Prior to the onset of the lockdown, Jan Riggins, a Texas woman, and her talented 13-year-old daughter, Olivia, would eagerly engage in friendly rivalry by participating in a multitude of sidewalk art competitions. And now that all the competitions are called off, the two are using their artistic skills to entertain their neighbors with incredible 3D chalk art. In an interview with Bored Panda, Jan said she was really disappointed when all of the festivals started getting canceled – that’s when she decided to use her sidewalk and driveway as a canvas.
The mother and daughter started by drawing some koi fish back in late March. They noticed that their neighbors liked it a lot and have been regularly creating chalk drawings ever since.
Jan says she became interested in chalk art about five years ago after noticing a posting on Facebook advertising a chalk art festival in Fort Worth. “They had an amateur division with no cost to enter. I signed up and went and met one of the professional chalk artists. He told me to get ready, it is very addictive…and it is!” said the woman. Jan ended up winning the amateur division and was invited to participate in the professional division. “Last year I participated in three festivals, and my goal was to participate in 6 festivals this year, and in March I was accepted to another festival,” said the woman. “But when all of the festivals started getting cancelled or postponed, I was really disappointed. That’s when I decided to just start using my sidewalk and driveway.”
The woman says that the neighbors really love their work and the two have even started receiving requests. “We have requests all the time, sometimes I get messages asking what is out there now so that people can walk down and look, and even our FedEx delivery driver said that he looks forward to driving down our street to take photos of what is new,” said Jan. “Many neighbors have asked to pay us, but we aren’t doing this for money, just to give back. Some have been insistent that they help, and we have received several gifts of pastels to replace our diminishing stock.”
Jan says they plan to continue creating chalk drawings in the future but plan on reserving them for holidays and special occasions. “My family has often commented that we are more connected with our neighborhood and community now, with social distancing, more than we ever were before,” said the woman. “This has also been an experience with my daughter that I will forever be grateful for.”
#1
“I’ve been thinking about how we could chalk this little fella out for the last couple of days. I busted out some good pastels to get the fuzzy details right.”
#2
“I’ve wanted to do this sea turtle for a while, but we honestly thought it would take too long to do after work. But, we started right at 5:30 and finished at 8, right before sunset!”
#3
#4
“We did a little mini Baby Yoda tonight. It sure was hot when we started, but was a perfect evening when we finished.”
#5
“Decided we needed an early Easter present for our neighborhood”
#6
“My 13 year old daughter completed the jellyfish by herself today”
#7
“This time we went to my mother-in-law’s house to chalk out her favorite animal, an elephant!”
#8
#9
“We had another birthday in the neighborhood today, so I headed over after work to leave a little present! It was cold, so I didn’t do anything complicated. I love my neighborhood!!!”
#10
“I did some solo chalking today. I missed my partner in crime…but I did have fun doing this as a photo op for a local church. I love all the winged creatures!”
#11
“Waving goodbye to the sea life theme! We wanted to get in one more little creature…now we need to think of what to do for Earth Day!”
#12
#13
“A little boy down the street was sad about not having a party for his birthday, so Olivia and I headed over early this morning to chalk out Mr Potato Head! It’s going to rain later, so we opted for the porch.”
#14
“I love anything shiny!”
#15
“My driveway was particularly warm and toasty as I was working on this…but as always, it was so relaxing and the perfect way to spend the evening. I really have about run out of room at this point.”
#16
“Thought I would show some of the pretty old pastels I’ve been using. I inherited them from my grandmother. They had been in a box for years. I love using them to share these pieces with my neighborhood!”
#17
“Remember the good ol’ days (last year) when we could do things like a spoon-and-egg race? I guess we can always pretend…”
#18
“Come at me, bro! Sometimes you just need to chalk out a defiant crawfish. I felt better after I finished this…not sure what that says about my mood tonight.”
#19
#20
“Who knows if anyone else in my neighborhood will like this, but I do!”
