Denver Chalk Festival 2017

I made a goal at the beginning of the year that I would travel for a chalk festival. I also wanted to do at least 2 and next year 3. I started my search with places I can visit friends and family. I looked into Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. I found the Denver Chalk Festival and applied in February 2017. I had to submit a sketch of my piece and previous works. This was all done through a website called Cafe which lists art shows, festivals, and competitions for creative minds to get involved in. I waited a couple weeks wondering if they thought my concept and previous work was good enough. I got my acceptance email in March and literally screamed out loud at work and went jumping up and down my section like a crazy person. I was one step closer to my goal!

Last year, I had gotten acceptance for the International Chalk Festival in Florida. I missed out due to financial concerns. I attended the Artist as Entrepreneur Boot Camp (see previous post) and learned about crowd funding and put it to practice. I started a Go Fund Me "Send Jess to Denver" with a goal of $800 to cover the flight, supplies, and unforeseen expenses that come with travel. I met my goal between private donations and the Go Fund Me account. I was blown away by the generosity and support from coworkers, old friends, and family. I bought my Southwest ticket,  SoHo Urban Artist Street Sticks, got my template printed, and purchased some better athletic pants to protect my sensitive skin from abrasion and sunburn. I happened to have left over supplies from Lockport Sweet Chalk 2016 and packed those for the trip as well. Some supplies I was able to borrow or buy once I was in Denver.

My good friend Julie and her boyfriend, Jason, live out in Denver, CO. I stayed with them and Julie became my artist manager for the weekend. The job includes driving me around everywhere, being a tour guide, yelling at me to wear sunblock and drink water every other hour, feed me, and deal with my level of artistic crazy once I got to chalking. So I'm essentially a giant creative toddler. Julie and I worked together in 2012-2013 at Raptim Travel in Lewiston, NY. I got to keep her as my friend when I quit. She loves elephants, owls, dogs, any animal really. She is a gentle and loving soul with an adventurous streak. She is also a fantastic problem solver in a pinch. She makes me laugh and we cheer each other on. I am lucky to have her.

I got in on Thursday, June 1st, wanting to be early to get acclimated to the altitude. I was greeted by two cattle dog mixes named Pepper and Chase who I remember as pups. So big now and oh so lovable. We set out on a mini adventure on Friday June 2nd to get me my red rock fix. I LOVE red rocks-some kind of earthy connection that I love. We went for a hike in the late a.m. at Roxborough State Park. We took the easy trail and headed straight for the rocks.

There were warning signs about the area being rattlesnake country. They are not kidding! We went to an overlook area which is on the path still and there were two benches available. I walked over the right and decided I liked the view better on the left side. As I moved Jason went to the bench on the right and got the surprise of his life. There was a coiled rattle snake right behind it! I stood less than a foot away from this thing and never saw him. He was big. Did you know their tongues are black?!?! Jason is terrified of snakes so he had to calm down most of our walk. We left the rattler be and warned other hikers to not sit there. He didn't rattle a warning to us so now I know that they don't always warn you that you are too close. That would have ruined my weekend huh?

I got to try Noodles & Company and a pair of boots that gave me a Cinderella moment-fit perfect. 

So I bought them! 

I drank my weight in water and then some and we headed off to Larimer Square in down town Denver. I checked in and found my space. Thankfully, it was in partial shade half the day. My sunburn management would get slightly easier then! 

 

I got my square measured, taped, and painted with black tempera paint. I introduced myself to my neighboring artists Kyle Banister (who turned into my mentor for the weekend) the group called Chalk Ratz and and the event organizer, Mike Reiger. The event had a nice secluded artist lounge area with functioning bathrooms, a place to eat that isn't our laps, and air conditioning to cool off. Breakfast and lunch were provided both days and water handed out regularly. They did a good job taking care of us. 

Lines were down and then it was time to color! 

My pretzel pose. 

I was representing my LuLaRoe of course-best athletic pants EVER. They are called Jordans.

This is the difference with adding contrast lines in the Franklin Lloyd Wright part of the piece. I used brown, purple, and rust red to define the lines on the pane on the left. The detail of this design took the most time and make a big impact. I love the look of stained glass. 

 

End of day 1. For day two I made sure my stained glass was as sharp as I could make it with chalk and threw the color down for the natural background. I darkened the Bison and brought more detail to his eyes. To wrap up the day Julie and Jason took me out to their favorite Mexican place for dinner and it was OH MY GAWD delicious and I ate so much food! 

The final result. 

I spent most of the second day bringing more detail to the background and the Buffalo. The amount of chalk dust slowed me down a good amount. I will look into painting either with crushed chalk or tempera paint as a base in the future to save me from using so much of the expensive stuff or inhaling a chalk cloud. 

    

 

   

My festival mentor, Kyle. He did Hallelujah. 

The Chalk Ratz did a HUGE (double space) piece honoring a local Denver Artist. This group is known for their collection of black chalk bowls filled with an assortment of colors surrounding their piece during the work days. I loved this piece and found something new each time I looked at it. This group was so welcoming and funny. 

I would gladly participate again in this festival. Denver and I are now best buddies. The city gets my cowboy boot loving, nature seeking, food destroying nature. 

I'm not prepping for my local festival, Sweet Chalk Fest in Lockport, NY! 

Thank you for supporting my adventures and shout outs to my donors!!! You guys blew me away with your generosity and love.