By Greg McKinley
CHALK DAY
By Greg McKinley
The Art Club sponsored Mary Poppins’ next animated dance scene for Earth Week.
When most people think of Earth Day they probably don’t think about drawing on the ground. But Chalk Walk has been an annual event at Riverside Community College for over 13 years.
Chalk Walk, sponsored by the Art Club, was open to any RCC student. The chalk and draw space were provided free.
The main goal of the event was to create nature theme pictures in honor of RCC’s Earth Wee, which stretched from April 17 to 21. While the general nature theme was prevalent in most pictures, many students took artistic liberty and sometimes strayed from that central concept. The event attracted students to both participate and observe the creation of these drawings.
The Chalk Walk event offered cash prizes for the three best drawings. This year the winners were Nataly McBride who won first place and $75 for a drawing of a woman wearing a shirt that sted “recycle or die” and blowing bubbles shaped like plants.
Mike Schriner won $50 and second place with a mural depicting tow snakes with human like faces slithering around poles.
Daniel Orozco, who placed third and won $25 drew a drawing of Pac-man about to devourer the earth with a caption that read, “Is this the end?”
Some students were taken by how well the pictures turned out.
“I think it is one of the most creative things I have ever seen,” Ciandra Jones said. “It really helps people bring out their creative side.”
Jackie Tallackson, who drew a picture of the earth with a tree growing out of an atomic mushroom cloud, thought it was a good event with one downside.
“It’s pretty cool, too bad not too many people are doing it,” she said.
Overall, the Chalk Walk event seemed to be well received, though its impact on students is questionable.
“I walked by it; I didn’t stop,” Matt Drake said.
And the event’s overall contribution to Earth Day was also negligible.
“Despite the fact they did this people are still going to throw their trash in the street. Once the drawings fade so will the idea,” Jones said.
