Middle School Chalks the Walk in Sandy Springs

The 5^th annual Art Sandy Springs (ARTSS) Chalk Walk recently took place during the Heritage Sandy Springs Festival.
Mount Vernon art teacher Mr. Hank Kunath took his seventh grade art classes to participate in the Middle School sidewalk chalk competition at the festival. For weeks ahead of time, small groups of students imagined, designed and created chalk templates. This year, Mount Vernon won 1^st prize (Reed Garzon, James Shanks), 3^rd prize (Quin Goodson, Jaden Ward, William Bigger), and Honorable Mention (Tucker Daniels, William Lavendar, Kyle Denny, Will Palmer).
Throughout the creative process, Mr. Kunath collaborated with Preschool art teacher Michelle Erling to guide students from inspiration to outcome. Combining basics such as shading, color-mixing, perspective and scale, each group came up with their own intricate and meaningful drawings.
Mr. Kunath reflects on the experience, “The Sandy Springs Chalk Walk began through an ongoing interest of the City of Sandy Springs to provide art activities for its citizens. Helping Sandy Springs promote art for the annual Fall Heritage Festival, I was asked to be co-chair of the first chalk walk. A lot of organization takes place to prepare for the Chalk Walk. Michelle Erling and I worked with the students for about three weeks. Each seventh grade art class formed art teams, elected a captain and developed an idea for their chalk walk subject. The day of the Chalk Walk we all gathered together at the Heritage Festival and began to make magic happen. Every year bothers, sisters, moms, dads and grandparents cheer our MVPS artists to victory. The Chalk Walk is a family event bringing everyone together celebrating our children, Mount Vernon and family. Parents love that we make the Chalk Walk happen and cannot say enough about what it does for their children.”
Sidewalk chalk art is a time honored tradition of performance art, dating back to the 16th Century. The interaction of spectator and artist and the process of creation is more important than the finished piece. The art washes away with the first rain, but lives on through memory.
  
1st Place – Reed Garzon & James Shanks

3rd Place: Michael Lotz, Quin Goodson & Jaden Ward

Honorable Mention: Tucker Daniels, William Lavendar, Kyle Denney & Will Palmer