It was a hot spring day while seven Bishop Amat students knelt in the quad with the sizzling sun beating down on their backs. They worked tirelessly to finish their chalk art in the six-hour deadline they were given.

With sweat dripping down their foreheads, the artist’s put their visions on concrete and made sure that they drew to commemorate Earth Day. There were paintings anywhere from flowers, people, to the actual earth.

Mrs. Fortner kept watch over her seven students making sure to supply them with food, water, but most importantly the encouragement that all their hard work would pay off in the end for the student body to see.

Because this was also a competition, the artist worked hard to compete and be able to win the title of First Annual Chalk Walk winner. In the end, Gillian Jones came out the victorious winner.

Bishop Amat held their inaugural chalk walk out in the quad where all students were invited to be able to showcase their artistic ability while also celebrating the event of Earth Day.

Mrs. Fortner used this event to be able to showcase the art department as well as all the hidden skills the art students do not get to showcase on a daily basis.

The seven students that participated were Gillian Jones, Camila Leon, Derek Leyva, Christopher Aceves, Shazel Mansour, Tacianna Bennett, and Melinda Alfaro. Each of these students created sketches of their art as well as put a lot of thought and meaning into it.

Each one had a special meaning behind what they wanted to portray about their art. Aceves told us what inspired his piece but also the meaning behind it.

“The meaning behind my piece is kind of like exploding with energy but also maintaining the pieces back together of how we can fix the world,” Aceves said. “But also maintain a sense of self-identification.”

After only a couple hours, the seven students had made a lot of progress and Mrs. Fortner thought for it to have been such a hot day, the students were doing an incredible job for having been on their hands and knees.

“They were doing really great,” she said. “I mean they have not taken many breaks.”

The artists were still hard at work despite the fact of the heat. The heat did not stop the artists from doing what they enjoyed the most.

Not only that, but two students were able to transform their friendship into art. Camila Leon and Derek Leyva said that what inspired them the most was not only their own AP Art class but the friendship that had grown from having that class together.

“We always talk we hang out and we have such a great friendship,” Leon said. “So we thought it would be perfect if we work together.”

The first Chalk Walk was such a success to Mrs. Fortner that she was excited to be able to bring it back next year.

“We called it the First Annual Chalk Walk to advertise for this year,” Mrs. Fortner said. “Hopefully we will build and have twenty [participants] next year.”

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