Throughout the last several months, activities outside the house to get excited about have been hard to come by. Similarly, when we are told to avoid other people, it’s difficult to feel a sense of connection. Luckily, a couple of creative Clarion ladies have offered fun opportunities to get people out and about separately but for a common purpose. Enter: Pick Me Up Pebbles and CGD Rocks.
Both groups involve painting rocks and hiding them around the area for people to find. This idea is not necessarily original to Clarion. Kindness Rocks programs go back a few years when they became a viral trend in many areas around the world. It seemed that the rock hiding had perhaps died out in the last couple of years, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea cropped up again in recent months.
For Pam Clark of Clarion, the creator of Pick Me Up Pebbles, she agrees that she was trying to give those around her a little lift. Her rock hunting group on Facebook goes back to early May. She said, “This group is to spread a little happiness, through painted rocks!”
Clark explained she has long been a painting and craft enthusiast. “It started out as a way to deal with anxiety,” she noted. “I will paint on anything and everything, including rocks. They’re free!” She has been sharing and selling her art on her Facebook page, 803 Crafts and More, for a while. After she started to accumulate painted rocks, Clark got the idea to hide them around town.
There is a strong treasure-hunt element behind Pick Me Up Pebbles. Clark usually does a rock hunt most weekends. She, with the help of her family and friends, hide a set number of painted rocks and then provide clues in the Facebook group as to where they are. Her clues are rather tricky too. One hunt last month had the clue “drop off, they pick up” for a rock hidden by the UPS drop box or “bow wow salon” for a rock near the Clarion Pet Wash. When people find the rocks, they are encouraged to put a picture of it in the Facebook group so others know.
Clark has around a hundred people in her Facebook group now. She says that at first it was friends and family but then it snowballed. People regularly ask for hunts and are excited to get out there and look for rocks. She knows of various husband and wife duos who hunt, and lots of kids who go with parents or grandparents. Clark is happy that the hunts get people out and about in a safe way and provide a fun pastime.
Kaira Downing, the organizer of the group CGD Rocks, was also pleased by the response she saw to her group. Downing, who is the K-8 art teacher at Clarion-Goldfield-Dows, started her rock group in August after seeing rock hiding on a recent trip to Decorah. She said her goal is “to help spread beauty, love, and kindness throughout our community through painted rocks.”
Downing and her kids started painting rocks and hiding them around the area, in Clarion and beyond. The movement grew quickly. The CGD Rocks Facebook page has over 250 members currently. Downing was surprised and happy that it ballooned so quickly.
She says that the goal of the group is to have fun and spread positivity. For this group, the rock hunting is sort of a pay-it-forward format where people find a rock, snap a picture with it and then re-hide it someplace else for another hunter to find.
Downing has been gratified to see that many people, especially kids, are now painting their own rocks and hiding them. She thinks that is great, though she encourages everyone to mark the back of their rocks with a #cgdrocks to keep the effort somewhat organized and direct people to the group on social media.
Many of the rocks are very detailed and creative, especially the ones Downing creates herself. She says she lets the shape of the rock guide the design, whether that is a fish, turtle, or piece of pizza. She adds that, like Clark, she finds the activity of rock painting relaxing and stress-relieving.
Both Clark and Downing noted that anyone who wants can join their rock groups. Just search “Pick Me Up Pebbles” or “CGD Rocks” on Facebook and ask to join. The more the merrier!
The groups’ organizers are excited to see their fun activities spread across the community. They hope to keep up the rock painting and hiding as long as people are excited to participate. Both Clark and Downing said the winter and snow cover might put a halt to the fun, but when spring comes, they plan to continue.
So, before the ground turns white, get out there and get hunting! Keep your head down and eyes open, because you might spot a little bit of rocky kindness in your path.
