Sidewalk Chalk Art
July 12, 2009 | By
Have you ever considered the impact a stick of chalk can have? Sure, schoolteachers use it to teach math and spelling, or hand it over for writing 50 “I will nots” on the chalkboard. Kids love skipping over a hopscotch drawn on a sidewalk. But have you thought about the artistic value of chalk in an artist’s hands?
A few years ago, I visited a town whose sidewalks were filled with chalk pictures. Some of the renderings were absolutely stunning pieces of art. A few were quite obviously drawn by small children, but even those had a precious intrinsic value to them. At the time, I thought it was an exclusive event to the city I was passing through. Little did I know that sidewalk chalk festivals happen all over the world. Try searching sidewalk chalk festival online and see if one is planned in an area near you.
Inspiration and resources can be found from artists such as Julian Beever and Kurt Wenner who have traveled the world sketching their 3-D chalk murals. With some inexpensive supplies and a little imagination, you might even set a Guinness record for the world's largest chalk drawing .
Try the easy recipe below for homemade chalk.
Materials:
1 cup of plaster of paris
3/4 cup of water
2 - 3 tablespoons powdered tempera paint (if using liquid tempera-reduce water to 1/2 cup)
clean, empty toilet tissue tube or other mold
Directions:
1. To prepare your tissue tube mold, cover one end completely with duct tape so that it blocks the opening. Line the inside of the tube with a loosely rolled piece of waxed paper, which helps your chalk to release easily when cured. If you use plastic molds for this project, just be sure to coat the mold with petroleum jelly.
2. Pour the water into a disposable plastic container and begin adding the plaster of paris a little at a time while you stir with a disposable plastic spoon. Don’t walk away! It sets up in 30 minutes, so you need to work quickly to finish this step. When you've added all the plaster, add a couple of tablespoons of the paint. Use more paint if you would like brighter colors.
3. Stand your tube mold on end, taped side down, on a protected surface or lined tray, and spoon or pour the mixture into your mold and let dry. After 24 hours, untape the end of your tube and slide the chalk out; if it still feels moist let it dry another day or two. This chalk will not work on a chalkboard, but does great on sidewalks and the images made last much longer than those made with store bought chalk.
Handmade Chalk from Artisans
If you don't want to make your own chalk, egbears and ohsoadorable1 both offer handmade sidewalk chalk in their shops. ThePreppyPolkaDot has a bucket of chalk and will even personalize it for you. Finally, if you have a little chalking Rembrandt on the go, LilBDesigns has Dine.N.Doodle Mats that will conveniently travel with you.
However you choose to acquire your handmade chalk, you'll enjoy working with your new medium. Chalk it up to your chance to have a good time.
Photos courtesy of Stefanie Poteet , mudpuppy , and Cindi Thayn.
Recommended Reading:
Immortalizing Insects: The Art of Silver Casting
There’s One in All of Us: Where the Wild Things Are
All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached, or otherwise used, except with the prior
written permission of HandmadeNews.org.
