Angela Salinas / The Collegian

‘Verge’ attracts students for competition

Members of the student-run art magazine ‘Verge’ participated in Chalkition on Friday, coloring the sidewalk on the north side of the Conley Art Building with chalk drawings.

Participants were serious about their drawings, applying sophisticated art techniques to create images that dealt with different themes.

Jenn Goforth, editor-in-chief of ‘Verge’, said the magazine staff decided to host the event because they thought it would be a fun way to raise money for the magazine.

“We’re just trying to get enough money in our account right now so that we have enough money to support the club and magazine without solely having to rely on advertisers,” Goforth said.

Students from a variety of majors competed in the event, including psychology, English, biology and art. Each competitor paid $10 to draw a family-friendly image on a 3-by-4 rectangle with chalk.

Participants had from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. to complete their drawings.

Fresno State junior Joline Smith was selected as the winner of Chalkitition. The graphic design major drew a Monarch butterfly.

Smith said she browsed through pictures on her laptop to find a picture she wanted to recreate.

“I was looking for something with colors,” she said.

Smith’s drawing took about two hours to complete. She said she was excited to be selected as the winner and was happy she competed in the event.

“I felt like a little kid again,” she said. “I got to be creative and take a break from the world. It’s something you don’t get to do a lot in college life.”

Smith won a turquoise and lime green glass vase with a decorative yellow-orange glass swirl created by Fresno State’s glassblowing instructor Joseph Morel. She plans to put flowers in her vase and use it as a decorative piece in her room.

She said she will compete in the event again if it is brought back next year.

This was the first Chalkitition held on campus. Fresno State junior Jessica Tangeman introduced the idea of the competition to ‘Verge’, hoping to bring a part of her hometown to Fresno.

Tangeman competed in chalk-drawing competitions in Bakersfield, her hometown, for nine years. The interior design major said she fell in love with the event and wanted to expose Fresno State students to the joy of the competition.

“It doesn’t matter if you can draw or not,” Tangeman said. “It’s just supposed to be fun.”

Goforth said the group was pleased with the turn out at the event and hopes to make it an annual competition.

“We definitely want to get this going again, because there have been a lot of people that are interested, and it has been a lot of fun so far,” she said. “It’s brought a lot of awareness about the magazine.”