With all apologies to Sir Mix-a-lot, “We like BIG CHECKS, and we cannot lie!“
This photo was taken at the 2024 Chalk It Up! Chalk Art & Music Festival. At the annual Labor Day Weekend festival, it has become a tradition to invite all of our local teachers who received grants from Chalk It Up to gather at the stage to receive their BIG CHECKS. We invite them to take the mic for a few minutes to share how they are bringing arts education to their classes and using the power of art to educate the next generation. We love celebrating our region’s educators, and this is a fun way to show them some love.
Over the last 10+ years, Chalk It Up has given over $75,000 in grants to local schools, young artists, and non-profit organizations to empower and support the next generation of artists and the programs that inspire them. We have funded field trips, seeded scholarship funds, provided easels and paint brushes for kindergarten classrooms, paid for local artists to lead schools in mural or print-making projects, funded afterschool mentorship programs, and so much more, all because of the support of our volunteers, sponsors, and especially our donors. We couldn’t do it without your help!
Sketchbook Diary Project Report
By Danilo Campos, John F. Kennedy High School, 2021-2022 school year
The Chalk-It-Up Grant was able to fund 30 students at John F. Kennedy High School (JFK) to take part in the Sketchbook Diary Project. These included 8 seniors, 9 juniors, 12 sophomores, and 1 freshmen, with a breakdown of 22 females, 7 males, and 1 non-binary. Recruitment for the Project was advertised through the school bulletin for a two-week period, on a first-come-first-served basis. But after the first day of announcement all the slots were filled, and many students were turned away. The project participants came from a variety of backgrounds with many enrolled in art, language arts, and special education classes. Each participant was given a Moleskine sketchbook and Winsor & Newton Watercolor set to record their daily musings or sketches in hopes that it provides them with a creative and mental outlet.
A major rationale for the Project was to help students cope with mental health issues. Nationwide, even before the pandemic, there was a growing concern over adolescent mental
health problems, with the increase of numbers of depression and suicides among teens. The pandemic has exacerbated the situation further as it has forced teens into isolation with no outlet for social interaction save through the internet. In addition teens faced stressors that affected their families. As such when school re-opened it was hoped that a diary could serve as suitable format for students to express their feelings, emotions, while serving as a vehicle for creative outlet. After all, diary-writing and sketching is often used by counselors, art therapists and other mental health professionals in their workings with clients.
Here are some of the quotes from the students who particpated in the project:
“I use the sketchbook diary by writing what my past and future dreams were. I also used it by writing my inner feelings in the sketchbook. I plan to use it by writing more of my happy memories in this sketchbook diary. I find it relaxing because having this diary relieves my stress and anxiety.” (Lee Maeh)
“I used my sketchbook diary and it helped me become more creative.” (Yasmin)
“[I was] planning out character designs, anatomy sketches, doodles, tattoo designs, nature sketches, portraits, graphic design projects. Since I want to be a graphic designer having a diary was important for creating new concepts and planning out different character designs. I also found having a travel-diary easily accessible (not to mention free) and very advantageous for drawing/creating at school, work, basically anywhere I have time—without much difficulty.” (Lou)
“I use my sketchbook in my spare time. I use it to draw random things like the scenery I see, or the food/snacks I eat or just things that comes to my head.” (Annie)
“I used my diary to write poetry and draw small images behind each poem. It got me out of some writer’s block. The diary encouraged me to get my thoughts down on paper and make poems out of those thoughts. It basically gave me a canvas to finally work on.” (Joshua)
“I use my sketchbook diary to paint, draw, and to write down anything that comes to mind. One thing I find helpful about having this diary is that it is one way I express
myself. By painting, drawing and writing my feeling.” (Marina)“What I found most useful is that I was able to express myself in those pages and be creative. The process was fun and the results were rewarding to look at. The diary also
helped me to improve my mood because I would occasionally look at the pages I’ve painted and sketched in and it helped boost my mood. If I didn’t draw or paint on my
sketchbook or had this sketchbook I would be reminded of my mood for weeks, months or over the year.” (Ximena)“Usually I use my sketchbook to sketch and rant out my thoughts. One thing I find this diary helpful is that I can sketch out my ideas.” (Mandy)
“I use my sketchbook as a way to convey my emotions into art. On days I don’t feel great I usually will pull out my sketchbook and start drawing how I feel, a lot of it is sort of subliminal? Not sure if that’s the word for it. It’s nice to be able to draw what I’m feeling and listen to music as I tune out the world along with having the paints to color them in if I choose to or not.” (Nico)
