Chalk stencil

Chalk stencil
This is an image of a stencil done in chalk-powder. I got the idea after my experiment with bleach (& I used the same stencil) as another way of creating street art with-out getting in trouble for vandalising. The fact that it's done in chalk means it will eventually wash or fade away. I think the ephemeral quality of these kinds of art works add to the beauty. I made the powder by grinding down the chalk by hand, not sure if u can buy chalk in this form? Let me kno. Maybe u could just use talcum powder.
17 comments
Dec 12, 2009. 6:35 PMDarkRage3 says:
GREAT stencil!, but how is this an instructable?
Sep 17, 2009. 7:18 AMcorbgkap says:
Great work, are you in NYC? I would like to pay you to do this with my company logo. Please contact me corbin@nysportsmed.com.
Sep 25, 2009. 3:30 PMthemonorail says:
well that's an awesome opportunity.
May 13, 2009. 6:13 AMSaint says:
You could try making a paste of chalk powder and water and using a paint roller to put it on. It should give much more control over the results and cleaner lines.
Mar 17, 2009. 8:19 PMbeauwalker23 says:
ah i love chuck close. brilliant stencil.
Jan 5, 2009. 2:07 PMburn317 says:
You can use line chalk from any hardware store and it comes in colors like yellow and red, you can also get some hand chalk for rock climbing. I'm pretty sure hand chalk only comes in white but I believe it would be more expensive probably since it is a special blend generally.
Jun 21, 2008. 6:12 PMfruit45 says:
So is this just powdered chalk. Like did you just kinda throw it on the stencil or like water and chalk?
Dec 4, 2008. 9:52 AMExitao says:
Very nice.

I like the ideas of guerilla art, and guerilla gardening, so let me give some advice/knowledge that might help you out.

You might consider a light mist from a spay bottle of water to make your chalk stick, keeping slightly better definition (if desired) when you lift your stencil off, and adding a little more longevity to your art.

Quick chalk/construction lesson for anyone interested:

Hardware stores especially the bigger contractor oriented ones sell powdered chalk. You can buy it in sizes and bottles like your old fashioned ketchup or mustard squeeze bottle, or in sizes/shapes equivalent to the costco/price club jumbo size condiment squeeze bottles.

The most easily found are blue, red, black and white.

Blue fades the quickest, which is useful for things that will get painted or where you want to be able to wash it off or simply don't want the chalk to transfer from one surface to another.

Red is more durable and harder to clean off and can transfer.

Black is not really chalk and it contains graphite, among other things IRC, and is the longest lasting. It transfers. If you're not careful it can be like cancer; once it starts spreading, you can't stop it.
Black and red require real scrubbing when you get them on your skin; especially black.

In concrete forming we tend to use black and red, but we will use blue chalk on the surfaces of the forms if the concrete will be left exposed ('architectural'), this way if chalk transfers from the plywood to the concrete, it will be more easily removed and/or less noticeable.

I've only ever used white chalk once when I had to cut out some relatively fresh asphalt (the other colours don't show so well on the black surface). I cut up those chalk lines, so they didn't have a chance to last so I can't tell you anything about durability, but I assume it's like the blue, because it's "real" chalk.

When we need chalk lines to stand up to the weather (longer term layout purposes), we use a clear marking paint (spray can that works inverted, usually in day-glo colours) to seal it (or we use an acrylic sealant with can spray can like they pest control people use). But that might be bordering on vandalism.

If you need colours not found in the hardware store, you can buy buckets of chalk 1" diameter in assorted colours, in toy departments, this chalk may get you in less trouble than construction chalk and it's probably much less durable.

If you wanted, you could use something like a coffee grinder, blender or food processor to powder chalk sticks (start with a 'crush ice' setting) - maybe fold them in a cloth and break 'em up a bit with a hammer first.
Jun 22, 2008. 12:29 AMfruit45 says:
Oh. So simple yet effective. By the way the stencil's uber cool.
Jun 21, 2008. 10:02 PMpharmacopaeia says:
Great idea - I can imagine that this would work v well using ground up pastels of one or more colours onto paper, then sealed with a fixative. Insta-art! Thanks very much :)
Apr 26, 2008. 4:33 PMnuckerz says:
yea I think they sell something that might work thats the used to fill carpenters chalk line things i got some at home depot but u could probably get it at any hardware store
Apr 16, 2008. 5:44 AMBAREKONE says:
dont f@#k with the chuck
Apr 13, 2008. 10:03 PMToulouse says:
this is so bad - A i love it

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