Category: SIDEWALK CHALK ART
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Valentine’s Day Treasure Truck
We often collaborate with Colony Square on chalk projects. They are working to reimagine their prominent location in order to make it a work, play, live environment in the heart of Midtown Atlanta. My favorite spot is next to the Midtown sign and we were thrilled when we were invited to chalk next to it. This project was led by Meg Mitchell of Everlong Creative. We created a chalk drawing to promote the Amazon Treasure Truck for Valentine’s Day. We were able to bring all that we love about Atlanta into one drawing to show how Atlanta loves Amazon. Meg came up with the idea and I put together a few images to reference. My mock up is below.
Design Concept We worked with this mock up as a guide. We did not draw everything but included some prominent Atlanta locations. The composition evolved as we collaborated on site. Meg made the heart into a peach behind the Colony Square logo which was the perfect touch. I focused on the Chick-fil-a Cow and the tiger shark from the GA Aquarium. We’ve also chalked another project for the Ga Aquarium.
Zach surprised me with flowers and chocolates from the Amazon Treasure Truck! I had no idea he actually got it for me and was not expecting it. He is so sweet!
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Atlanta Braves Opening Year
I drew the players on the left. 
Community chalk art based on baseball card designs. 
Zach led the community workshop. He is so good with kids! 
Jessi and Cathryn chalking a piece together. -
Atl&Co Interview for Chalktoberfest 2017
Introduction
Jessi is a local chalk artist and is president and co-founder of the GA chalk artists guild. She travels with her husband (and now baby) to chalk festivals all over the world including Italy and Germany. She is a new mom and plans to continue chalking all over and bringing her baby with her.Jessi – how long have you been a chalk artist? How’d you get into it?
I went to Savannah College of Art and Design and am from Savannah. I started with the SCAD festival there and have been creating chalk drawings ever since.Do you only create your work using chalk? How do you preserve it?
I work as a UX designer full time and travel to events all around to do chalk murals. Last summer we went to Italy and Germany for festivals. I also paint murals and participate in local art shows with mostly chalk pastel drawings. I do not preserve the chalk art on the ground. It is meant to be ephemeral and is more about the process than the finished piece.What will you be creating at this year’s festival? What’s the theme this year?
I am chalking a portrait with some geometric shapes. I photoshop images to get a composition I want and then chalk it. The theme is “Bring your A game” I specialize in portraits and there are many talented people from all over the world drawing what they draw best. We will also have a tent for the GA chalk artists Guild this year so come by and learn more.Here is a link to the full interview with Sally of the Marietta Cobb Museum of Art and Jim of The Local:
11alive.com
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Arbor Lakes Chalk Fest 2017
Zach and I created a large 10x20ft mural in Arbor Lakes this past weekend. We enjoyed chalking alongside so many talented people. This image was a compilation of child fairies at different ages. It represents our future son and all the possibilities. And of course it would not have been complete without a little magic.
We had some challenges with the heat, the wind and the rain but we pulled through. After the storm, Zach had to redraw two of the children and I had to touch up the face. We were lucky as most other artists’ pictures were washed away completely.
This festival is amazing and the organizers Nancy and Shawn are wonderful. Kris and and our sponsor Patty were very helpful as well. We could not have had the event without them. I look forward to next year and the arrival of our son!
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Community joins in the chalking at Fire in the 4th
Fire in the 4th was a celebration of 100 years since the Old 4th Ward district of Atlanta burned down in a devastating fire. What a better way to remember than with a day of celebration with music, art, street preformers and a fire show. Zach and I were asked to lead a community chalk mural with the patrons at the event. We were very excited to bring chalk art to Old 4th Ward once again. We started out by grinding squares for each person to draw in. I focused on a larger drawing in the center of a Phoenix woman in flames. All around me children and adults of all ages came and left their mark. There were popular subjects such as cats and rainbows but each one unique to the individual who drew it.
Later in the day the sky got dark and rain came. We did our best to cover our work but it all washed away. To us however, the chalking was a success! Chalk art in its nature is ephemeral and the best part was the experience of bringing people together through our art. Everyone enjoyed drawing and seeing my art come to life as well. I would love to do more events like this one and really like the public engagement of an event like this.
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Chiaha Harvest Fair
Chiaha Harvest Fair takes place every year in Rome GA. It is a local festival that strives to support the arts. The proceeds of the event go to scholarships to help art students in the community to succeed. There is live music, vendor booths, and food. There is plenty to do for the whole family. The kids section engages young artists and encourages creativity through activities and crafts. Each vendor booth hosts unique art from people who travel near and far. Learn more about the festival here.
I had the honor to create a large chalk mural for the event along side two other chalk artists. I chose to draw this woman with purple hair and flowers around her. I loved the contrast of green against the purple and felt she was magical.
This was the final drawing. 
Eternity Arts Chalk was used in the shading of the lips and hair. 
I adjusted her hair color to have a purple tint. 
The finished mural was 7x7ft 
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Marietta Chalktoberfest 2016
This year at Chalktoberfest I had the honor to recreate an image of one of my favorite artists Johannes Vermeer. I chose to draw Milkmaid. The contrast of blues and yellows add mystery to this work. I really enjoy how vermeer captures everyday life and makes it intriguing. I was hesitant to do the old masters theme but I am glad that I had the chance to put myself in their shoes for a few days. I found myself wondering how Vermeer would approach the creation of this piece. Did he draw the milkmaid first or the room she is in? Was he cold and sore like I was while drawing on the ground for two days? I really enjoyed mixing my blue pastels to create just the one that would cause her to pop off the ground. I never thought much about the process but recreating it really puts it into perspective. I made sure not to crop out the negative space in the top right. It really evokes the mood in the painting.
I had a wonderful time chalking and an even better time reuniting with my fellow artists. Chalk artists from all over the country came to create old master drawings. We spent the evenings playing games and singing. Chalk art was the glue that brought us all together. It is nice to learn from each other. There are many chalk art masters like Joel Yao, Chris Carlson, Bridget Lyons, and the Chalk Guys. So much talent in one spot.
Zach and I were on the news to introduce the festival.
Images of Marietta Chalktoberfest Chalk Art of Vermeer’s Milkmaid
