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.