Why Pavement Art Can Be Much More Than Dusty Fun

April Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Graffiti & Street Art”

You can show life with chalk.

The pavement ate our chalk like a cheese grater working through cheddar. Pastel dust stuck to our hands, crept under nails, and snuck up our noses.

It was a kill mission.

My kids and I were trying to slay the boredom and our rising anxiety.

When Covid first landed, Australia snapped shut its windows and doors like a house waiting for a cyclone in the tropics. No one could get in or out, and we tasted our first extended lockdown.

Dusty and sick of crouching, my girls and I finally finished.

Some green ants came to inspect our handiwork, but they seemed indifferent. Then someone, a real-life human, walked up the street towards us, so we ducked back into our front yard. He paused to look; we were now bonafide street artists.

Exercising close to your home was one of a small number of permissible lockdown activities listed in the state government-issued Home Confinement, Movement and Gathering Direction. Hefty fines and jail terms were on the cards for those defying the rules.

I didn’t check to see if pavement art was on the list.

Covid-lockdowns taught me many unexpected lessons, like:

• Chalk dries out the skin of your hands.
• I’m not cut out to be a teacher.
• My hair looks better dyed.
• You can find solace in weeding.
• Physical separation from loved ones makes your world bleak.
• When pressed, you can discover personal freedom in small corners.

The chalky masterpiece lived on for an impressive nine days. Then fat raindrops made colorful puddles, and our pavement returned to its preferred grey.

More than a distraction and boredom buster, our work became an act of self-expression and a relief valve.

It declared, “we are here.”

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