the finished scene. It is equal parts art project, construction project and giant fall puzzle.
139 Bales Later...
For 2026, the trail includes 139 straw bales used across 33 locations throughout Shipshewana, Middlebury, LaGrange and Howe. Each display is different because each artist and participating business brings a different idea to the table. That is what makes the trail fun. You never quite know what is waiting around the next corner.
Go See Their Work
The Giant Straw Bale Art Trail runs through October 24 and is completely free and self-guided.
Grab the map. Take the backroads. Find your favorite.
And maybe spend an extra second looking at the details, because behind every giant bale is an artist who spent hours figuring out how to turn a pile of straw into something worth pulling over for.
You can also meet all of the Straw Bale Art Trail artists here.