The #ChalkBus Blog Posts
>> For the full ChalkBus page, which includes these posts and more visit: RelateGREAT.net/ChalkBus <<
Peace, love and happiness: American Fork man spreads good vibes with the #ChalkBus
This weekend was the third #ChalkBus Session, featuring a band of middle school teachers called “Mid-Life Crisis.” Sherman simply drives the band around wherever they want to go, occasionally stopping to open the doors and perform if there are people gathered somewhere. Sherman also livestreams the videos on his Facebook page for all to enjoy, but for the most part it’s just a fun experience for the band members.
When Jonathan Sherman, a licensed marriage and family therapist, first married his wife 27 years ago, he also made a commitment to a vehicle: a VW bus.
As a student, Sherman painted apartments, so for those first few years of marriage he used the bus to cart around supplies and go camping on the weekends with his wife. Four kids later, the bus had become sort of an immobile storage unit, until Sherman got it into his head to fix it up a few years ago.
Once it was up and running, the next most important thing was to give it a fresh coat of paint. First, Sherman used a black matte primer — and, inspired by his daughter who was drawing with chalk on the sidewalk, invited her to come draw on the freshly primed van instead.
It worked relatively well, leading Sherman to paint the whole van in chalkboard paint so anyone and everyone could draw or write on the van.
“People were like, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t do that, people are going to draw all kinds of horrible things on there,’ you know, ‘You’re asking for trouble,’” Sherman said. “People really haven’t drawn anything bad on there, they always draw cool things.”
Once he came up with the idea, Sherman said the newly dubbed “Chalkbus” took on a life of it’s own.
Since the van started running again a few years ago, Sherman drives it to places like the movie theater or to go grocery shopping and he always comes back to new drawings. Once a week he’ll wash it clean, and the process starts over.
“Most of the time it’s in a state of flux, just constantly with new things on it,” he said.
Besides being a fun idea and sometimes serving as an ice breaker with new clients, Sherman said the bus serves a larger purpose as it inspires people to make connections.
“A lot of people are really disconnected in society. And a lot of people suffer in silence,” he said. “Anywhere I can find a little small connection, I think it just alleviates a little bit of a burden somewhere for somebody to know that, you’re seen and you matter.”
Whenever he comes upon someone writing on the Chalkbus, Sherman said he tries not to interrupt them, allowing them to have their moment, before engaging them in conversation.
“It’s always a positive conversation.”
One of the events the Chalkbus has helped make connections at is the Out of Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk in Salt Lake City. Sherman said he tries to go ever year.
“One of the most touching experiences (is), usually people draw all over other people’s comments and (pictures),” Sherman said. “However, at this event everyone (is) so careful not to write over anyone’s messages of hope or remembering a lost loved one. There was a sacred respect among everyone there.”
The Chalkbus gained such notoriety that a group of UVU students decided to make a documentary about it. At the risk of sounding corny, UVU student Tyler McKinnon called the experience “life changing,” giving him valuable experience as a filmmaker, and interacting with Sherman himself, who McKinnon said has become a good friend.
“I’ve just noticed how many meaningful connections have come as a result of or have come because of the existence of the Chalkbus,” McKinnon said. “Because the Chalkbus exists, I’ve made friends that I wouldn’t have made. I’ve had opportunities that I wouldn’t have had.”
One of the opportunities McKinnon had as a result of the documentary, which is available to view on Vimeo under #Chalkbus, was the chance to play in the first ever Chalkbus session — which involves cramming a band into the back of the Chalkbus to play while Sherman drives around.
“I’ve always loved rock and roll, and any kind of music, really,” Sherman said. “And as someone with no musical talents, it’s nice to be able to really enjoy and appreciate others.”
This weekend was the third Chalkbus session, featuring a band of middle school teachers called “Mid-Life Crisis.” Sherman simply drives the band around wherever they want to go, occasionally stopping to open the doors and perform if there are people gathered somewhere. Sherman also livestreams the videos on his Facebook page for all to enjoy, but for the most part it’s just a fun experience for the band members.
“It’s just a fun time for them to bond and have fun together and do something really unique,” he said.
Griffin Dean, who plays bass and guitar in Mid-Life Crisis, teaches German at American Fork Junior High where he taught three of Sherman’s four kids. He ran into Sherman a few months ago at a gas station and, having seen some of the previous Chalkbus sessions, asked about doing one.
It’s something totally new for Mid-Life Crisis, Dean said, as the band normally just plays covers for students around the holidays. For the Chalkbus session, however, they’ve created original material.
“I’m looking forward to bringing out (my) inner hippy,” Dean said. “You see that thing and all you can do is smile. It makes people happy and that’s the great thing about the Chalkbus.”
At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about for Sherman, who admits to owning the hippy vibe that inherently comes with driving a VW bus.
“I want people to have peace, love and happiness.”
Learn more about the Chalkbus and view past Chalkbus sessions by visiting Sherman’s website, http://,marriageenvy.com/.
#ChalkBus Session 02.1 — MB&T Turned the Improvised ChalkBus Song Into a Real Song: Will I Ever Stop
Michael Barrow and The Tourists developed this new song, Will I Ever Stop, from the improvised song they made at my request for the 2nd ChalkBus Session. I'm so thrilled! It's almost like I made it happen-minus the talent, music writing and songwriting that is, of course. ;-) Ha Ha!
Daily Herald: Eagle Mountain Artist Chalks VW Bus at Chalk the Block
Hooray!! Sage Sagers and her amazing mural on the #ChalkBus made the news! Thank you Karissa Neely for doing such a lovely piece in The Daily Herald that so nicely captured the spirit of what she did.
Hooray!! Sage Sagers and her amazing mural on the #ChalkBus made the news! Thank you Karissa Neely for doing such a lovely piece in The Daily Herald that so nicely captured the spirit of what she did.
Here’s the text of the original article which can be viewed here.
For many artists, the Chalk the Block event in Provo is less about the destination, and more about the journey.
“You’ve got to enjoy the process, the moment of creating, rather than the finished product. You can’t get attached to it. You get attached to the moment of creation,” said Sage Sagers, a featured artist at the event held in The Shops at Riverwoods.
Despite a short downpour Friday that sent rivers of color washing through the north parking lot, multiple artists created amazing chalk portraits, replicas of fine art and eye-popping cartoons across the asphalt during the three-day event.
Sagers, on the other hand, opted for a different surface. Sagers, 20, chalked a wraparound mural on her uncle Jonathan Sherman’s 1969 Volkswagen Bus. Sherman’s been coming to the Chalk the Block event for years with his chalkboard-painted VW Bus. In previous years, visitors and artists at the event doodled and drew across its panels.
“But I wanted to have someone cover the whole bus. And Sage, she’s always the one I wanted to do this,” Sherman said. “To see it fully wrapped around like this is a dream come true.”
Sagers did a cartoon mural last year on the bus, but for this year’s event, Sagers chose to depict different faces close-up around the panels. This year’s idea came while she was doodling on vacation. She decided to illustrate faces of people in the background of her vacation photos from Disneyland, the Grand Canyon, and others. Her mural was a swoop of colors, reminiscent of Van Gogh, but happier.
“I had to use psychedelic colors because it’s a hippie bus. It has to be tied in, you just can’t have it without those,” she said.
Like all artists’ work at the Chalk the Block event, Sagers mural will wash away over the next few months. But as she and many others will say, this art is meant to be temporary.
“You have to be willing to let it all go,” Sagers said.
Karissa Neely reports on Business and North County events, and can be reached at 801-344-2537 or kneely@heraldextra.com. Follow her on Twitter: @DHKarissaNeely
#ChalkBus Session 02 — Teaser Michael Barrow & The Tourists
Stay tuned for the full ChalkBus Session featuring Michael Barrow & The Tourists as well as their individual music videos for each of their four original songs they played in the back of my 1969 VW Bus (aka The #ChalkBus).
#ChalkBus Session 01 — Attention Associates! (Raw and Uncut)
The #ChalkBus Sessions is "the coolest, smallest, and most mobile venue to get a gig in." I hope to do this once a month with local little known bands. Why? Because it's cool and I can :-) I did the driving, sponsoring, graphics, editing, and music appreciating. Join Attention Associates!
#ChalkBus Session 00 — The Royal Engineers from the Netherlands used the ChalkBus in their Music Video!
The Royal Engineers, an up and coming rock band from the Netherlands, and Salty Block Pictures invited the #ChalkBus to be a part of their new music video. My daughter Molly, our dog Pepper, and I got to join them for the day. Simply the nicest and most down-to-earth, friendly, and welcoming group of people (the band and production crew) I've ever been pleased to meet.
The Music Video: Hit It and Do It Again, by The Royal Engineers
On YouTube:
On Facebook:
The Royal Engineers, an up and coming rock band from the Netherlands, and Salty Block Pictures invited the #ChalkBus to be a part of their new music video. My daughter Molly, our dog Pepper, and I got to join them for the day. Simply the nicest and most down-to-earth, friendly, and welcoming group of people (the band and production crew) I've ever been pleased to meet.
Behind the Scenes videos:
Facebook Photo Album
CBS: The ChalkBus is on the Radio!
After the local newspaper article on the #ChalkBus was picked up nationally, I got a call from a CBS radio station in Dallas, Texas. They wanted to do a story about the #ChalkBus to air on the radio. Here it is…
After the local newspaper article on the #ChalkBus was picked up nationally, I got a call from a CBS radio station in Dallas, Texas. They wanted to do a story about the #ChalkBus to air on the radio. Here it is…
The Other Side of the News is a fresh look at some of the most interesting and strange stories out there! Mike Rogers brings you the award-winning segment weekdays on CBS Dallas/Fort Worth radio station KRLD!
Aired December 17, 2014.
AP: ChalkBus Story Picked Up by the Associated Press, Goes National
The day after this story first appeared locally on KSL, the Associated Press contacted me to ask if they could run it nationally. Uhm... yeah! :-) Whee! Fun ride for the little #ChalkBus. See all the papers (print and online) that picked up the #ChalkBus story. Click on each logo to see the article there.
The day after this story first appeared locally on KSL, the Associated Press contacted me to ask if they could run it nationally. Uhm... yeah! :-) Whee! Fun ride for the little ChalkBus. See all the papers (print and online) that picked up the #ChalkBus story (written by Krista Neubert). Click on the paper's logo to see the article there.
Other places the story showed up online:
KSL: Revived Volkswagen Bus inspires impromptu art, positive messages.
Read all about the #ChalkBus in this wonderful write-up that was done by journalist Krista Neubert for KSL.com: "Revived Volkswagen Bus inspires impromptu art, positive messages".
Read all about the #ChalkBus in this wonderful write-up that was done by journalist Krista Neubert for KSL.com: "Revived Volkswagen Bus inspires impromptu art, positive messages".
Original article can be read here.
Revived Volkswagen Bus inspires impromptu art, positive messages
By Krista Neubert, KSL Contributor | Posted Nov 27th, 2014 @ 8:02pm
AMERICAN FORK — While schools and other entities are increasingly turning to dry-erase markers, here is one solid reason to hang onto your chalk: The Chalk Bus. This rebuilt Volkswagen bus is becoming a community sensation, and when people happen upon it, they'll want to be ready.
Jonathan Sherman, a licensed marriage and family therapist, intended to fix up his dilapidated VW since he was first married about two decades ago. He finally got around to painting it in 2012, starting with a black primer, and he invited his daughter to test out her sidewalk chalk on it just for fun.
“It took the chalk really well, so click — the lights went on,” Sherman said. “I decided to just do the whole thing in primer or chalkboard paint and call it The Chalk Bus.”
His initial idea was to use it as a marketing tool for his private practice.
“I had to find creative ways to get the word out using guerilla marketing tactics and viral campaigns,” Sherman said, reflecting on the times during which he had no advertising budget. So he slapped his MarriageEnvy.com logo on the bus and hoped it would attract attention.
It certainly has.
“Wherever it goes, it ‘draws’ a crowd,” Sherman said with a chuckle at his pun.
He fitted the window with a small caddy full of chalk and a sticker encouraging “Draw On Me!” which, for most people, is hard to ignore.
“It’s a magnet,” said Eric Barkle, a creative director who has brainstormed ideas for the bus with Sherman.
“Instead of customizing it once with static flowers that can’t be changed,” Sherman explained, hearkening back to the Volkswagens of the 1960s, ”it now has this fun aspect that everybody gets to add to the art and it is ever-evolving, constantly changing. It’s like the Hippie Bus 2.0 or next generation.”
Of course, a chalked masterpiece won’t last forever. If roadside puddles don’t rinse it away first, the occasional car wash will. But usually not without getting photographed by Sherman who posts many of them on his website.
Now that he has finished customizing the interior as well, Sherman said, “I think it has found its identity.”
Drive-thru workers, churchgoers, neighborhood children and the like enthusiastically contribute to the overall design of The Chalk Bus when they’re fortunate enough to cross its path.
Barkle’s family spent an evening drawing on the bus to teach his children, ”You can express yourself positively and let the whole world see those positive messages because he’ll drive it around town and people will see what you’ve written and think happy thoughts," he said.
After a recent hospital visit, Sherman returned to positive messages in chalk.
“People who are coming and going are dealing with serious stuff, so there were these messages of resiliency and hope and meaning and depth,” Sherman said.
And now this simple marketing gimmick has evolved into something much greater. The real reward for Sherman is in the fun community interaction he gets with others.
While schools and other entities are increasingly turning to dry-erase markers, here is one solid reason to hang onto your chalk: The Chalk Bus. This rebuilt Volkswagen bus is becoming a community sensation, and when people happen upon it, they'll want to be ready.
“People are getting value out of the experience. That’s what it's really about,” he said. “My nature is to be happy. I like to make people happy. I mean, maybe I am really just a hippie. I don’t look like one, but ‘Peace, love and happiness, baby.’”
According to Barkle, it accurately personifies Sherman.
“I look at The Chalk Bus and what it has become…and I see Jonathan," Barkle said. "This could not have worked with anybody else. They go hand in hand.”
This will be The Chalk Bus’ third Christmas to double as Santa’s sleigh for Sherman and his daughter, Emily. They drive through Provo honking and waving before landing at Central Utah Enterprises, a developmental service, where Santa Sherman and Elf Emily hand out gifts.
“They’ll give us letters for Santa that they’ve written,” Emily said of the students there. “It’s sincere happiness and excitement,like waking up on Christmas when you’re 6 or 7 years old. That’s how happy they are."
Cristina Lawrence, Sherman’s friend, said The Chalk Bus seemed a natural fit for a unique photo setting that more genuinely reflects her family and their personalities. Dressed in boho chic style, they drove it to some silos in a field and each spent time personalizing it before taking photos:
“Now not only do we have these portraits, but we have memories of the whole experience,” she said.
People might be lucky to catch sight of The Chalk Bus while out and about in American Fork. Otherwise, look out for it at key locations like the Krishna Festival of Colors in Spanish Fork, the Chalk the Block Art Festival at the Provo Riverwoods or the Chalk Art Festival at The Gateway. People can also track what it has been up to using #ChalkBus on Instagram or find more information on MarriageEnvy.com/ChalkBus.