Walk 2023

Everyyear for 10 of years, Fulton High School has been an avid participant in the Knoxville Chalk Walk. Students, teachers, and spectators alike gather in downtown Knoxville to draw on the sidewalk with chalk pastels. Students arrive at 8 am and usually work as a team until 12 pm. They are advised to wear clothes they do not care about, so that the chalk pastels do not ruin student clothing.

Each year, the art club gathers to plan a design before the event. Everyone presents a design, and the club proceeds to vote on which one they like best. The design is then enlarged, and the students trace it onto a large piece of paper. Holes are poked into the paper so that the team can use baby powder to transfer the sketch onto the pavement. This helps the students streamline the process, so they can make the most of their work time.

After the students get the sketch down, work begins immediately! They outline details that were lost, begin to find the base colors, and figure out what colors they do not need. Fulton teachers Caitlin Seidler and Laney Haskell also provide extra chalk pastels for the students to use. Although they are not allowed to help the team draw, they provide guidance and assist in every way that they can.

Students work dutifully as a team for the full four hours, sometimes stopping to walk around the square and eat snacks.

After the students complete the artwork, they pick a restaurant somewhere in Market Square to have lunch and celebrate their accomplishments.

At this year’s Chalk Walk, Fulton High School took second place in the high school collaborative competition.