Two Liberty County School System art teachers participated April 27 in the Savannah College of Art and Design Sidewalk Arts Festival, and their creativity was featured on the Huffington Post.
Lyman Hall teacher Brittany Nearhoof’s chalk drawing of the internet phenomenon Grumpy Cat was captured by her twin sister, Brenna Baluh, who teaches at Taylors Creek Elementary.
“I like to make people laugh, and I thought that chalking up Grumpy Cat, the internet celebrity known for her grumpy facial expression, would be a crowd-pleaser,” Nearhoof said.
The festival draws thousands of spectators and participants each year to Savannah’s Forsyth Park.
“The vibrantly colored chalk provided to the artists influences charismatic, energetic and often times humorous sidewalk drawings,” she added.
As an educator, Nearhoof said public-art events are important because they offer the chance to see artists in action.
“Unlike viewing finished pieces in a gallery or museum, people are able to watch the fascinating process of art-making up close,” Nearhoof said. “Witnessing artists manipulate chalk in a variety of ways; they get to see the planning process as a composition is sketched out and gradually rendered into a finished masterpiece.”