Help me think through a neighborhood "chalk library."

March 4, 2018 2:42 PM

Inspired by creative community-cultivating projects (such as Shepherd's "tiniest art gallery" and the many ideas presented in The Wrong Kind of Cheese's FPP), I'm interested in cultivating neighborliness by providing sidewalk chalk to the world! (Well, my little corner of it, anyway.) Help me think through the logistics.

I live in a smallish suburb of Washington, DC on a block of modest single-family, single-story row homes. There are a good number of families with kids on the block, and in the neighborhood generally. About half of the families rent; the rest own. People are generally friendly but most people don't know each other beyond "hello."

I go out with my toddler to decorate our sidewalk with chalk every now and then, and a couple of times other kids (and parents) have joined in. I think it'd be fun to have sidewalk chalk on permanent offer for neighborhood kids (and adults!) whether we're at home or not. I'm imagining some kind of dispenser/container/what have you, a la Little Free Libraries, with a message making it clear that it's for public use. I'd keep it stocked with a small supply of chalk.

I'd love ideas on how best to go about this. What kind of container should I use? How should I account for the weather? What else should I be thinking of? (If it helps to know, we & the rest of the homes on the street have a tiny front yard with a narrow concrete walk connecting out to the street's main sidewalk. Our yard has a fence separating us from the sidewalk, but the gate has no lock and is pretty much open.)

If you're here to share why you think this idea is bad or unrealistic, consider this: Don't. :-)

posted by duffell to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

I thinks it‘s a lovely idea.

I live next to a middle school and would ask you to consider how you would deal with, um, inappropriate art. Specifically, penis drawings that the middle schoolers around here like to draw EVERYWHERE. Also, some people consider chalk drawings to be ‚graffiti‘ and get very upset if it‘s on their property. These issues can be dealt with I guess but are just things to consider, especially if you don‘t really know your neighbors.

As for particulars: I think it would have to be facing out towards the sidewalk; nobody likes to enter a fenced/gated area for that kind of thing, even if it‘s technically open. Especially with kids that‘s kind of off-limits since you‘re teaching them NOT to go into people‘s yards...
posted by The Toad at 3:25 PM on March 4, 2018 [3 favorites]

Love the idea. I don’t know how much work you want to do and I’m not a DIY person at all, but I’m wondering if you can repurpose a clear window bird feeder.
Like this one.
posted by FencingGal at 3:36 PM on March 4, 2018 [3 favorites]

Cute idea! You could use a shoebox-sized Rubbermaid container, and make a post or ledge for it if you're handy. I'd also include some signage explaining the particulars. Like, are you intending for the people to take the chalk home, or use it on your sidewalk? Are they keeping the chalk or returning it (I know it's consumable, but my kids don't use up an entire stick of chalk in one session, so presumably there will be leftover chalk once the kids are done drawing).
posted by christinetheslp at 6:09 PM on March 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I know the answer to this! We have one installed in the world's first permanent DIY chalk rainbow crossing . It's actually a letterbox with a flip top lid. Don't put too much chalk in it. Expect theft. Expect litter. Let that all go and let the chalk love run free. We find the community adds their own too. Chalk is magic. (And kids drawing chalk dicks is better than kids drawing pen dicks.) If someone draws offensive stuff, a bottle of water will erase that in a jiffy.
posted by taff at 7:19 PM on March 4, 2018 [6 favorites]