Calliope_MayJune 2017

Left to right: Artist Cliff Beeman is known for his patriotic Chalk Art. Richard Height and his work. Ding Tueling at work.
Evolution
Begin talking about the inherent
humor in evolution. “Scientists are real
comedians, you know that? They say we descended
from fish.”
Draw Figure 1. Keep talking as you
start adding to it.
“Can you believe it? Actually, I can. I go
out to the market every day and I see this
man shouting ‘Fish for sale! Fresh fish!’”
Complete Figure 2.
“Now that’s what I call survival of this
fittest.”
Start on Figure 3.
“One thing I wonder about is the evolution
of seals. They have to be in the early
stages, right?”
Start making it into Figure 4.
“But if you think about it, some of them
have already evolved, though they haven’t
got rid of the bark.”
Finish Figure 4.
“Maybe we need to tell the seals to get
their game on.”
Cubism
Begin drawing Figure 1.
“The age of Cubism was so easy for artists,
like walking bouts in a marathon. We could
take a break from all the real taxing work,
draw a couple lines and squares and—
voila! A horse.”
Finish Figure 1. Begin drawing Figure
2, identical with Figure 1. As you talk,
draw all but the horse’s head.
“But some people don’t like cubism. They
have no appreciation for its good points.
They wouldn’t be able to appreciate this
horse from any angle. So, for their benefit,
instead of making this horse look so square,
I’m going to make him look round.”
Finish Figure 2 with the horse’s head
looking behind him.
Drawing skill doesn’t need to be a
pre-requisite for Chalk Talk. An article
in the June 1927 issue of Popular
Mechanics explained how to trace cartoons
onto a sheet of paper with a perforating
wheel in order to “draw” them
later as a Chalk Talk. Many of comedian
Demetri Martin’s routines involve simple
lines, stick figures, and fictitious statistics
that require no artistic skill to produce.
With such a variety of applications, it’s a
wonder Chalk Talk isn’t used more often
in the performing arts. TNC
Rachel Strnad (pronounced STIR-nad)
got involved with the performing arts at a
young age when she, her mother, and her sister
joined a puppet troupe as part of JAARS,
one of Wycliffe Bible Translators’ technical
branches. When the troupe disbanded, her
mother bought a stage, and they continued
puppeteering and clowning as a family
ministry for several years. Rachel wishes to
thank Chalk Talk expert Kerry Kistler for
his assistance with this article.
44 The New Calliope • May/June 2017