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7 Sidewalk Chalk Art Tips for Creatively Inhibited Adults

Humor Experiment #2: Chalk it Up to Creative Experimence*

By Chris Dunmire, CoachingYourCreativity.com

(« Con't)

IF you're a creatively inhibited adult who wants to do sidewalk chalk art, THEN...

1. Get yourself an assortment of chalk colors. Monochromatic concrete color schemes are a thing of the past. You can saunter into any toy aisle and find blister packs and buckets fulls of colorful flat and pointy-tipped sidewalk chalk sticks big enough to fill the entire hand of an average 5-year-old. I bought a 52-stick bucket of 24 different colored washable sidewalk chalk that will last me until I'm 90.
   
   
2. Find the right stretch of sidewalk canvas. When I say "right", I mean if you have a hidden concrete patio on the back of your house, use that. Or, if you live on a corner and have two sidewalks to choose from, pick the one on the "less nosy neighbor" side. Or, you could always drive to a different neighborhood and doodle there. Sidewalks can be found in many towns and cities.
   
   
3. Pick a sunny day. Why? So you can wear a hat and sunglasses, silly! Incognito is the way to go! Maybe some people won't recognize who you are with your disguise on. Better yet, got a Groucho Marx glasses/nose set? There you go. Or you could wait until night-time when NOBODY can see you... but if they can't see you, then you can't see the sidewalk!
   
   
4. Choose a day of the week when nobody's around. Weekends are out if visibility is a factor. Everyone is outside mowing their lawns, washing their cars, and gardening. Plus, cars full of people will be coming and going all day long to shop and run errands. So pick an unpopular weekday morning like Monday or Tuesday to engage in your sidewalk art if you must be invisible.
   
   
5. Surround yourself with kids. This is by far the best way to engage in sidewalk chalk drawing if you are forced to do it when other people are around. If you have kids, get them drawing first and then slyly join in on the fun.
   
   Don't have kids? No problem, borrow someone else's! Like ants to melting ice cream, kids are drawn to chalk and sidewalk doodling because it's so fun. Bonus: If no kids are skipping around to snag, start drawing on the sidewalk by yourself while making it look like tons of fun. Soon you'll have a swarm of kids buzzing around to see what you're doing and they'll naturally want to do it too.
   
   
6. Doodle with absolute pleasure and glee. This is the sidewalk by george, not the Sistine Chapel! Don't be concerned with what your chalk drawings look like. This is where you're supposed to let go and just have creative fun. If you're more serious-minded about it than that, put the chalks away until you can loosen up a bit.
   
   See, if your drawings turn out reeeeaaaaally primitive, sign them with a fictitious child's name like "Jimmy" or "Jenny" with an age of "3" next to it. That way, if anyone comes upon them they'll think a creative child was simply having fun and they'll say "Oh, how cute!" On the other hand, if your drawings turn out better than expected, perhaps you'll be courageous and proudly sign your own name (without your age). Then your eyeing neighbors will be envious of your artistic talent!
   
   
7. Remember, if it's unpleasant, you can always hose it off. I recommend this only as a last resort. Chalk manufacturer's are smart. They make their product washable. That means you can erase your experiments with ease with water if you are too embarrassed to leave them outside until they fade away. And if anyone happens to catch you outside with your hose on the sidewalk, simply turn the nozzle away towards a tree or the grass, start humming, and pretend like you're watering your yard.

Armed with this new empowering knowledge, there's no reason why YOU can't engage in sidewalk chalk art today, tomorrow, or next week as one of the most fun inner-child activities in the world. If you're going to do it, do it well (follow my 10 Steps to JOYful Sidewalk Chalk Art). And when you do, you'll have another creative activity to chalk up to experimence. •

* Experimence: Experimental experience.

© 2007 Chris Dunmire, CoachingYourCreativity.com. All rights reserved. (05/21/07). Please do not duplicate this article elsewhere without my permission.

About the Author
Chris Dunmire finds meaning in life as an artist, writer, humorist, and Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach®, and is the driving force behind the popular Creativity-Portal.com Web site. Chris inspires people of all ages to be more creative through her articles, writing prompts, and project e-playbooks like her popular Dollar Bill Origami Money Plant, a "fun to make and gift away" craft project available for instant download at CreativeSlush.com.