CHALK THE BLOCK: AN ARTIST’S DOME
Amber Ramey
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Downtown in El Paso, on a Saturday in October, upbeat tunes fill the air, the smell of authentic Mexican food floods the streets, and thousands of chalk drawings paint the sidewalk with different colors. Artists covered in chalk and pastels, barefoot as not to mess up the art with their shoes and with worn-out fingers from grinding them against the cement of the sidewalk. Chalk the Block was an excellent place for artistic expression due to the welcoming people, encouraged creativity, and different categories (Traditional, emerging, and student artists).
One artist, my sister, Andrea, just finished working on the sidewalk for over six hours, with the help of her friend and myself, to complete an art piece of a “smiley cat.”
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Stage 1: My sister's group started with sketching the cat, and continued to fill everything in with solid colors.
​Stage 3: My sister's group touches up the piece and it is ready to showcase!
Stage 2: My sister's group began to add value and dimension to the art piece on the chalk.
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The different categories in Chalk the Block: Traditional, emerging, and student, contributed towards Chalk the Block being an excellent place for artistic expression because the categories allowed for a good level of balance amongst artists.
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Student Artist
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Project Name
Emerging Artist
Traditional Artist
Overall, Chalk the Block is a spark of creativity within our own city of El Paso. The streets filled with drawings of all types, and jolly tunes in the air created a happy atmosphere. Everyone appeared to enjoy themselves and be in high morals. The encouraging creativity, categories, and welcoming visitors in Chalk the Block allowed for the artist to express themselves freely. Each artist appeared similar at first glance, but their artwork served different purposes and held unique meanings, special to the creator of the art. Like Andrea says, “Don’t be afraid to get showered in chalk, and come kick it in Chalk the Block.”