CAPE GIRARDEAU STREET ARTISTS

Top, Lauren Castleman, 7, practiced her newly acquired skills. Right: Thomas instructed children how to make chalk by mixing Tempera paint and plaster of Paris. The children used empty toilet paper rolls to shape the chalk.

Chalk muraling, a children's art class offered by the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, put the kids on the street this week to celebrate the 600th anniversary of chalk painting.

Taught by Craig Thomas, the class showed children how to make chalk and allowed them to make their own sidewalk designs to brighten up the sidewalks outside Independence and Spanish Streets.