Chalkfest!

THE DOWNTOWN ARTS MARKET kicks off with
JAMESTOWN CHALKFEST!

Join us Thursday, June 24th for the opening of this summer’s Downtown Arts Market with Chalkfest! And live music by North Dakota’s favorite daughter Jessie Veeder.

Chalkfest will feature works by nationally renowned chalk artist Shawn McCann accompanied by eight other artists from around the country.  This is a family-friendly
event where young and older alike can participate while enjoying in the breathtaking works of these great artists. The event begins Thursday evening 5:00 – 8:00 pm and continues on Friday and Saturday from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm. And is free to all.

Planned artists to join Shawn are Jamie & Craig Rogers, Chris Carlson, Tonya Youngberg, Allison Severson, Julie Jilek, Erik Greenawalt, Brigid Higgins and Sandy Forseth. Full artist bios below.  Be prepared to be wowed!

The Downtown Arts Market brings Jamestown to life with inspiring Thursday evenings beginning June 24th through August 26th. Celebrate summer with live music, cultural experiences and creative opportunities.

Chalk Artists’ Bios
Shawn McCann: As an artist, Shawn McCann is one who loves to explore the relationship of art, space, and interaction. Having graduated the Minneapolis College of Art and Design with a BFA, Shawn has grown into a multi-media, multi-disciplinary artist whose work explores color, texture, form, and content. This approach has led to the many areas in which Shawn’s work has encompassed including; street painting, murals, fine art, children’s books, installation art, temporary and permanent art and commercial illustration. He has been featured at numerous street painting festivals has worked on projects such as Exhibition sized pieces and corporate clients. His work has won numerous awards, been a NEA grant recipient, and is held in private and public collections, and has also been featured twice at the LA Times Festival of Books as a featured illustrator. Last year, Shawn was one of the few American artists chosen to participate in the Dubai Canvas. One of the most prestigious street art festivals in the world. And has just recently helped create the mural on the ceiling of Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store!

Jamie & Craig Rogers: Craig is a high school art teacher in Richland Center High School and Jamie teaches middle school art in Richland Center, Wisconsin. The duo focuses on helping their students’ abilities grow throughout the school year but in the summer they enjoy filling as many weekends as possible creating collaborative chalk art. While the two artists dabble in many art mediums and themes, they have been focused recently on mixed portraiture of people and creatures.

Chris Carlson: Chris s a 3D chalk artist from Denver, Colorado. Chris fell in love with chalk art 5 years ago and has devoted himself to learning the craft ever since. He has traveled around the country participating in festivals and art events. Chris specializes in blending his artwork with the natural surroundings, so it is not clear where the art ends and the pavement begins.

Tonya Youngberg:  Tonya is one who loves to explore all types of art. Tonya has grown into an artist whose work encompasses color, texture, form, and content. This approach has led to the many areas in which Tonya work has included street painting, murals, temporary and permanent art. Within each of these areas, each project has been created with its own character. Tonya’s work of art is produced with a fresh set of ideas. Her goal is to encourage at least one person to create a piece of art in any medium.

She has been featured at numerous street painting festivals and has worked on projects such as Exhibition sized pieces as well as international events. Her work has won numerous awards, Tonya works in all mediums of art including paint, digital concepts and pencil. Tonya has been creating art as a street painter for several years. Tonya is a mother of two and lives in West Bountiful Utah.

Allison Severson: Allison is an Illustrator, Painter, Chalk Artist, Muralist, and Photographer. In recent years, she has earned a Certificate in Visualization Technology from Saint Paul Community & Technical College which built upon her BA in Illustration received in 2005 from The College of Visual Arts in Saint Paul. Allison recently illustrated a children’s book, which was completed in 2017. She has also been hired to create fine art, character and t-shirt design, murals, and illustrations for holiday cards and family portraits. Her studies in Chalk art has recently promoted her from an Amateur Artist, to Professional.

Julie Jilek:  Julie is a professional artist living and working in Wisconsin. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Her work has been shown throughout the Midwest and is represented in pubic and private collections across the country. National publications include Southwest Art Magazine, American Artist Drawing Magazine, and Strokes of Genius: The Best of Drawing. Notable projects include Art for the Arts, Wisconsin State Park Plein Air Painting Project, as well as album artwork and promotional materials for acclaimed musicians Peter Mulvey, Dave Steffens and Ume. 2018 brought new opportunities, moving out of the traditional studio setting, working on large scale murals and street paintings, including an award- winning, 5000 sq ft collaborative mural project in Jordan, Minnesota, “Beyond Gotham”. She also owns and maintains a studio in Appleton, WI.

Erik Greenawalt: By day, Erik is a CPA (the boring debits and credits type) working in corporate finance for a large Pittsburgh-based grocery chain. But on weekends, he puts on his other CPA hat – Chalk Pavement Artist – and adds life to driveways, streets and sidewalks from New York to Florida. Erik’s interest in chalk art began about a decade ago when doodling in the driveway with his then-toddlers, Jaycie and Jenna. The two young art directors were very demanding and wanted more and more elaborate pieces from their dad. Crude stick figures began morphing into more-sophisticated Disney princesses and, in 2017, 3D renderings of Olaf and Emmet the Lego Man. He became known in the neighborhood as “The Chalking Dad” – and the name has stuck. He still takes most of his drawing orders from his daughters (who sometimes chalk alongside him at festivals), which results in fun, colorful pieces — and not just cartoons anymore. He especially enjoys drawing portraits of celebrities and sports heroes. He is also a certified “master” chalk artist in the Florida Chalk Artist Association and participates in street painting festivals around the country, where he joins other artists in creating large-scale, elaborate chalk drawings over several days. Oftentimes, he teams up with Lori Hughes on massive projects to form “The Chalk Monsters”, and this year at Chalkfest is no exception! You can follow his work on Instagram @TheChalkingDad

Sandy Forseth:  Sandy creates the community mandala art, so all of you can add the color & make it beautiful! She loves seeing families chalk together & being creative.”