colorful days

Once again, the weekend of the Chalk Festival at the Cleveland Museum of Art came and went before I realized it. Every year I’ve seen the beautiful colored walkway around the back of the museum (2009), but I still haven’t witnessed or partaken in the weekend full of chalking goodness.

chalk festival at the cleveland museum of art: aftermath

Once I disregard my twinges of “i should have been there!”, it’s an absolutely glorious sight. The typically gray stone walkway at the back of the museum is covered, square by square, with the art of strangers.

chalk festival at the cleveland museum of art

Many of the squares were drawn by children, of course, but plenty of adults and talented artists took part as well.

chalk butterflies - chalk festival at the cleveland museum of art

The thought of so many people coming together and each expressing their own creativity makes my heart happy.

chalk red mary janes - chalk festival at the cleveland museum of art

It’s like a giant, temporary quilt, and everyone has lovingly put together a patch.

chalk festival at the cleveland museum of art

Even though I regret having missed my chance to contribute a square, seeing the aftermath without having seen the artists adds to the magic. And my faith in the random strangers of humanity is restored, which is something we all need sometimes. Everyone is capable of making pretty things, given the chance. It’s hard sometimes, after days and days of walking through crowds of people, to remember how beautiful humanity really is… but colors help.

4 Responses

  1. Erin says:

    How awesome! I love the idea of that. Makes me tempted to take a bunch of Jas’s chalk down along the riverfront and start drawing away. =)

  2. Michelle says:

    I heard of the Chalk Festival a few years ago and would really like to go sometime! It’s only around 2 hours away.

    I like how the butterfly picture is 3D, but I realllly like the shoes. It’s all so pretty and colorful!

  1. September 26, 2011

    […] main quad, so every year I’ve ended walking by in time to witness the colorful aftermath. Last year, I swore to myself that no matter what I was doing, I would not miss the 2011 chalk […]

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