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Art keeps kids, adults on the streets
Kurtis J. Wood/Post-Register
Art for four ... The masterpiece Where the Wild Things Are drawn on the downtown streets of Quincy by Joey Hodges, Holly Papa, Emily Duda and Becky Young.
Most people have dabbled in chalk art at least once in their lives. For many of us, drawing hopscotch or outlining our childhood friends made for many happy hours of playtime growing up. As grownups, we hand the bucket of chalk to our youngsters and watch them idly pass the hours in this innocent pastime. This familiar art form became a part of the annual Dru Gimlin 3-on-3 Tournament this past Saturday, as organizers incorporated a chalk art contest into the day’s events.
“Lisa Karstetter thought of the idea,” said co-organizer Samantha King. Along with two other recent Quincy graduates, Justine Poechmann and Colby Melburn, King recognized the need to fill in time between basketball games. “The chalk art gives people something to do between games and it gives people who are not playing, especially artists, something to do at the tournament,” King said.
“It’s something new this year and it helps with the big gaps,” agreed Karstetter. From the number of chalk drawings filling the street between The Grape and Rob’s Video, the idea was a great success. Artists of all ages competed in four categories: elementary, junior high/high school, adult and family. Basketballs, flowers, unicorns, the Washington State Wine Commission’s logo, and sea creatures were just a few of the images to brighten an already beautiful day.
Fourth-grader Marlo Omlin worked with Rachel Faw for more than three hours on their picture titled “Boom!” The large basketball image was created by smudging chalk with a sponge, which proved to be a popular method for many of the artists.
Good friends Rachel Heikkila and Katherine Pontarolo-Maag paid tribute to their graduation class with a colorful 2008 chalk image.
Emily Duda researched chalk application methods online before competing with her three friends: Becky Young, Holly Papa and Joey Hodges. The four won in the adult category ($150) with their illustration from the popular children’s book Where the Wild Things Are. The group practiced the day before and used pastels and chalk to create their vibrant masterpiece.
Winners also included: Maurico Paniagua in the junior high/high school division ($100), siblings Taggart and Bridgette Hodges in the elementary division ($50), and Gaston, Ana and Pauline Cornu-Labat with Jaclyn Schwint in the family division ($50).
Proceeds from the Dru Gimlin Tournament fund scholarships, winter basketball camp, Grid Kids football, and helps buy ASB cards and sports equipment for athletes.
