FESTIVAL OF COLORS – “Left is Right” by Sonia Morelos at the street painting festival.
Photo by Karen Tome
Rain is the friend of the farmer but the mortal enemy of the sidewalk chalk artist.
A spring rainstorm washed some great work down the drain, but when the storm passed and the sun shone, the walkways at the heart of the college blossomed with color like the flower fields of Carlsbad.
Women’s History Month was celebrated at the 8th annual Southwestern College Street Painting Festival with an array of stunning portraits made of chalk and elbow grease. Chalk artists in knee pads and old Levis crawled around their creations and spoke up for women one square of concrete at a time.
Organizer Brenda Mora said she wanted to bring motivation and a great venue to the community.
“It is one of the largest events on campus and one that staff and faculty look forward to,” said Mora. “It is the first time children are involved and that’s what I was aiming for.”
SWC’s Art Collective won Best of Show with its collaborative piece, inspired by artist Glenn Ibbitson, of a woman hunched over, bruised and beaten. It represented the very harsh reality of human trafficking. Around the border of the image club members wrote, “Every year 2,450,000 people become victims of human trafficking, of whom 92% end up being used for sex. 98% of victims are women and children.”
Lidia Vasquez, 12, a gifted student at High Tech Middle School, took the Best Portrayal of Women’s History Award with her stunning rendition of Frida Kahlo.
Hugo Moreno’s black and white portrait of Audrey Hepburn won the award for Best Technique.
“I Am Malala,” by Cecilia Linayao and Giovanni Cerda, honored the brave young Muslim schoolgirl shot by the Taliban for seeking an education. They won the Most Original Award.
SWC’s Book Club created a popular tribute to author J.K. Rowling and her magical world of Harry Potter, mankind’s all-time best-selling book series.
Harry, Ron and Hermione would have been hard pressed to equal the magic of a group of talented artists who with the wave of their chalk wands turned a white sidewalk into an outdoor art gallery. Art admirers had a world of wonder at their feet.
