s tu d e nt s pot l i ght by Kate Anderson Photos courtesy of Cecilia Martyna
Chalk It Up To Charity
Student artist uses chalk to give back to her community Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio, hoping to bring smiles to the faces of everyone she encounters. “It’s been really amazing to be able to use (chalk) to give back to the community,” she says. “That’s where I’ve seen the greatest benefit.” Martyna gave particular focus to working with the Ronald McDonald House during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was looking for a way to do something for the people housed by the charity who were not only in an unfamiliar place as their loved ones received care, but also limited by the pandemic in their ability to go out.
A junior at Dublin Jerome, Martyna is vice president of the student council.
Cecilia Martyna, a 17-yearold junior at Dublin Jerome High School, has been doing chalk art since the seventh grade. Martyna began chalking after she saw an advertisement for a chalk event and decided to give it a try.
“I ended up falling in love with the chalk,” she says. “I love the art, but the part that I really loved was the interactive portion of the chalk. It’s really almost a performance art. So I love interacting with people, seeing their reactions, making people smile with the art.” Chalk was the art medium that first truly piqued Martyna’s interest. Her seventhgrade art teacher at Karrer Middle School, Marlo Brown, provided inspiration as 34 • April/May 2022
Martyna found herself succeeding and finding passion in chalk. “The first event I went to, I actually won first place for the youth category, which was what got me started into more of that because I am very competitive,” Martyna says. “It’s fun to win.” While winning is great, for Martyna, who makes art under the name CC the Sketchy Artist, it’s not everything. She soon began to use her talent for something more broadly impactful. Martyna volunteers with A Kid Again, the Dublin branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library System and the
A chalk art piece Martyna created for A Kid Again
Want to help Give Back? Martyna has continued partnering with the Ronald McDonald House. She is currently running a fundraiser through her website to donate 50 percent of proceeds from her chalk art to help support the charity. Find more information at www.ccthesketchyartist.com. www.dublinlifemagazine.com
