Mattoon artist spreading smiles with unique chalk designs

MATTOON, Ill. (WCIA) — If you’ve been around Mattoon in the past four months, you may have noticed more and more chalk designs popping up on sidewalks across town.

Lori Hall, the artist behind each piece of art, has never taken an art class. But, she’s not letting that stop her from letting her creative side shine.

Her passion for arts and crafts started with sand art, etch a sketch, and even baking wedding cakes for her children. But, Hall never imagined herself trying her hand at chalk art.

This past summer, she had chalk lying in her craft room. Hall picked up a few pieces and tried something new.

“I have a picture and then I outline it and get what I want. Then I start smoothing in the colors,” she explained. “Then I’ll finish it off with the charcoal.”

She’s making every inch of Mattoon her canvas, with designs popping up at bars, restaurants, schools, libraries and more.

“At the campground, I did all of the Inside Out characters because Inside Out had just come out,” the artist said with a smile. “All the little kids wanted to help me at the campground, so that was fun too.”

Each design takes about 45-60 minutes to finish, but she finds every step of the process relaxing. Besides, her whole goal is to make people happy.

“I love it that people come by and they’re like ‘Oh, that’s really cool, that makes us smile, don’t stop doing it,'” Hall said.

She feels the love from the Coles County community around her and hopes this is just one way to brighten someone’s day.

“I don’t want anything from it, I just want people to smile,” Hall said.

Every design is a little different. Right now, many of them are fall and Halloween-themed to match the season.

If you want to connect with her and see more work, you can visit her Facebook page . Hall also posts on TikTok @lori.hall358

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