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Chalk About It

Chalk About It Recruiting Artists for May 21st Event

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Chalk About It is the Miami Valley’s original chalk art festival and scheduled for May 21, 2016 at The Greene. Chalk art, or street painting as it’s known in Europe, has its origins back to the 16th century. Today it’s a creative art form by which a block of street is turned into a beautiful piece of art. Essentially, the asphalt is the canvas and the medium is environmentally friendly pastel chalk. Chalk festivals are gaining in popularity throughout the US, and are usually found in the south. Dayton is one of only a handful in the state.

Last year’s debut event proved to be a great success, in spite of the rain. Local, national, professional, amateur and students competed for the most votes. First prize went to Colleen Scott of Columbus, OH. In addition to Ms. Scott, participants included: Tiffany Kelly of Miamisburg, Lori Hughes of Galloway, OH, Erik Greenawalt of North Huntington PA, Heather Morrisey of Germantown, OH, Suzy Richardt and Ray Goerig both of Dayton. Chalk About It will again feature the anamorphic (3D) art of the award winning chalk artist, Jennifer Chaparro.

Chalk About It artists will have the opportunity to compete for cash prizes and will be invited to a meet and greet with the guest artist. Participating artists will receive chalk, snacks throughout the day, and of course a chance to win best of show. Artists can submit an application to participate at www.lifeessentials.org.chalk

Chalk About It benefits Life Essentials and its unique and specialized programs that enable seniors and people living with mental illness to have a greater quality of life and take charge of their mental and physical health.

About Life Essentials
Life Essentials provides professionally delivered services which promote and enhance the quality of life for vulnerable adults through intensive advocacy and recovery-oriented programming. Life Essentials provides the only adult guardianship program in Montgomery and Greene Counties. In addition, seniors living with mental illness participate in an outpatient program designed to assist them in their recovery. Peer Academy is a unique program designed to train individuals in recovery to work as peer supporters. Life Essentials receives funding from the Montgomery County Human Services Levy, ADAMHS Board and the United Way.

Chalk Art Comes To Life At The Greene Today!

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15930723563660212125The streets of The Greene will come alive today as artists create living art using only pastel chalk to bring awareness to national mental health awareness month from 10am – 10pm!

Watching art come to life is considered a performance art and has an immediacy that gives every piece a uniqueness that can never be truly duplicated. You can vote for your favorite, by making a donation to Life Essentials!

Take part in a family scavenger hunt and a kid’s chalking area. Wind down with a block party in the evening. The event will support Life Essentials’ unique and specialized programs that enable seniors and people living with mental illness to have a greater quality of life.

Special guest artist Jennifer Nichols was born into an artistic family.  Her grandfather, Harry E. Stinson, was a recognized Sculptor, Painter and Art Professor.  Jennifer’s formal art training started in high school, and she began to accumulate awards and sell her early watercolor paintings.

Later, Jennifer attended UCLA, graduating with a degree in Design, focusing on costume & clothing design.  She continued to pursue painting while working in advertising and raising her two daughters in Dayton, Ohio.  Jennifer’ work was exhibited at various galleries and events in Ohio between 1992 – 1999.  She also was very involved with the Dayton Visual Arts Center, serving as their president and as a board member and contributing artist.

In 1999, she moved to Palm Beach, Florida.  In 2004, Jennifer and her daughters began participating in the Street Painting Festival in Lake Worth, Florida, which is the largest street painting event in the United States, attracting 100,000 visitors each year.   In 2012, Jennifer founded the International Street Painting Society, as a way to help other street artists connect and be more successful, and help street painting be seen as a legitimate art form.

Jennifer’s work shows a unique talent for capturing faces and expressions.  By working to duplicate the colors and shading of the original art, Jennifer stays true to the original work of art.  Using soft pastel chalk on pavement or concrete surfaces, these large works of art are washed away after each event.  Jennifer’s philosophy is that street painting is as much about the performance and execution, as it is about the art.  The immediacy and challenges of the “canvas”, weather and medium make each piece special and unique.  Usluggo_solo_springlever_hiresUsually over the course of 2 days, each piece comes to life before your eyes.  Constantly looking for new challenges, she is open to new materials and processes, and will chalk on just about anything.

David Zinn temporary street art is composed entirely of chalk, charcoal and found objects, and is always improvised on location. Most of these drawings have appeared on sidewalks in Ann Arbor and elsewhere in Michigan, but some have surfaced as far away as subway platforms in Manhattan and construction debris in the Sonoran Desert. Zinn’s chalk work began in 2001 as an excuse to linger outdoors, but has since achieved global notoriety through the sharing of photos on Facebook, Huffington Post UK, The Cheezburger Network, Street Art Utopia, and Archie McPhee’s Endless Geyser of Awesome. His most frequent characters are Sluggo (seen here) , a bright green monster with stalk eyes and irreverent habits, and Philomena, a phlegmatic flying pig. As of 2013, there have been a lot of mice as well.