Memories in chalk: the joy of blackboards
Whiteboards were a novelty when I started primary school, back in the early 1980s. There was one in our classroom, set aside by the door, but it felt surplus to requirements alongside the large three-panelled wall-mounted blackboard, plus a free-standing one ready to catch overflowing words.
These blackboards were not black, but green. They were where, in strokes of chalk, the mysteries of reading, writing and counting first unfolded.
We had our own tiny versions too: slates framed in wood used for mental maths – although rarely, as I remember it. I would have taken any excuse to write in chalk, but it was the large, green blackboards I loved the most. One year our teacher had a rota for cleaning the boards in the classroom and tapping the erasers free of chalk dust outside. I looked forward to my turn. As for being called up to the blackboard, this was a nervous experience, but one that also held the promise of picking up a piece of chalk and forming letters on pristine green.
The tap and scrape of chalk on slate is still a favourite sound. I go to sleep every night playing the chalk episode of an ASMR podcast. After trying many different sounds, this is the one that soothes me best.
The other appeal of those school blackboards was scale: not just writing in large letters, but a fascination with the giant geometry sets: ruler, set square, protractor and compass with a chalk attachment. I found myself very tempted to buy some of my own when ordering a traditional felt eraser for my chalkboard wall.
I’d long liked the idea of a whole wall being turned into a blackboard. They can look wonderful in any room, and are often seen in kitchens as well as children’s bedrooms. But they can be a little too much of a commitment, and in a house with small rooms spare walls are rather hard to come by.
But, sometime in the pandemic, in search of home projects, I realised I had the perfect space in my studio, nicely framed by the door, chimney breast and a shelf.
I always look for the easiest option when it comes to DIY, and was pleased to discover that Annie Sloan’s chalk paint, even though this isn’t what the ‘chalk’ in the name refers to, can be used as a blackboard paint. I hesitated between black and classic school green, and the latter prevailed. But the beauty of using chalk paint is that you could have any colour you like, especially as the different shades of paint can be mixed.
I use this blackboard for to-do lists, planning and figuring out pagination and measurements for bookbinding. I have another small blackboard I keep key product dimensions on, so I can just glance at it while cutting covers or thread. I even have one of those school slates too on my desk, perfect for quick, temporary notes and yet more lists and calculations.
In many ways my work feel like a grown-up version of my childhood love of books and stationery. A faint cloud of chalk dust is the perfect finishing touch.
Links:
Annie Sloan’s chalk paint (I used Amsterdam Green)
Tutorial on using Annie Sloan chalk paint as blackboard paint
School slate from Present & Correct
Blackboard accessories from the Ruler Company
Chalk ASMR podcast episode
