Release the Kraken

Release The Kraken!

During the covid-19 pandemic, many artists have not had the chance to attend any art events around the country. During one of our online zoom hangout meetings, we came up with the idea that we could create a collaborative chalk piece at home. That’s how the idea of chalking our kraken came about. We came up with “kraken” because around the time that we chalked it, we would have been chalking at the Ventura Art & Street Painting Festival which is held each year at Harbor Village in September. We started with our sketch and divided it into six panels, which were assigned to the six artist collaborators, with the instructions that they could each add whatever whey wanted to their kraken panel. The participating artists are myself, Lori Antointte W, Mri Scott ElBey, Marcella Swett, Keith Dubois, and Monica Orozco Thaller.

Lori Antoinette W, getting started on her corner.
Lori Antointte W, getting started on her corner.
Marcella Swett, her kraken tentacle is halfway done.
Marcella Swett, her kraken tentacle is halfway done.
This is my corner, I decided to add an ice cream to my kraken tentacle because it had been scorching hot the weekend before.
This is my corner, I decided to add an ice cream to my kraken tentacle because it had been scorching hot the weekend before.
Lori Antointte's corner is coming along, with an outer space battle scene.
Lori Antointte’s corner is coming along, with an outer space battle scene.
Progress! Mri Scott & Marcella Swett are getting down (literally, we played the funk jams on her blue tooth speaker).
Progress! Mri Scott & Marcella Swett are getting down (literally, we played the funk jams on her blue tooth speaker).
The bottom right tentacle was chalked by Monica Orozco Thaller, you can see her little Poseidon taking form in the kraken's tentacle.
The bottom right tentacle was chalked by Monica Orozco Thaller, you can see her little Poseidon taking form in the kraken’s tentacle.
This is at the half-way point. The kraken is starting to come together, you can see Mri working on some of the green tentacles.
This is at the half-way point. The kraken is starting to come together, you can see Mri working on some of the green tentacles.
Detail of our Kraken collaboration.
Detail of our Kraken collaboration.
It took two days, but we finished! Final collaboration measures 16' x 24'.
It took two days, but we finished! Final collaboration measures 16′ x 24′.
The artist team from L-R/top row: Monica Orozco Thaller, Keith Dubois, Marcella Swett, L-R/bottom row: Lori Antoinette W, Grasiela Rodriguez, and Mri Scott ElBey.
The artist team from L-R/top row: Monica Orozco Thaller, Keith Dubois, Marcella Swett, L-R/bottom row: Lori Antoinette W, Grasiela Rodriguez, and Mri Scott ElBey.

Check out our time-lapse here: