Have you found any painted rocks at a Guelph park this year?
Over the spring and summer months, a small community has started painting and hiding rocks in kid-friendly locations throughout the City of Guelph.
The group gathers on a Facebook page called Guelph Rocks, where they share photos and provide hints to others who may be in search of hidden painted rocks.
The group was started earlier this year by Shaunicie Rock, and yes, that is her real name.
Shaunicie moved to Guelph from Arthur with her five-year-old son in 2016, and spends her days caring for her young son, volunteering in his classroom, and in her spare time enjoys art and design.
“Starting an art abandon project has been a interest of mine for a few years. In the winter months of 2017 I opened the Guelph Rocks Facebook page. This spring I sprung into action hiding 40 of my hand painted creations that were sitting in baskets around the house. I simply wanted to create a fun activity for families in the community to get involved in,” shared Ms. Rock.
She found the idea to start the project through others who were hiding and painting rocks across the United States.
“I had a lot of creative rock art pieces just hanging around the house and I wanted to share them with the world,” she said.
Through the online Facebook page, Ms. Rock has been able to meet and interact with many new friends and form a community of local like-minded friends.
She hopes to continue expanding membership of the group, which has over 120 members on Facebook, with approximately 20 actively participating in painting and hiding their own creations.
Ms. Rock said that she focuses on kid-friendly locations to hide her rocks, mainly in parks like Exhibition, Riverside, the outdoor seating area of the Guelph Civic Museum, and the grounds and stairs at Our Lady Immaculate.
“There is no limitations to where rocks should be placed. It's all part of the fun of getting creative, but we do ask that locations remain in safe places and off private property. There has also been suggestions of expanding the inspiration to elderly community areas such as nursing homes and centres which I think is a very lovely idea,” explained Ms. Rock.
There are some rules when participating in Guelph Rocks. Ms. Rock asks that each child takes home one rock, and if a child or family chooses to take home a rock that they eventually paint their own and hide it to replace the one they’ve kept.
“Doing this will keep the rocks replenished and get more people involved as time goes on,” she explained.
She also stresses on the Guelph Facebook page the importance of hiding rocks in safe places, and never on private property.
Ms. Rock’s goal when starting this art abandon project was to encourage a fun and free community-focused event within Guelph. Painting rocks is simple and inexpensive, and allows almost anybody to get involved and join the fun.
Ms. Rock said that her favourite story so far was shared by the mother of a little girl who went rock hunting. When the little girl discovered the hidden rock she exclaimed, “Mommy the fairies hid it for me!”
“When her mom posted her photo and told me what she said my heart sung. This is exactly what Guelph Rocks is all about - spreading a little joy and wonder to a generation of precious children.”
The Guelph Rocks Facebook page is open to anyone who wishes to join. Shaunicie also has her own page dedicated to her art called Shaunicie Rock Art and Design.
