MOSES LAKE — Neighbors in the Ridgeview/Parker Springs community of Moses Lake found a way to brighten up their walks during this period of mandated social distancing. Chalk drawings and messages of support on driveways help keep spirits up while neighbors keep their distance.

Leona Hays said the idea began through a neighborhood Facebook group, with one neighbor posting an idea to “Chalk Your Walk,” with more families getting their exercise walking around the neighborhood.

“The group came up with wanting to do these uplifting art pieces to uplift people’s day as they walk around the block,” Hays said.

Leona’s daughter, Ryan, an eighth-grader at Frontier Middle School, embraced the idea, putting her artistic skills to work. It didn’t take long for the 13-year-old’s artwork to bring in messages of encouragement and support from neighbors and others online.

“She’s her own worst critic, so she doesn’t think her art is very good,” Leona Hays said. “So to have supportive comments from other people has hopefully enabled her to see that she does have talent, and she’s been inspiring for other people. So that’s been fun for her to see.”

Ryan Hays said heading out to the driveway to draw has provided a nice escape from the indoors.

“It’s been fun being away from the online school part because it’s kind of stressful, I guess,” Ryan Hays said. “It’s been fun being outside and drawing, and being away from the inside.”

Having something fun to do while away from her friends is a bonus as well.

Leona Hays said they’ve run into some difficulty finding chalk, particularly black and white, since beginning the project on March 20. Hays said they’ve now resorted to looking up how to make chalk at home on the web, with hopes of making a batch of black chalk this week.

Ryan Hays said, in terms of ideas, she mostly just draws whatever comes to her mind at the time. Some of her work comes from what she’s seen online, on Pinterest and various sites.

The generous outreach of support for her works, Hays said, has been inspiring, making her feel better about her own work. Leona Hays said she’s even asked other artists on Facebook about having their work commissioned in chalk as well.

Ryan Hays said mostly her artistic endeavors are simple doodles on the side of her papers in school. At home, her artwork fills the backside of her bedroom door, even spilling over to the walls, in spots deemed acceptable by her mother.

The Frontier student said she doesn’t really want to be an artist when she gets older, having her eyes set on law enforcement right now. Drawing, she said, is more of just a fun stress reliever.

Her artwork, like that of others around her block, have provided a colorful addition to the neighborhood stroll as everyone adjusts to the new isolation.