The surprise of painted rocks
More Than A Day Away By Mike Steely
I remember painting a rock as a frog years ago before I first heard of the painted rock trend. I gave it to my wife and she keeps it in her curio cabinet. Recently she came home and showed me a rock she found sitting on an outside shelf at one of the Dowell medical offices.
The rock was obviously placed there to be found. It had a well-done drawing of a woman on one side and the back side reads “FFG Rocks, keep or hide. Post on FB.” It was signed “L King” and dated 2024.
Curious, I went on Facebook and found Linda King of the Crossville area. She apparently paints and donates the rocks to organizations or individuals. The decorated small rocks are then hidden in public places for anyone to find and enjoy.
I think that’s a very interesting way to distribute kindness and touch anyone without any real contact.
The “FFG” that’s mentioned on many rocks turns out to be “Fairfield Glade, Tn.”
I posted pictures of the L King rock, front and back, on the internet and got some really interesting comments from other people who have found or hidden painted rocks.
Aisha Lesh apparently began the painted rocks craze in Washington state in 2017. Lesh and her children would take walks and the kids found rocks and placed them in their pockets. Soon there were many, many small rocks. The mother thought about what to do with all the rocks and decided to paint them.
Lesh decided to return the painted rocks to nature. She was surprised on later walks that the painted rocks were gone and soon those found rocks started a movement. Now there are community-based painted rock groups scattered across our nation.
Another story of the painted rock origin begins in Cape Cod where Megan Murphy found rocks in 2015 and began painting inspirational messages on them and leaving them to be found.
Painted rocks, with all kinds of designs and messages, often carry the name of the painter or a group that created them. Each rock is to be kept or placed somewhere else by the finder.
One East Tennessee group is located in Fairfield Glades in Cumberland County. Original Knox Rocks started in 2017 and has 2,553 members and began when one of the founders found a rock in Florida. Their Facebook pages tell the tales and suggest how you might decorate a rock, what paint to use, and recommends picking a busy location to leave the rock.
Other local rock painting groups include FtnCityKnoxRocks, Knox “Rocks” and even “Rock Painting Fails.”
My Facebook rock photo post received comments from folks who have found painted rocks on several local trails and greenways and at Dollywood. One commenter described a Florida relative who paints rocks and another reported painting political rocks and placing them at local places including a golf course.
Painting or finding a specially designed rock can be fun and sometimes touching. It’s a hobby that is harmless and fun.
