Spongebob Squarepants, Finn from “Adventure Time,” the Walter Pyramid and a giant evil-looking octopus drew in a crowd on the Friendship Walk yesterday.
The four illustrations were all drawn on three double-sided chalkboards at the “Chalk Off” during the second annual Festival of Art, hosted by the Associated Students, Inc. Program Council.
“It’s not super serious,” Mikey Feser, ASI entertainment commissioner and volunteer for the Chalk Off, said.
As part of the event, students could also partake in other activities such as spin art and basket weaving at the University Student Union.
Event participants lined up to take turns at the spin art machine, something that sophomore anthropology major Andrea Rosas said could be used by artists and non-artists alike.
“Just throw in the colors,” Rosas said. “It’s pretty easy.”
Junior film student Mariha Lowe drew caricatures at the event for anyone who asked her to. Lowe said she has been drawing cartoons for a long time, but this was her first time drawing people.
“Hopefully this isn’t a bad experience for me,” Lowe said.
The basket-weaving table was hosted by Dramatic Results, a non-profit organization whose mission is to teach second and fourth-graders math through art.
Christi Wilkins, founder and executive director of Dramatic Results, said basket weaving involves measuring and geometry, among other things.
“[Basket weaving] makes [math] relevant and meaningful,” she said.
In addition to student art, museums such as the Museum of Latin American Art and the Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum hosted tables to inform people about their museums.
Fran Lujan, who works in external communications with PIEAM, was teaching students about the Pacific Island style of tapa art. Tapa refers to the cloth that is used to paint on.
Lujan invited people to paint over stencils onto the tapa cloth. The materials in tapa art are “used from nature,” she said.
The event was put together by Alana Johnson, program assistant for the Program Council who came up with the idea last year.
She said she considers last year and this year a success because of the high turnout of students.