Individual Artist Project Grant

Chalk art is a reflection of summer, with its warmer days and sunnier weather. It is meant to brighten the day of whomever happens upon it. I have had a lot of positive feedback from my own neighbors, who look forward to even my smaller practice sketches on sidewalks outside my house. On the most basic level, my work provides entertainment and joy to the community. I am hoping that by spending time searching for inspiration from the current uses of the spaces, any current conservation efforts in these parks, and learning some amount of historical contexts of the spaces; these murals will have some local neighborhood relevance to draw in viewers interest and curiosity. I hope the sight of a professional adult creating art with chalk will inspire others to be creative and rethink where and what counts for fine art. Why not get out some chalk and draw the Sistine chapel on your driveway? Chalk art doesn't have to just be for hopscotch. I hope to inspire creativity in the community and help people think outside the standard canvas for the arts. Too often adults develop a narrow view of what they can use and where they can create art. There's no reason to create masterpieces of this scale at just professional festivals. I want to see them everywhere, and I think they could help expand a lot of peoples' creative world views.With this proposed project series, I hope to inspire those who happen across my art to simply create more and consider their own local park in a broader context. Additionally, I will start summer with a fresh, strong portfolio that I can use for my festival applications later in the year. It's hard to measure the creative energy level of a community. More easily quantifiable is the effect this project has on my portfolio. Since 2018, I have created and completed large scale chalk murals in a controlled time frame at 17 professional chalk festivals and 9 amateur events. I have created murals at 23 other public events/spaces. The last three summers, I created weekly smaller scale practice pieces in my neighborhood. I feel confident in my skills of completing the proposed murals within the time frame. My 2022 work at Glensheen serves as an example of my ability to execute this particular format and pattern of work.Since these will be publicly posted mural events, one evaluation method is observing how many people show up to see the art in person and virtually post their interactions. If the volume of both of these increase from the first week to the last, it could be a qualifier for successfully reaching public audience. If time on site allows, I will try to informally ask attendees how they found out about this, how they feel about this work being created here, whether it will impact their day or artistic journey, and record notes on their responses in a weekly project evaluation. I can also monitor personal social media interactions and followers for the event times. A short online survey could also be offered to viewers. For my portfolio, I will be able to show four newly-completed 10' by 10' pieces of art to help when applying to art festivals later in the year. This goal can be measured by any increase in the amount of festivals I am invited to participate in.