When the pandemic stay-at-home order took effect, 14-year-old Libertyville resident Macaire Everett was looking for something to do.
“And we had all this chalk sitting in the garage that we weren’t using, so I pulled it out and said, ‘Cam, we are going to do a chalk drawing. I’m going to draw some balloons and you will be holding on them,'" Macaire recalled.
Cam is her 10 year old brother. When they were finished she snapped a picture and it started pouring rain. So Macaire was compelled to make another drawing, again, using her brother Camden as her muse.
“It just kept growing after that. Not only my family, but friends and neighbors said wow, this is really cool. You gotta keep going," she said.
At first she decided to do a drawing a day until school started back up. But it never did, so Macaire decided to draw for 100 straight days on a project that's come to be known as "Macaire's Muse."
“Without Camden, it’s a drawing. With Camden it’s art,” she said.
It generally takes Everett two-to-four hours to finish a drawing. Ideas for what to draw often come during dinnertime.
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When her work is complete, her father Matthew uses his drone to take pictures for Instagram and power washes the driveway afterwards. Her mom, Christine Everett provides the chalk.
“It’s all their creativity. It’s all their ideas. We might help them brainstorm at the dinner table but it is truly the two of them working together collaborating on ideas,“ Matthew Everett said.
“I make sure they have enough chalk. Sometimes I help with Camden's costume changes so he gets the right outfit for the day. Otherwise, we provide a lot of moral support," Christine Everett said.
Macaire plans on creating a book as a keepsake for her pandemic project.
