Ann Arbor Man Turns Imperfections Into Adorable Works of Art

More and more I find myself questioning whether or not coincidences exist.

There's an artist whose work I've seen circulating online for quite some time. They're these adorable drawings of little critters using chalk combined with cracks in the sidewalk, tree stumps, or whatever inspires him. I'm a fan. I have been for a while.

Earlier this week, I discovered that that man is from Ann Arbor. Did I have any idea that a street artist I had admired online for years hailed from Michigan when I decided to move here from Florida? Absolutely not. The world is a small place.

This is the work of David Zinn, an artist who, according to an article from boredpanda.com, has been creating art since 1987. The reason his art is so unique, at least to me, is because instead of noticing imperfections like you or I might do, he sees a blank canvas. An opportunity to create. Like this one:

And this one:

Judging by his social media, Zinn can create a canvas out of anything. In fact, he was asked to give a Ted Talk on that very subject which you can see here.

David Zinn also has his own Youtube page where I found this video detailing his process, if you will.

If you don't have the time to watch or you're at work procrastinating on that next report (absolutely no judgement) he basically says that the pressure of perfection that artists expect of themselves often gets in the way of actually creating art. But, on the street the imperfections are already there. So, he builds around it.

I dabble in art (heavy emphasis on the word dabble) but there have been times where I've blankly stared at a canvas begging my brain to put what I'm picturing in my head onto said canvas. Sometimes it worked, most of the time it didn't. I never thought of it the way Zinn does - as an 'imperfection' that can be made beautiful. Simple and brilliant.

If you'd like to check out David Zinn's artwork there are plenty of avenues. He's on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube as mentioned above, and he even has as store with postcards, tote bags, and more. You can see the full store here.

And, the next time you're walking down the street keep your eyes peeled for these little works of art. You never know where they might pop up!