Beth Zwolski Tobias
Beth has been drawing since her mom placed a crayon in her hand. Over the years, she picked up passions for drawing, painting, animation, special effects makeup, and fabrication. She earned a B.A. in Film/Video with a concentration in Traditional Animation from Columbia College Chicago.
In 2010 “The Chalk Girl” was born from a custom-made position at Six Flags Great America and lasted for five summers. In April of 2016, Beth signed up for Heroes & Villains Fan Fest in Chicago on a complete whim. Without even knowing how they would transport the completed pictures home, Beth and her husband improvised their way through the weekend. Lucky for them, guests thoroughly enjoyed the chalk art. About a month after the convention, Beth and her husband took a leap of faith and began a business called “The Chalk Girl.”
In addition to dusting up convention halls across the U.S., Beth also conceptualizes and applies special effects make up for scare characters during the Six Flags Fright Fest season.
For more, keep up with Beth at adventuresofchalkgirl.com or on Twitter as @thechalkgirl.
Presentations
Leadership By Design 2018
Rock Chalk! From Dust to Design
Have you ever wondered how an artist makes a living–not just the ones with galleries, the other ones that you see when you go to conventions, or peruse Etsy for unique items to add to your collection of whatever-it-is-you-collect? Have you ever thought about taking a passion project and making it less about passion and more real?
This is what I do! I create art, using chalk (yes, that chalk), and you’ll see me creating it live at any number of fan conventions, and then I turn it into something you’d be proud to frame and hang on your wall! It’s a lot of fun–and a lot of work–to make this type of thing work. For some it’s a hobby, for some it’s a full time job. For me, it’s taking an idea and turning it into art, and finding ways to make art make money.
