City tries its hand at 3D Graffiti

BHUBANESWAR: She loves the idea of making a bald road appealing. And that’s what American street artist Tracy Lee Stum has been doing in India: Touring various cities, conducting workshops for high school students, college-goers and collaborating with local artists to paint roads with life-size 3D graffiti.On Monday, students of the Capital city got an opportunity to learn the nuances of 3D chalk art from Tracy in the workshops organised at Bakul Children’s Library.Students of four schools in the city - Mother’s Public School, Ruchika High School, Capital High School and St Xavier’s International School - were taught various forms of chalk art by Tracy following which they created works on themes of global warming and world peace.Besides, a large number of college students and a group of graffiti artists  participated in the workshops. At noon, art students created some 3D chalk paintings on the theme of ‘importance of books’.Later, speaking to students at an interactive session, Tracy said even as she is versatile in painting, drawing and decorative design, street painting is what she holds dear.  Large (4m x 4m) interactive 3D street paintings on themes ranging from Biblical to exotic to mundane are characteristics of her work. Her street-art painting, also called anamorphic or pavement chalk art, created a lasting impression during the ‘jugalbandi’ in Puri last week.Tracy said she loves to hold workshops and in the process believes she is educating herself. “I still attend classes of other artists. It opens up a whole gamut of artistic experience,” she said.Besides workshops, Tracy created a large ‘interactive’ chalk art on an active volcano on the road in front of the Bakul Children’s Library. On longevity of the creation, she said it is “inversely proportional to the fun people have with it”. The art will be kept for public viewing till Tuesday.The event was organised by the Bakul Foundation in collaboration with the US Consulate, Hyderabad.