Local artist creates sidewalk art in Chicago

CHICAGO - Sidewalk art on Chicago's North Side is getting increasing attention. 

The drawings were created by a woman who wasn't sure if she would ever write again, let alone draw, after a bad accident.

Rebecca LaFlure is a bit obsessed with pavement. 

"Whenever I'm walking along, I'm like, oh that's like a really smooth, clear pavement, good for a chalk drawing!" said LaFlure.

LaFlure picked up chalk during the pandemic, to get out of the house with her daughter, and they've turned North Center sidewalks into their canvas.

"I realized that I had a knack for it, but then also my neighbors seem to have really enjoyed it, too," said LaFlure.

LaFlure calls herself your ‘neighborhood chalk lady.’ It's an artsy position she never expected to hold, after a car accident 14 years ago took all of the fingers on her right hand.

"There definitely was a moment in time where I was worried I wouldn't even be able to write again, because I am right handed," LaFlure said.

She always liked to draw as a kid, but that all stopped after the accident. 

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When this hidden talent emerged during the dark days of the pandemic, it shocked her husband and herself.

LaFlure said her husband was, "very shocked" and asked, "Why have you been holding this from me?"

"I guess I had been holding it from myself," said LaFlure.

LaFlure now has more than 2,000 people following her "Chalk of the Town 312" Instagram account. 

Plus, people have started hiring her to chalk messages for birthdays, back to school and block parties.

"It's kind of cool to just like stumble upon this colorful artwork in your neighborhood and it may just make someone smile," said LaFlure.

Now, LaFlure can't picture her life without this art.