Freelance Chalkboarding

Before:

After:


My knees and neck tingle a bit. My arms are heavy. And my jeans are covered in yellow chalk-dust, but that last one is more of a coincidence.

I worked on my first freelance chalkboarding gig for hours today. Two boards for a small music venue: one drink menu, one informational header. This wasn't at all like the writing or design jobs I've done before, but a very cool opportunity. I was commissioned by a music venue, and to do wall-art! Call me Leah-nardo.

Fonts, colors, layout, vibe. It took an hour to computer-design the menu, and about 20 minutes to lay out the second. Setting up a workspace and supplies took 20 minutes. Applying the design by hand took about 4.5 hours.

The whole process put me in good spirits, but there were challenges: technical details like using carbon paper and working with chalk markers, which I've been used to on smaller projects in my regular work, turned into more complicated maneuvers on the much larger boards. Giving the design some hand-drawn warmth, while making it sharp and polished, took close attention.

Overall, the work was enjoyable, hitch-free, instructive. I charged a lot. I worked diligently. Probably, I could have charged more.

It was empowering.

So I look forward to taking on more artistic freelance work. Any ideas?


{Thank you for reading!}