BETHLEHEM, Pa. (WLVT) - Ashley Hezel has channeled her childhood with chalk during the COVID-19 pandemic. The East Stroudsburg native and former Allentown resident has been staying with her parents in South Carolina, where she's been creating sidewalk art as a way to pass the time.
"I like to decorate. I like to design. I like to craft. I really think a lot of it is because my love language is gifts," Hezel said. "I'm here with just a suitcase, and I don't have my craft room, which is totally fine. There are much more pressing issues going on, but it just got me really antsy and wanted to do something with what I had."
She doodled her first creation five weeks ago. Now, it’s 16 and counting.
"I just started drawing in my mom's driveway, and then the neighbor said, 'Hey, I want you to draw on mine.' It was just kind of some 'me time' to look forward to after work, get outside, get some sunshine, and just be alone with my thoughts," she said.
Hezel and her husband moved to Seattle after living in Allentown for six years. She started taking calligraphy classes as a way to meet people and pick up a new skill.
"The permanence of it being on the driveway is kind of nerve-racking for me being a perfectionist, but also, it's like, 'Just do it! Who cares if it's not perfect?'" she said. "It's just to make people smile and to do something -- and you can finish it, and the rain will wash it away tomorrow."
Hezel said she spends about an hour on each piece. Some of them celebrate holidays like Easter and Earth Day. Others focus on advice and inspiration, particularly during the pandemic.
"I've been trying to be light-hearted about it, but stick with for the most part messages about what's going on right now," she said. "Spread a little hope. Make people laugh. Let them know that we're all in this together."
Hezel has shared photos of her art on Instagram, using hashtags like #SidewalkChalkart, #ChalkTheWalk and #vandalettering, a play on the word "vandalizing." She said she woke up Easter morning to find out her work was featured on Buzzfeed.
"A few days later, Crayola put a grid of nine pictures, and three of them were mine, which I thought was so cool," she said. "People said that they were excited to go outside and give it a shot themselves and find that chalk in the garage and go draw with their grandkids or by themselves, and it’s a cool thing that I think is connecting a lot of people."
Hezel said she just thought people in the neighborhood would see her work, but her audience is much bigger now.
"For someone to see it and then send it to their friend and or say, 'I want to draw this, too,' by all means, please draw and send it to me. I want to see what you did. I think it's fun. There's room for everybody," she said.
While her drawings may physically disappear, Hezel said she wants the message behind her art to outlast the pandemic.
"We all need to just make sure we can look back on this and know that we did our part. We didn't do anything to harm anyone," she said. "Even if it's something just as simple as sharing a drawing, I know that's not changing the world, right? I'm trying to put something positive out there and not cause any damage."
Hezel said she’ll keep drawing chalk art when she’s back home in Seattle. See her creations on her Instagram account (@ashleyhezel) HERE.