This November four Georgians made their way to Houston, TX to take part in the Center for Hearing and Speech’s annual Via Colori Chalk Festival. The Center of Hearing and Speech hosts this festival to help raise funds to help improve the lives of children with hearing loss. This year they raised over $400,000 through their street painting festival.
Artists from all over posing with the flower wall.
Jessi, and Zach flew to the festival while Cathryn and Andrew drove. Friday night was a sponsor party. They really know how to treat their artists in Houston. We all got food, drinks and a free manicures. It was such a pleasant time meeting the other artists and our sponsors. Artists came from Mexico, France, California, Florida and of course Georgia! Many of them were with us at the Venice Chalk Art Festival the weekend prior.
The event started at 9am on Saturday next to Houston’s City Hall.Everyone received a bag of goodies which included a shirt, some Koss chalk, and a box of Kind bars. There were a lot of Kind bars given away at every opportunity. We now have enough Kind bars to take us through 2017! The weather was cold at the start but warmed up as the day wore on. While Jessi and Zach were in shade most of the day, Cathryn and Andrew received more sunlight since they weren’t in the shadow of Houston’s downtown buildings.
Jessi Queen was bundled up as she started drawing in the cold morning.
There were a lot of artists drawing across several streets. The event was fenced off and there was music and food trucks as well as a lot of vendors offering samples and stories.
Our GA artists did an amazing job. Cathryn was able to finish her study of a brown bird early on Sunday and at the request of the event organizers also completed a scarab beetle. Both drawings looked awesome.
Jessi’s sponsor was Kendra Scott Jewelry; they asked that she include some jewelry in her drawing. Jessi was also set to draw a North American themed drawing and chose a Native American inspired model whose headdress and earring were fit for royalty. The eye makeup really pops and helps to add a lot of depth to the piece. The Kendra Scott girls came by to see the completed drawing and they were thrilled! Jessi was honored to receive a piece of Kendra Scott jewelry for the work she had done.
Zach’s sponsor was Barefoot Wine and Bubbly. His region was Europe so he chose to reproduce a work from a European artist whose subject was wearing a star print dress reminiscent of the current European Union flag.
Michael, Jessi and Zach helped Jennifer color her background before sunset.
We all finished very close to sunset and all scrambled to get photos before the light faded. Photos are very important because with chalk art they are what lasts. Once Jessi and Zach completed their work they helped Jennifer color in her background. Sunday evening there was a dinner for the featured artists. Some of the sponsors of the event spoke and it was really touching to know that we were there to help bring life to an event that in turn provides a better life for children with hearing impairments.
We had an awesome time in Houston and can’t wait until next year. The festival went by very quickly. The artists from Venice Chalk Festival were there and went to their home countries and states once it was over. It is such a rewarding experience to chalk next to artists from all over the world for one great cause. See our finished pieces and more progress shots below.
[unitegallery Houston_Via_Colori_2016]
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