Exhibitor Highlight: The Chalk Girl: C2E2 2025
The Chalk Girl - Beth Zwolski Tobias creates all of her art from sidewalk chalk. She took a second to talk while at her exhibitor table during C2E2 2025
The Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) is the largest pop culture convention in the greater Chicago area. The event takes over McCormick Place for three full days every spring. The show floor offers a wide variety of exhibitors and artists showing off their crafts. One artist who made a splash over the weekend was Beth Zwolski Tobias, known as The Chalk Girl.
The Chalk Girl: C2E2 2025
Beth was kind enough to take some time away from her table to chat with me about all things The Chalk Girl brand.
One thing that stood out at her table was the tapestry with an in-progress chalk design of the X-Men character Magneto. I had to ask if the piece would be done during C2E2. While it is possible for her to finish a piece over a convention weekend, Beth estimates that one piece takes about 80 hours to complete. While she used to try and complete them during a singular convention weekend, it was a tall order and led to burnout. Now that a piece stretches over multiple shows, it is fun for fans to see a piece start at one con and finish at another.
After seeing such an eye-catching piece being brought to life, I had to ask what the first chapter in her journey was.
“It all started with sidewalk chalk,” Beth explained. She drew with sidewalk chalk, as many of us do as children. From there, she took up drawing and other art forms but eventually went back to her chalk roots. All of her pieces are created purely with chalk before they are scanned and digitized to become the prints that are available at her table and her online shop.
Although she runs her own chalk art business now, it is not the first time she has worked with the medium professionally.
Before starting her own business, she was hired at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. The park holds a Warner Bros. license, and she was hired to draw on the midway every day for guests to see as they worked their way through the park. The Warner Bros license for the park integrates everything from Looney Tunes characters to DC superheroes, all of which Beth could integrate into her daily art at the park. Each day, she created an art piece that would be washed away at the end of the day to make way for a fresh start.
The Chalk Girl business was officially formed in 2016, 6 years after she started drawing on the midway at Six Flags. While browsing at her table, it became obvious very quickly that Chalk Girl business is not just Beth's, but a family effort.
A Family Affair
Her parents and husband assist with running the table during the convention. Beth explained that she has always been very close with her family and that her parents have always been very supportive of her art. While her dad coached her siblings during their youth athletic days, Beth tagged along while her siblings’ events and would draw while her dad coached.
The family atmosphere of Chalk Girl was planted early. She was surrounded by her family during athletic events, similarly to how she is surrounded by family now. Instead of creating art on the floor of an athletic meet, she now creates on the floor of conventions. What hasn’t changed is that her family is by her side every step of the way, supporting her work and helping with the daily operations during the high-energy atmosphere of a convention.
Keep Up With Chalk Girl and More From C2E2
You can see what conventions Chalk Girl will be at, buy prints, and see her entire portfolio here.
More HeartAsArt content from C2E2 2025 can be found here!
Were you at C2E2 2025? Did you see the Chalk Girl’s setup? Sound off in the comments below.
Thanks for reading! Be sure to subscribe to HeartAsArt.com (100% free) to receive the latest wrestling and gaming opinions, editorials, interviews, and other content straight to your inbox. Be sure to follow on socials and feel free to reach out to HeartAsArtMedia@gmail.com
