Students are often required to create work in a vacuum, handing in papers to an inauthentic audience for the purpose of receiving a grade. As a result, students often neglect to consider the effects that their work can have on others. In this article, the author highlights an art project from her middle school in Kings Park, New York, that challenged this concept. Students used chalk to create mandalas (symbolic geometric patterns with designs emanating from a center point) on the outdoor walkway leading to their school's entrance. The students then undertook an action research project to determine if their creations influenced the moods of school community members. Like many other public art installations, this endeavor caused the community--students and teachers alike--to reconsider the purpose of what they create and the impact it has on others.