Chalk Murals take over Riverhead’s Main Street

DISPATCH - Jun 3, 2012 (9:35 p.m.)

RIVERHEAD, NY

There were sticks of chalk all over the place. Of course, what else would be the case when nearly 100 people turned up to make chalk murals on the street? It was all part of East End Art's 16th Annual Community Mosaic Street Painting Festival held on Sunday, May 27, 2012.

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Chalk murals made in previously assigned blocks was one of the main draws in the cultural street festival. Participants reserved their spots before the event and attendees could watch visual art unfolding. Once the murals were completed, the artist left their work behind so a patchwork of colorful chalk drawings transformed the blacktop street.

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Luke Merz recreates a recurring character he developed in his mural. This is his fourth year participating. Merz is studying illustration and art education at Malloy College.

Illustrator Jaclyn Morena draws a mural featuring Tinker Bell for this year's festival. Morena creates a different Disney heroine each year. Last year, her mural featured Snow White.

Mural by Alysha Horstman.

Laura Picca and Kayle Petruzzi work on a chalk mural inspired by a favorite illustration.

Sarah Ritzmann recreates Johannes Vermeer's painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring" in chalk. Vermeer is one of Ritzmann's favorite artist, she said. This is the fifth year she's made a chalk mural. She's a junior at Eastport-South Manor High School.

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Street artist Rod Tryon returned for another year to make a mural that appears to descend below the sidewalk. To help viewers see the effect, he set up a magnifying glass with instructions with how to photograph his mural.

Tryon has been making 3-D street paintings in chalk for around 20 years. His artwork has been used in the book "Life Beyond Earth" and the related documentary. His chalk art also appeared in a music video by iCarly star Miranda Cosgrove.

A professional street painter, Tryon has worked on projects around the world. One of his claims to fame was being part of a team of street artists who recreated the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at a festival in California.

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Rod Tryon works on his chalk art in Riverhead.

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A final view of the lines of street art in chalk along Riverhead's East Main Street.

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Tucked near the Carriage House on the grounds of East End Art's was another public art-making project. This time, anyone could pick up a paint brush and contribute something to two walls of art a la graffiti style.

The creativity project is called "Shifting Reality Across Long Island." It's presented by Long Island Creative Vortex. They have presented similar participatory projects in Southampton, Patchogue, Port Jefferson and other locations.

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© 2012 Pat Rogers and Hamptons Art Hub. All rights reserved.