News

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Jeff Svoboda, @JacketsInsider, BlueJackets.com

October 14, 2024

Many in Central Ohio have been looking for ways to keep the spirit of Johnny Gaudreau alive after the recent passing of the Blue Jackets star and his brother, Matthew.

For Cecilia Martyna, the best way to do it was through art.

The 2023 graduate of Dublin Jerome High School grew up a Blue Jackets fan and also has family in Calgary, so she’s long been familiar with the exploits of Gaudreau on the ice. She’s also an excellent chalk artist, using the medium to find ways to spread positivity in the community.

So when it came time to pick a subject for Easton Town Center’s Chalk the Block event Oct. 5, Martyna chose to draw a portrait of Gaudreau.

Mercedes Jackson, FOX28/ABC6 Columbus

June 22, 2022

Columbus Metropolitan Library welcomes the media to its 23 locations to witness the joy that staff, volunteers and special performers bring to the faces of children and adults during hundreds of Summer Reading Challenge events throughout the summer.

Cecilia Martyna: Chalk Master Class

Learn how to create large-scale sidewalk chalk art. You will impress your friends and family by becoming a Picasso. No art skills needed. School age.

Kate Anderson, CityScene Dublin Life Magazine

March 28, 2022

Cecilia Martyna, a 17-year-old junior at Dublin Jerome High School, has been doing chalk art since the seventh grade. Martyna began chalking after she saw an advertisement for a chalk event and decided to give it a try.  

“I ended up falling in love with the chalk,” she says. “I love the art, but the part that I really loved was the interactive portion of the chalk. It’s really almost a performance art. So I love interacting with people, seeing their reactions, making people smile with the art.”  

Chalk was the art medium that first truly piqued Martyna’s interest. Her seventh-grade art teacher at Karrer Middle School, Marlo Brown, provided inspiration as Martyna found herself succeeding and finding passion in chalk.

Clement Kasser, The Lantern 

January 20, 2021

 Cecilia Martyna, a 10th grade student at Dublin Jerome High School, was inspired by the pandemic when she made her sidewalk chalk art. Two of her three works depict famous national characters wearing masks, namely Uncle Sam and Rosie the Riveter, which DAC picked up as part of its summer advertising. 

“I thought it was a neat opportunity to advocate for wearing the mask during the pandemic and also make people smile in Dublin,” Martyna said.

Martyna said she has been making chalk art for the last couple of years as a way to express her creativity while engaging those around her.

“I particularly like the social aspect of it. While I’m making the chalk, people can see the process and enjoy it,“ Martyna said. 

Stephanie Stanavich, 10tv WBNS 

May 19, 2020

 Cecilia Martyna, 15, is a freshman at Dublin Jerome High school. She's also an artist known as CC The Sketchy Artist.

She said she got into chalk art about two years ago.

"My mom found something on Facebook and it was just a chalk competition at Tanger Outlets and I went and we picked up chalk on the way and I drew Carl from "Up" and I absolutely fell in love with it. It was so much fun," Martyna said.

During the pandemic, she's been using her work to put a smile on people's faces during tough times.  

"It's so hard to get anything right now, especially when everyone's at home and we can't go into a grocery store without a big fuss... There's no seeing your friends, there's no birthday parties, anything like that is canceled, so this chalk has been nice 'cause it's social distancing and it's all outside," Martyna said.  

Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio

Apr 04,2020

Oftentimes, creativity shines brightest during hard days. Recently, 15-year-old chalk artist Cecilia Martyna, a student at Dublin Jerome High School, contacted us to ask if she could draw a picture of Ronald McDonald in front our Ronald McDonald House and we gladly accepted the offer. Friday afternoon, she completed this work facing the Ronald McDonald House on the sidewalk in front of our building in just over three hours. Within the next 24 hours, her artwork had been shared to over 1,000,000 people on social media, and her story was aired on television stations in Columbus and Cleveland. 

10tv Web Staff, 10tv WBNS Apr 04, 2020 

A local teen brought some artwork and a message of love to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio.

The Ronald McDonald House works to provide support for families with seriously ill children.

“Recently, I did Rosie the Riveter in chalk with a face mask on and I thought, ‘Oh, what if I did something at the Ronald McDonald House? But let’s do Ronald McDonald with a face mask on,’” said 15-year-old Cecilia Martyna, a student at Dublin Jerome High School.

Sarah Sole, This Week News Oct 22, 2019 

The summer after Cecilia Martyna completed the seventh grade she entered a chalk art competition at the Tanger Outlets mall.

It was the summer 2018. She picked up a box of chalk on the way there and ended up drawing the old man from the movie “Up.”

Martyna placed first in the youth category. It would be her entry into the world of chalk artistry.

Since then, Martyna, a 14-year-old Dublin Jerome High School freshman, has evolved her skill, working with a mentor to hone her craft and creating chalk art at local events and competitions