FORT WAYNE – Guests visiting Main Street downtown got a heavy dose of classic, eccentric and even political walkable art.
The Fort Wayne Newspapers’ Three Rivers Festival Chalk Walk was on display Saturday, with dozens of artists drawing everything from flying piggy banks to Lego Indiana Jones.
One artist even tried to make a point by drawing the Olympic rings with a “Go USA” slogan. Underneath was written, “This was not made in China,” in reference to the controversy over where American Olympic uniforms were manufactured.
Most of the art, however, was simply something the artists found interesting.
Margaret Marquardt of Fort Wayne found her inspiration on Facebook – painting a scene from the game Bubble Witch.
The owner of Custom Cartons in Wabash, said she always loved to draw, but never considered entering the event until her son signed her up one year behind her back.
“I was a nervous wreck,” she recalled, but has since participated for nine years.
The event is appealing to her because of the wide range of artists and talent levels, noting there is no pressure because everyone is so accepting of the work. She especially liked how many families signed up to do a project together.
Jennifer Hendricks, 39, of Fort Wayne, was working on a project titled “Don’t pull the plug on friendship.”
It was a design she said was found on the Internet that features a couple of underwater characters and a large plug keeping the water sealed.
This is the fourth year Hendricks and her friends joined the event. The graphic designer said coloring on Main Street is “one of the coolest” things about the festival because there are so many interesting pictures to enjoy.
The friends make a day out of the activity with breakfast together in the morning, drawing during the day and drinks after to celebrate. Hendricks said her group isn’t a bunch of artists, but simply people who enjoy coming out and drawing.
“We kind of fake it,” she said.
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