CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - If you live in North Center, you will hear the distinct summer sound of chalk meeting concrete.
This chalk is being artistically guided across a sidewalk canvas by the hand of Rebecca LaFlure who creates fun and colorful works of art across the North Side for anyone to enjoy.
She started in 2020 at the height of the pandemic.
“I was working remotely and my daughter's daycare was closed, and I was just trying to find a way to get us outside,” LaFlure said. “I started doing fun characters and neighbors wanted to see what I would draw next.”
The growing interest prompted her to start an Instagram page with the handle @chalkofthetown312.
“I started just drawing all over and I would always put my Instagram handle underneath it, and it just kind of caught on. People started following my chalking adventures,” LaFlure said.
Recently, she tried something new-creating an interactive work outside a park.
“I just drew an outline of a bunch of Mo Willem characters and then I put, 'color me,' next to it, immediately a bunch of kids grabbed the chalk and started coloring…When I came back later to pick up the chalk, it was like art just exploded onto the concrete,” LaFlure recalled.
People had colored in the characters but then created their own art that was really cool to see.
LaFlure said, what started as a pandemic past time, has grown into something she never imagined, bringing joy not only to her, but countless others.
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