BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — One woman has driven over three hours to come back to her hometown to participate in sharing her gift of creating chalk art with Kern County.
Via Arte is something that she has enjoyed since she was young, as she grew up watching professional artists use their superpowers on the pavement. Now being a professional artist herself, this is an event that she’s calling her own “super bowl.”
“I started signing my own work when I could barely write my name.” This will be Katrina Rocha’s seventh year participating in Via Arte’s annual street art event. This event is what Rocha calls her “super bowl” as she spends all year practicing to make her art better each year.
“I’ve been training, it’s actually very physically enduring– it’s a little hot today, but being on your hands and knees for like 4 days, it’s a lot of stress on your body,” Rocha explained.
Sacrifices made within 90 degree weather, turn into beautiful art pieces for Kern County to enjoy.
Being from Bakersfield, Katrina has had a journey of learning techniques from early on.
“Every avenue that I could get into, I would. I feel like events like this where I could share that with people was my favorite thing. Because mostly when you’re making art, you’re making art in your room and nobody gets to see that. They just see the finished product and events like this, you get to perform!” Rocha said.
Lauren Marty, Marketing and Communications Manager at the Bakersfield Museum of Art said, “We believe that the creative impulse is really something universal, not everyone chooses to express it… everyone has the impulse to create. And that’s really what we’re celebrating out here.”
“Not only do we have art making for the entire family, but we have it for kids, grownups, professionals… dogs even come in and get in on the fun.”
With the origins of this piece just being boxes, by this weekend Rocha will have this space look like something out of a museum.
“My work is specifically going to be a French impressionist artist that I really like: Renoir. His pieces are so vibrant and colorful and loose and fun… such a great use of color that can really stand out at a large scale.”