Twins create beautiful art on downtown wall – but will it last?

Take your selfies while you can, people.

There’s a new Wichita-themed mural in downtown Wichita, but this one is perhaps a bit less permanent than others.

Maggie and Ellie Newlin, 22-year-old twin sisters, drew an ornate Wichita flag mural next to the ICT Pop-Up Park, 121 E. Douglas, in chalk – part of ICT Chalk Talks’ monthly Final Friday feature.

The mural uses typography to highlight a variety of Wichita attractions inside of the negative space in a floral-themed Wichita flag.

The design took the Newlin sisters about five hours to draw Thursday night. They finished just as a round of thunderstorms was barreling into town – not typically a good omen for ephemeral chalk drawings.

The sisters are OK with knowing their art may not last – after all, beauty is fleeting, right?

“That’s kind of the fun part about it – is it going to last?” said Ellie Newlin. “The materials are organic anyway, so the artwork can be organic as well. It’s still just kind of a fun thing, not knowing it it’s going to be here or not and not knowing how long it will last.”

The Newlin sisters both have graphic design degrees from Friends University, and they both work as graphic designers – Maggie at Associated Integrated Marketing and Ellie at Open Road Brands.

While their aim was just to create a fun piece in downtown Wichita, they hope it will inspire people to experience all Wichita has to offer.

“It’s just a new take on the flag,” said Maggie Newlin. “It kind of talks toward the history of Wichita, but in a different way.”

This story was originally published June 30, 2017 at 1:37 PM with the headline "Twins create beautiful art on downtown wall – but will it last?."