Saturday, June 23, 2012

Sidewalk Chalking is Now A Crime???

My daughter, Carmen, chalking at the Lake Worth Street Painting Festival in 2004.
According to an HOA in a Colorado neighborhood, drawing with sidewalk chalk is against the rules.  Read story here.  Three year old Sarah Cohen got in trouble for decorating the "common area" sidewalk with chalk.  The HOA claims that because it's a common area, it is off limits.  Well I say, CHALK ON, GIRLFRIEND!

Don't we all have more important things to worry about?  As a past board member of an HOA, I know firsthand how idiotic neighbors can get.  In our neighborhood, we had a neighbor complain about a kid's lemonade stand, for pete's sake!  Read story here.  They claimed that they were running a business, which is against the rules within our gated community.  Thankfully, our HOA quickly wrote an addendum to the rules, specifically saying that it was OK.  Colorado, are you listening? 

As a professional street painter and chalk artist for Amazing Street Painting, this story hits home.  If it wasn't for chalk art/street painting, I wouldn't be able to travel the world chalking amazing art.

Chalking at Downtown Disney, November 2011.

Any attempt to squash a child's artistic creativity should be discouraged.  As director of the International Street Painting Society, my goal is to get chalk into as many kids' hands as possible, all over the world.  CHALK ON!

1 comment:

Madoner said...

Well! Do not be surprised too. In Naples, Italy, home of Madonnari, my friend Gennaro Troìa di Napoli, is constantly being fined for fouling of public land. Some time ago, after performing "The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci", a great work done with plaster, that is, ephemeral material. He had been fined for having dirtied the street. The paradox was that the road in question, was full of garbage on the sides. Thus, the casts are more dirty garbage and neglect of people. This is one of the usual Italian history. The various cities and municipalities, do not want that littered their "clean" streets. Or, you fined for possession of public land. We are the cradle of the Art World, and we're so miserable. So, I wonder, if you do these things happen. It should be the people's heads to be cleaned, not just the streets.