It's what I do

Yep, I've been doing this rock thing for over ten years now and have figured out that I've painted and sold over 50,000 rocks, and this is a conservative estimate! Year in and year out I've been at the Saturday Farmer's Market in Calistoga and up until four years ago, the Sebastopol Farmer's Market. They both are enjoyable and you can say that I've become a fixture at each. That admission has it's ups and downs as you might imagine.But all in all, I count my blessings that I am able to use my talent and do something I love, and love to share with others.

Many people have suggested ways to make my business more successful, and I've tried to keep an open mind about things. Obviously, it would be nice to make a profit each weekend but that has not been the case lately. The local market has been saturated with Your Spirit Rocks™, and now with the Paint and Hide movement in full swing, people are painting their own rocks and discovering the enthusiasm that one gets when first getting started. This is a good thing and yet makes my livelihood a wee bit more difficult. Sometimes this is just something to go through to get to the next phase, whatever that may be.

Your Spirit Rocks™ is more than happy to share information about how to make stunning looking rocks, so don't hesitate to let me know if you would like for me to give you a personal lesson. I do make deals if you have rocks on the ready.By the way, the rock below is a figurative piece, reminiscent of an area of the coast where I get some of my rocks.

Changing it up with Decoupage

The Rock below is a custom job I did for someone who wanted to give a special rock to a wedding couple to commemorate their special day. Although I've painted portraits in the past, I felt that because of the size of the rock, that decoupage would be the best solution to get the exact imagery one would want as a keepsake.

The process is fairly simple, although it has to be said that having Adobe Photoshop™ or Affinity image editing programs are necessary for getting the desired results. Now, Get on the computer. but before starting to modify your picture, make sure you have a perfectly flat, dried, painted rock with a color that offers enough contrast to make your image compatible with the rock.

Now, after scanning and/or opening a .jpg or .tiff file, you begin to modify the image accordingly ( i.e. create the shape and physical size of the image you want ) This can best be served by increasing the resolution of the images to 300dpi which will produce a suitable printout. You can give the picture a certain shape, clarity, text addition or flourish to make for visually pleasing output. The physical size of the photo below is approximately 3.5"X 2.5" after all the changes that were made.

The next step is to output the image to your inkjet printer. The paper should be glossy, and preferably sticky-back. The next step is to cut the image out and place it on the Flat, oblong, symmetrical, smooth rock in such a way that leaves a 1/8 " border all the way around the image. When adhering (or gluing E6000™) the picture to the rock, make sure it lies flat and does not buckle. This can be achieved by pressing and holding the picture onto the rock for about a minute. Lastly, when the glue is dry, clear-coat the image with either Triple Thick™ or Duraclear™. This will protect the picture and still retain the high gloss finish. The puff paint and glitter as a border adds a nice finishing touch. Voila! You now have a beautiful commemorative gift rock.

The Rock of the Week

Hello fellow patrons, This week's rock is a design that uses a sticker of a mandala. Yes, I do use stickers on my rocks and work around them. Sometimes I will paint right on the sticker to give it a bit of dimension, as the puff paint gives the rock texture when it dries.I've used large rocks to create rocks that you can roll your foot around on, and get a nice massage before you get out of bed in the morning.This rock is painted white to accomadate the high grade phosphorescent paint that I use. It is white during the day and turns blue,purple and green after the lights are out.

This Week's Rock of the Week

This week's Rock of the Week features a nice round rock ( okay, a little oblong ) that is painted with a Jacquard™ metallic purple and adorned with a mandala sticker ( my eyes could not even think of a painting that small ) and petal flourishes of Tulip™ and Glominex™ glow paint. It is meant to be a meditation stone that can be carried in your pocket, perhaps in a small bag along with an affirmation sheet like the one included in the ornate bag that is available with each purchase of Your Spirit Rock ( and a keychain blacklight to highlight the colors in the dark ). This one will be for sale at the Farmer's Market this Saturday, November the ninth.

New Directions

The Shell lights I decorated below are and example of projects I've explored in past, but because the shells are expensive and not easy to come by, they haven't been forthcoming.I've had to rely on friends or beaches where they can be found to acquire them, and when a bunch of scallop shells made into night lights are created, they go pretty fast. Once painted, I adhere a four color revolving nightlight to the back of each one carefully with E6000™... an industrial strength glue. They are pretty fragile and therefore should be left alone after inserting them into a light socket. The thing that makes for a pleasant feature is that they glow with just enough light so as to not be intrusive when wandering around in the middle of the night. A UV light (which comes with it) adds to its attractiveness, although that aspect can only be witnessed when observed from the front where most of the decoration has been placed. Exploring new and different surfaces with which to paint,keeps me busy.Everyone's suggestions and ideas affords plenty of opportunities for me to consider.

Approaching Halloween

Now with all the October winds acting up, power shut-offs and fires in the South Land, every day presents us with a world in transition. My Rock painting is something that stabilizes me, both emotionally and spiritually.

The best ideas I have for painting a particular rock is met with the challenge of actually bringing the idea to fruition. Sometimes, I just like to take a drawing from the past, scan it, bring it into an image editing program like Afinity™ and shrink it to the size of a rock and then print it out on Sticky-back gloss paper. This produces a tightly rendered pen and ink replica of the original that will fit nicely on a flat rock.

Lastly, the rock gets adorned with the usual glitter and glow paint that is typical of most of the rock creations. Below is an image that was drawn about a year ago. The original is about 9x12" and is of a fire breathing dragon.

Back in the Zone

Well, I must say that it doesn't take long before I'm missing all my compadres at the Farmer's Markets. Some of them even said they missed me! With the winds and hot weather, the last thing one would want to do is sit outside (even under a tree) and sell hot rocks. The Seasoned tourists are back in town for the Crush, and the threat of fires still linger on when we have 95º plus days to endure.

I have purchased a few new supplies like organza bags, metallic paints, printer ink, glitter, phosphorescent tubes, brushes, gel pens, keychain blacklights, hologram paper, et al. These items sure begin to add up, and it is a good thing that I have plenty in backstock, but the issue is not so much having an adequate amount of supplies... The issue is coming up with some compelling designs! Creativity and Motivation are big factors in the Spirit Rock realm.

Meditation has helped me stay focused in this area. Going to the Insight Meditation has helped me discover what it means to have equanimity. My attendance at these weekly groups on Tuesday evenings in Napa has been a wonderful activity that has been taking place weekly since after the fires occurred two years ago. Having a rock to hold is just one of the devices I use to anchor my attention when I attend these meditation events. When at home I put on my pair of Deepak Chopra Dreamweaver glasses which entrain my brain to an Alpha, Theta or Delta state. Immediately I drop into a suitable meditative "Zone". More about this next week. Here is this week's Rock of the Week, which is called the Pyramid stack.

Slowing down a bit

This summer has been long and arduous, but it is not officially over until the 21st of September. Okay, I suspect that you are just chomping at the bit to see what the next rock will be. Admittedly, the production has gone down some, but I'm still cranking out a few rocks a week. Yesterday I went to get a fresh supply of Glow paint and brushes, just to keep up with my craft. If for some reason the production of rocks grinds to a halt, the universe is going to roll right over me into the future, and we can't have that.

The rock below is called "The Vatican Rock" which is dedicated to Pope Francis, just because it would be fitting. The cross is embellished with traditional "Crosslet Fitchys" ( a Heraldic term ) with the borders having purple flourishes to symbolize divine protection.

No Rock this Week

Yep, you heard it right. This week I'm on vacation. It is early September and the kids are back in school and the parents are usually pulling the purse strings pretty tight these days. However, last night in Middletown they had a First Friday event that was a lot of fun. My booth was set up on the corner where the Boar's Breath Inn used to be. It was the perfect venue for showcasing the rocks as they would appear in the dark. A few friends came by to wish me well and some even purchased a rock or pendant. Music played and the evening was pleasant as the sun went down on this little town just north of Calistoga. The heat of the day began to dissipate and the night was greeted with soft summer breezes. It is so pleasant when summer departs on such a melodious note. The picture below was drawn awhile back and features a figure viewing a large valley from the edge of the cliff. It represents the vision one might have as they look forward into the future of not knowing