I first got the idea to collect field rocks for painting on them a few months after the pandemic appeared in my province. Each one in my collection of Hand Painted Stones was collected while on my daily walks, either on my own farm or some of my relative’s land, all of which are located in Alberta. When my husband first heard about my idea of painting on rocks, he asked if I, as a little girl, had ever imagined painting on field stones while picking rocks with my dad and at least four or five of my siblings. Picking rocks was one of my least favorite jobs, especially on real hot days when we could see our friends and neighbors’ cars passing by on their way to the lake. During those years, I had often promised myself that I would never, ever pick rocks as an adult so it does make me laugh to think I’m back picking some five decades later. But this time around, I actually enjoy the serenity surrounding me when I’m in a field. The fact that I can go pick rocks for my artwork whenever and for however long I want, without anyone telling me what to do or how to do it, is especially appealing.

It wasn’t until I had completed a few that I realized how painting on rocks was really helping me to stay grounded and feeling much calmer. I’ve been highly sensitive to people’s energy since I’m a little girl and had not realized how much other people’s anxiety and fears about this new virus was affecting me negatively. I was often feeling a heavy energy when around some people and would easily get emotional without knowing what was making me so sad. It was my daughter Dana, a sensitive like me, who reminded of the negative psychological effects of my sensitivity when I don’t pay attention to what’s happening around me. Over the years, I had learned about metaphorically surrounding my being with a protective bubble as a way to stop absorbing other people’s negative energy but I had forgotten about it.

About a month into painting rocks, I realized that while I hold on to each one to paint it, I’m actually holding on to all the memories that rock has held for centuries or since the beginning of time. When I truly connect with that truth, even just for a micro moment, I’m overwhelmed by the gift the universe offers each one of us through rocks and that is when I feel the most at peace and one with nature. It is therefore my wish that each one of my painted stones conveys to the people who see them the ‘rock solid joy’ they provided me while painting them.

*** The painting on each one of my Hand Painted Alberta Stone is unique and will never be duplicated. Each stone I paint is signed by me, numbered and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. The number written on a stone by my signature represents the order in which it was painted, in other words, #1 is the first stone I ever painted and #10 is the tenth one I painted and so on.