Artist creates chalk art piece to honor Menifee graduates

Gayle DuRivage works on her chalk art, including a sign about the project and a jar for donations to the Community Cupboard. Photos courtesy of Gayle DuRivage

Menifee resident and local artist Gayle DuRivage gave a special gift to the community on Sunday when she spent five hours creating a chalk art piece on the pavement next to the bleachers of ballfield 1 at Wheatfield Park. It measures approximately 10 feet by 10 feet and was created with soft pastel chalks.

"The chalk art will wear off eventually, lasting anywhere from several days to a couple weeks, depending on the weather," DuRivage told Menifee 24/7. "My intention was to create a fun interactive art piece for the graduating class of 2020. That would include anyone from promoting pre-K kids all the way up to college graduates.

"The graduate lies on the marked area at the center of the piece and the photographer stands on the bleachers above and shoots downward to capture the whole background effect."

Paloma Valley High School astronomy teacher Joe Jennings lies down for a photo taken from the stands above.