For this third post, we are going to shake things up a bit with a video interview of Danielle Camino, Oberlin High School Art Teacher. This interview is from the 2015 Chalk Walk.

Each year, the Oberlin High School Art Department students come out to Chalk Walk to create an original chalk art piece, dedicated to an artist and his or her artworks. Last year's chalk art honored Keith Haring, an American artist who gained popularity in the 1980s. He is best known for his public works, which often carried social messages, including AIDS awareness. 

Check out the interview, recorded by Rick Payerchin of The Morning Journal.

Our second interview is with Dale Preston, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations at Oberlin College, avid photographer, and enthusiastic participant of the Oberlin Chalk Walk. 


​Tell us a little about yourself and your photography.

I graduated Oberlin College and worked in environmental education for a dozen years at several schools and museums. Then, in 1995, I returned to work for Oberlin College and, later, Allen Memorial Hospital. Somehow that’s turned in to twenty years of living and working in Oberlin – and I still just love this town!

I first took up a camera as a teenager, am self-taught, and have been doing freelance photography work for the last 14 years. Oberlin is a great place to be with a camera as there is always something interesting going on – like Chalk Walk, the Summer Theater Festival, or Oberlin Heritage Center tours, to name just a few – along with great architecture, beautiful natural areas and more.
 

Why do you come to Chalk Walk every year?

It is really fun! It is free! It “brings out the kid” in all of us! But it is much more than that. Creating art and leaving your mark seems to be a basic human drive, regardless of your age or skill level. From cave paintings to a child’s scrawl to a master’s portrait, there’s something deeply enjoyable and meaningful in expressing yourself through artwork. Done in the fashion of Chalk Walk, it is also a wonderful social event. Even if you come on your own, you will be surrounded by others and inspired by the general creativity that fills the air that day. It is amazing to see what simple things – chalk and sidewalk blocks – can turn in to! The very impermanence of chalk art adds another level of appeal. What is here today won’t be here tomorrow. So pay attention, enjoy the present, get your hands covered in colorful chalk, and don’t worry about mistakes (they’ll wash away in the next rain.)  
 
Has your experience with Chalk Walk evolved over the years? If so, how?

Yes, it has gotten better. In terms of creating chalk art, I’ve learned a few simple techniques from the free workshops at the public library beforehand:  blending techniques, basic layout and design, etc. I’ve also learned to slow down and enjoy the entire day, including the music that typically happens in front of FAVA in the afternoon, have a picnic with friends, then return late afternoon to admire all of the chalk art around town!
 

What process do you go through to photograph the chalk art and artists?

I like to photograph details of the process as well as portraits of the artists as they are creating their pieces. For details, look for hands on chalk and chalk on hands, as well as the myriad of colorful pieces of chalk in their tool box and more. For images of people, I always ask for a person’s permission before I take their picture, as that is a basic courteous and ethical thing to do. Rarely does anyone turn me down. Set your camera on “vivid” color, compose your shot with as few distracting details as possible, and see what you get! Also, at the end of the day when the sunlight is more even (less shadows, less contrast) I return to photograph the finished artwork. I’ve even gone so far as to bring a two-step step-stool to get a little added height, so that I can look more directly down onto the artwork.  
 

Do you have a favorite photo from Chalk Walk 2015 or any other year?

Yes, many! One favorite is of a young child who, with her grandmother, drew a landscape scene from a children’s story book. The child then lay down on her back, in her chalk drawing, surrounded by the flowers and rabbits and river they had just created, looking up at the sky with a huge smile of happiness and satisfaction.  

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You can check out some of Dale's photographs in our Chalk Walk Gallery.

Do you have some fond memories and photographs of Chalk Walk? Feel free to share on the Oberlin Chalk Walk Facebook page! 

As we gear up for this year's Chalk Walk, we thought it would be nice to hear from a few of our most devoted participants, visitors, and supporters about their thoughts of the event and why they choose to be involved each year.

Our first interview is with Donna Shurr, a teacher at Oberlin High School and coordinator-extraordinaire of the Free Kids Chalk Art Workshop @ the Oberlin Public Library. 


Tell us a little about yourself and your artistic interests.  

Before coming to Oberlin, I taught elementary art at a large private school in West Palm Beach Florida and developed a summer program for children at parents request. In 1998, I accepted the position of Family and Consumer Science teacher at Oberlin High School and for many years taught ceramics as well. When I first came to Oberlin, I worked extensively at the Oberlin College Pottery Co-op. My artistic interests include ceramics, photography and sculpture. My favorite part of making art - is making art with children, that is when my inner child is able to come out and play to the fullest.


​Why do you participate in Chalk Walk every year? 

When I was in Florida, the city of Lake Worth held a Chalk Walk each year and I would always participate with my students. When Oberlin began Chalk Walk, I found my niche by working with the children at the Oberlin Public Library. It is an event where my husband, Tom, and I work together. He creates a piece of art while I work with the children and families that come to the event. I especially enjoy the workshop that we offer the children two weeks before Chalk Walk on the patio of the library. Working with the little ones and their families is so much fun!


What is your favorite memory of the event?  

EVERY year, Amanda, an Oberlin City Schools student, comes to the Chalk Walk prepared to draw something she has been working on throughout the year. Each year, it is really fun to see what she chooses to create and how her amazing skills as an artist have developed. There are a number of little artists who do the same and it is exciting to see how the interest in Chalk Walk has become contagious. Lots of our Oberlin friends, many whom we do not see during the year, stop by to see us work. It's lots of fun catching up with them. Always good to get some hugs.


Every summer leading up to the Chalk Walk, you typically lead a free public workshop for kids at the Oberlin Public Library. Tell us a little bit about this and how it came into existence.  

Not sure if we started it the first year or not. But, I do know the first year, James Peake (FAVA), Jason Trimmer (Allen Memorial Art Museum) and I did a lot of children's workshops around town. We worked with the summer recreation program and Oberlin Early Childhood Center. We had chalk drawings everywhere! Jason and James pretty much still do many other workshops. I love reading and love the summer reading program for children. Darren McDonough (Oberlin Public Library) and I talked about doing a workshop on the patio in conjunction with the summer theme. This seems to interest many of the children and they develop wonderful small chalk art drawings. This gets them excited about Chalk Walk while getting them interested in the summer reading program.


​What do you find most inspiring about Chalk Walk?  

The community coming together to have FUN and CREATIVITY. People from all over come to Oberlin for a great day of creativity. The amazing talent displayed at this event!  


This year's Free Kids Workshop @ the Oberlin Public Library will be held Saturday June 6, 11 am - 1 pm. Kids and their caregivers are welcome to work with Donna to create chalk art in the spirit of summer reading! Hope to see you there!

What is your favorite memory of Chalk Walk? Leave your comments below!