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What do you call this game? 'Bebeleche' 3D street painting by Juandres Vera

Méxican street painter Juandres Vera sent Blog Now on streetpainting.tv these fun photos and info about his most recent street painting 'bebeleche'.  This game is played by children all over the work and known by different names.  In Mexico, it is also known as 'avion' or 'avioncito'.  

Juandres told us that he created this street painting as a personal intention to show people the 3D technique.  He made this street painting on Morelos Street, a popular shopping area in downtown Monterrey, Mexico.

Juandres said "I thought that this theme was perfect because everybody has played this game when we were children, maybe with little differences in the rules, but the general idea is about drawing the numbers inside squares using chalk.  Then besides the human body jumping, you need a little stone or piece of wet paper for the game. As we all know it's important that our feet don't step out of the squares, so based on this, I figured out the outside area as an emptiness, a hole (I tried to create the effect of water on the first day of work), and with the optical illusion the result looks like a very extreme 'Bebeleche' where you better watch your step, hehe, instead of losing and ending up wet."

"From the point of view of the use of chalk to play this game, I think it’s one of the first (or the one) streetpainting that everyone of us do in our lifetime, so there is a connection to this game in all the places of the world where it is played, although nowadays these kind of games are losing popularity because of others options like videogames."

 

In the US, it's called 'hopscotch' and in Spain & Argentina it's called 'rayuela'.  It's known as 'laylay' in Persian, 'классики' in Russian, and 'klasy' in Poland.  It's called 'amarelinha' in Brazil, 'kith-kith' in India and 'puz' in Bosnia.

Since so many people around the world have played this game, we'd like to know what you call it in your country. Comment on this post and let us know!

 

An Interview with Houston Via Colori© 2009 Featured Artist Lysa Ashley

   
Quantum Energy Partners Featured Artist: Lysa Ashley

 

Lysa Ashley, Quantum Energy Partners-sponsored artist, will showcase her work at The Center for Hearing Speech’s fourth annual Houston Via Colori street painting festival, which is slated for Nov. 21 and Nov. 22 in downtown Houston.

 

About Lysa

Lysa Ashley is an artist and teacher from Corona, California. She creates her paintings mainly in chalk pastel, but she occasionally uses acrylics, and sometimes does murals. Her favorite subjects include people and animals. Lysa began street painting 13 years ago and is a member of the Street Painting Society. For her, the performance aspect of street painting is intoxicating and she enjoys talking to the spectators.

 

Q and A with Lysa Ashley

 

Q: As one of our artists who has much more experience with street painting than the typical artist, a) do you have any advice for street painters starting out and b) do you have any traditions or routines you use when preparing for a festival or tackling a large-scale street painting?

LA: "The classic, and very important, street painting advice is to get up and move often, change your position often, and take frequent breaks that include drinking water. This will help to reduce sore muscles. I will add that there are some things to keep in mind when choosing an image. First, keep in mind the amount of time you have to complete it. A very detailed image might seem really cool, but until you are accustomed to pacing yourself, you might want to choose something with large blocks of color and a simple design. Also, think ahead about the colors you will need for your design. If you have large areas of a specific color, you might want to consider purchasing some extra chalk, since most festivals only provide one or two boxes, with only one of each color in them. Although you can always swap colors with other artists, there are some colors that are always a commodity, such as black, white, and flesh tones.

As for traditions, my favorite is socializing with the other artists. Meeting new friends and networking is lots of fun. Another is the 'celebratory beverage' when I have finished a piece."

Lysa’s favorite subjects include animals. Street Art Festival 2008

Q: How did you go about planning and deciding what artwork you were going to do for this year's Houston Via Colori? Does anything about Houston Via Colori in particular influence how you chose the artwork?

LA: "When choosing an image for any festival, my first consideration is the visual impact. Some images, because of its subject matter, composition, colors, and/or contrast just scream to be done on a large scale in chalk. I want the spectators to walk up and say, "Wow!" For Via Colori, I like to do a classic piece - a copy of a masterwork. I also like to include the aspect of sound and hearing, if possible, [since the festival benefits an organization that helps deaf children learn to listen and speak.]"

Lysa’s work at Via Colori 2008

Q: Coming from an artist who has experience with other street painting festivals and events, what would you say sets Houston Via Colori apart the most? Could you sum up Houston Via Colori in three words?

LA: "Friendliness, location, and professionalism. The Texans are the friendliest people ever and Via Colori really rolls out the red carpet and does its best to make the artists feel appreciated. The location at the park is a beautiful setting for the festival that spectators love to visit. Everyone that I've ever dealt with at Via Colori has been very professional, as well as friendly. Everything is very organized, as well."

Q: Since you have participated in Houston Via Colori from conception, how would you say it has grown/changed throughout the years?

LA: "There have been new faces, both organizers and the participating artists. I keep making new friends."

Q: Do you have any memory/story from the past three Houston Via Colori festivals that has stuck with you or touched you particularly?

LA: "My most memorable Houston Via Colori was my first [in 2007]. It is a bittersweet memory. Sweet, because it was my first time at the festival, and in Texas, I met lots of new friends and had lots of fun. Unfortunately, we got rained out, so it was a little sad, too. I felt so bad for the organizers and artists who had worked so hard and put so much into it."

Q: Do you have anything else to add?

LA: "I just want to add that there are no words to express my gratitude at being included yet another year in this fabulous festival. I am honored to be featured this year, and hope to do the festival proud. I am looking forward to it eagerly."

About Houston Via Colori

Presented by El Paso Corporation and Quantum Energy Partners, Houston Via Colori 2009 is a free, two-day street painting festival in downtown Houston. It features the art in progress of 200 artists, as well as live music, food and activities for the whole family. Via Colori runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, November 21 and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, November 22.

  

About The Center for Hearing and Speech

A United Way of Greater Houston agency, CHS has served as the only local, full-service resource that teaches children with hearing impairments to listen and speak without the use of sign language for more than 60 years. With the aid of highly trained staff and advanced technology, CHS provides education, audiology, speech pathology and family support services to children with mild to profound hearing loss.

  

For more information on Via Colori, please visit Houston Via Colori.

 

 

CHALK4PEACE: An Interview with John Aaron

 

Valley View E.S., Richmond, CA 9/11/09 photo: Jerry Downs Photography
   

Blog Now on streetpainting.tv is always impressed by ambitious projects for street painting, and we are especially impressed by the mission of CHALK4PEACE.  John Aaron, CEO of CHALK4PEACE, shares his thoughts on the growth of the movement of those dedicated to peace through sidewalk chalk in 2010…

John Aaron: "Thank you for asking me about CHALK4PEACE.  Sidewalk chalk painting has gained quite a resurgence as both an artistic expression and medium for one's message across the globe. From the talent seen at the I Madonnari festivals to the massive-scale collaborative drawings of entire school districts, sidewalk chalk painting has gained a certain stature it has been struggling for decades. It is chalk painting's time."

 

Community Arts Therapy Programme St. George's Cathedral, Cape Town S. Africa 9/18/09 photo: Angela Rackstraw

 
Blog Now: Since 2006, CHALK4PEACE has encouraged events in twenty countries and five continents with scores of volunteers with positive results; what have been some of your favorite projects to date and what particularly made them so?

John Aaron: "There are dozens of stories worthy of note here. Moments in each that are as inspirational to the concepts of art and peace as one could imagine. Ones that are to me most moving are those which the organizers and artists break ground in their energy, innovation and effort to share their stories about their goals for peace. Nearly everyone who participates becomes inspired beyond their own belief.
 
St. George's Cathedral, Cape Town South Africa has done it since 2006. Angela Rackstraw, one of Ode Magazine's 25 most intelligent optimists for 2009 has brought the concept of peace to young artists who literally did not know what the word meant. They have decorated the step's of St. George's Cathedral ever since Archbishop Emeritas Desmond Tutu brought her the project as a way to teach peace.
 
The Crane Country Day School, Santa Barbara, CA, led by Debbie Williams, Director of Admissions, has joined CHALK4PEACE for the past two years, complete with beautiful videos and photo essays from Paul Westmacott, Teresa Pietsch, and Will Fredericks. The entire school literally ran for the chalk!
 
Marielle Mariano has almost singlehandedly launched CHALK4PEACE  into 150 locations around the Washington, DC Beltway, including the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, The Organization of American States,Busboys and Poets and 150 locations in the Fairfax County Public Schools! She is the East Coast Coordinator for CHALK4PEACE. She is  responsible getting more than one hundred thousand people to join with us for CHALK4PEACE since 2006. Maybe that number is low.
 
To visit the schools that CHALK4PEACE, and I've visited almost one hundred over the last four years (my colleague Marielle has attended more events than I, you see how similarly we envision the concept of peace and how differently ways we express it through art. It continues to be mind-blowing..."
 

Crane Country Day School, Santa Barbara, CA 9/17/09 photo: Will Fredericks

Blog Now: Do you feel that the call to service and volunteerism that is becoming apart of life for many has actually helped accelerate the participation of those who may not have turned to expressing themselves as creative individuals for the CHALK4PEACE?

John Aaron: "I think it's a larger notion: I think people want to volunteer their energy into things that can make the world a better place. CHALK4PEACE creates a global lens through which we can all see how the world envisions peace. Once it's recognized as hopeful and not hokey, there's no end to the positive collective artistic spirit that CHALK4PEACE fosters. As a non-profit, we are a legitimate organization working to encourage peace as  a global tapestry that stretches around the world. It's a daunting task."

Grundschule Thadenstr -playground Hamburg, Germany 9 Sept. Organizer, photo: Katja Frank
 
Blog Now: What has been the reaction from public and private organizations towards the events since 2006 and do you see repeat events from some these organizations?

John Aaron: "95% of the sites continue the event on a annual basis.  We do not actually know where ALL of the sites are. We try."

Woodlawn E.S. Alexandria, VA 10/01/09 Photo: Marielle Mariano

iNDIGO PROJECT'S Miracle Mile Art Walk/CHALK4PEACE, L.A., CA 9/19/09 photo: Leyna Roget