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4th of July

Happy 239th Birthday, USA!!

By Holidaze

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This year we celebrated the 4th of July the way we have for the past two years — by starting our day early at the Idaho Statesman’s Chalk Art Festival in Ann Morrison Park.

This was my third year as a Featured Artist and my goal was to be finished no later than 11:00 AM. (And not ever let them see me sweat!)

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After working on 8′ x 10′ tarpestries for a while now, the 6′ square piece of sidewalk didn’t seem all that big, so I spilled over into the next square with a fifth firework.

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Because it’s much more fun working in the hot sun with a friend by your side, I was happy to have Lauren Kistner be my sidewalk buddy again this time.

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She worked on another charming chicken — a charming, naughty chicken who’d gotten into the vegetable garden.

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Mike was a huge help as always. He dealt with the crazy parking, decorated the additional 5th firework with a nod to Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” fetched water, blended outlines and took a ton of photos.

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When I was almost finished, Mike picked Logan up so he could see this year’s chalk art. And get hugs from my sidewalk buddy.

(I think his t-shirt selection was spot on!)

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Not sure I’ll do this again next year — 3 times seems like a perfect number — but I have had a great time, every time!

I hope you have a great time this 4th of July as well.

Stay cool, have fun, and remember — chalk art fireworks won’t accidentally catch your Grand Pappy’s barn on fire and burn down half the county!

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BOOM!

By Exhibitions

Happy 4th of July!

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Mike and I were up and at’em at 6:30 this morning and gittin’ ‘er done — applying chalk to sidewalk, that is — by 7:45.

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Mike starred and striped my 1864-2014 dates commemorating the Idaho Statesman’s 150th birthday while I filled in the rocket ship and fireworks, and before you could sing all the verses to Yankee Doodle Dandy, correctly, four or five times through, 3 1/2 hours had blasted by and I was finished!

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Our pal, Lauren Kistner, was working right beside me on what will be a beautiful yellow chicken in a field of turquoise posies, but unfortunately we left before she was finished. You should check out her website/blog anyway and I bet she’ll have an update on her chalk art in a day or two.

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In the past couple of years I’ve had the opportunity to create several pieces of Public Art, both semi-permanent like my traffic boxes and bus shelters, and ephemeral like the Treefort Tarps and the 4th of July Chalk Art. I love everything about the process of creating the work — once I’ve jumped through the flaming hoops of the application torture-circus and been accepted, of course — but in particular I love the translation of the tiny to the GIANT.

This painting is 6 inches square:

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And this ephemeral chalk art drawing is 6 feet square, plus — I couldn’t resist coloring outside the lines:

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Sometimes the translation is done for me, like the vinyl skins made by Trademark Sign Co. for my Boise traffic box, and sometimes it’s done by me, like my tarps or my chalk art.

Either way, it’s a thrill. Kind of like fireworks.

BOOM!