Chalk artist Jan Riggins of Fort Worth, Texas didn’t let the pandemic lockdown stop her from doing what she loves. She and her 13-year-old daughter Olivia decided to spend their quarantine by creating amazing 3D chalk art on their driveway and sidewalk. Their stunning artworks have put smiles on their neighbors’ faces whenever they pass by Riggins’ driveway. Since photos of their street art are online, the realistic drawings are also wowing people on the internet.
Jan started creating chalk art about 5 years ago when she participated in a chalk art festival. She signed up and competed in the amateur division. During the event, she was able to meet professional chalk artists who further encouraged her to pursue the art on a professional level. After she won the amateur division, she felt ready to level up and later participated in the professional division. Since then, she has been a regular participant at all chalk art festivals in the city. This year, she is set to participate in 6 festivals. Unfortunately, all festivals are cancelled due to the pandemic.
Mother and daughter create awesome 3D chalk art on their driveway to delight their neighbors
Although Jan was utterly disappointed, she didn’t let the situation stop her from following her passion. To make the most out of her free time in quarantine, she used her driveway and sidewalk to draw 3D art. Her daughter Olivia, who also likes chalk art works together with her mom to complete the artworks. Their first creation was a drawing of a koi fish on their driveway. Jan revealed that it took them a few hours to complete the artwork on their front yard while she was pretending to be at a chalk art festival.
Riggins’ neighbors liked the koi fish drawing. Although they can’t interact with their neighbors right now, Jan feels like she can still connect with them through their chalk art. So, they decided to create more street artworks to make their neighbors happy while keeping themselves busy as well.
Their next creation was a tarantula which again impressed their neighbors. Since late March, they have created numerous drawings including a whale, sea turtle, frogs, elephant, bunny and other animals. They also used pop culture characters as subjects including baby Yoda, Mr. Potato Head, teenage mutant ninja turtle Raphael, LEGO Spiderman and E.T.
Lifelike street artworks add joy to the neighborhood
“Neighbors really love our work,” Jan said. “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. 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 and her daughter are determined to continue making 3D chalk art on their driveway even after the pandemic ends. But she says that it won’t be as often as before. Nonetheless, their artworks have significantly boosted their neighbors’ happiness which is really crucial during these difficult times.
Source: Instagram