The Performance Art in Chalk Art

Ruby Chacon's 2005 chalk art drawing of her aunt

Ruby Chacon is primarily a painter, working in oil and sometimes acrylic.  So when the Utah Foster Care Foundation called her to ask if she would participate in their Chalk Art Festival in the spring of 2004, she was taken by surprise.  Still, it seemed like a good idea.

"When they called, I thought, why not?" she said.  She thought it would be a volunteer assignment to help with the festival, and she was happy to help out because she believed in their mission. 

Chacon had never done chalk art before, and was glad the Utah Foster Care Foundation brought in a guest artist to demonstrate techniques for festival participants, including Chacon herself. That first year she did a portrait of Caesar Chavez. "I didn't realize it was a contest until the end, when the judges came around." Being unaware helped, she said, because she doesn't enjoy competitions. Nonetheless, she was pleasantly surprised when her piece won and she received a small cash prize.

Plus, it was good exposure. After the Chalk Art Festival, she landed a commission from the Utah Legal Clinic and its next-door neighbor, Urban Bistro, a chalk art piece celebrating Mexican Independence Day for their front walk. They commissioned her again the next year to do a piece for Columbus Day.

Best of all, she really enjoyed the process.  When the Utah Foster Care Foundation invited her back the next year, she gladly agreed.  And she plans to participate again this year.

The pieces she did for the Utah Foster Care Foundation were relatively simple portraits – something she could complete in the two days allotted.  The commissions allowed her to do pieces that were more complex.

Chalk Art: a Performance

Ruby Chacon working on her chalk art for the 2005 Chalk Art Festival

Working in the Chalk Art Festival was not at all what Chacon expected.  It was nothing like a gallery opening with finished pieces and generous feedback.

"People walking past could see the whole process," Chacon said. "Comments and discussions are so sincere because the context is different. Especially the children, who were always eager to say exactly what’s on their minds. The public is able to watch your artistic journey.  At first they can't tell what you're doing from just a few lines. They go on the journey with the artist and watch things go from abstract to a finished project."

The Chalk Art Festival was staged at the open-air Gateway shopping center, with a varied audience and many people who have little exposure to art and the artistic process.  Chacon appreciated that.

"I come from a blue-collar background," she said, "and my family never went to galleries.  Even now they only come to see my own shows. The people at the Gateway were typical people that may never have been to galleries before. They are the people I want to reach: that population that has never been exposed to the arts. This chalk art really fits with my mission."

For more information on this year's Chalk Art Festival for Utah Foster Care Foundation, visit their website at www.utahfostercare.org.