Hidden in plain-sight: these special rocks might be the pick-me-up you need right now
Maybe it’s the pick-me-up the world needs right now.
As the pandemic, mass shootings, war, and anti-social media swirl unceasingly “it’s nice to find a pleasant little surprise once in a while,” said Melissa Routt.
Routt and thousands of others like her in Central Indiana are doing their part. Their answer: rocks.
Painted rocks, to be exact. With whimsical or uplifting messages hidden in plain sight, to inspire whoever finds them. After all, who doesn’t get cheered up just a bit by finding an Easter Egg or reading a fortune cookie?
Routt runs Fishers Rocks, a Facebook group with 1,300 members who paint rocks and hide them outside in parks and on trails or inside at stores or libraries. Fishers Rocks isn’t the only group; Hamilton County Hidden Rocks and #IndysRocks members also seek to brighten someone’s day, if just for a minute, or foster feelings of connectedness.
“It’s to spread positive mojo in the world,” Routt said. “You write something kind and someone finds it and it’s a positive affirmation.”
The groups are a spin-off of a larger movement — the Kindness Rocks Project — started in 2015 by a Cape Cod, Massachusetts, mother who stepped away from owning jewelry boutiques. Megan Murphy has said in interviews she realized she wasn’t happy working so hard and thought she could leave a larger, positive impact on society.
Murphy began leaving painting rocks around the Cape as a hobby and it grew into a full-time endeavor. She has written books about it and gives speeches. The movement now reaches all parts of the United States and many other countries. It is especially attractive for youth groups.
The rocks have been used in schools and the Fishers parks department has involved them in activities.
“Little kids are noticers,” Routt said. “They find the rocks and put them in their pockets and they’re parents take pictures of them and post them on Facebook.”
The posting of the rocks is key to spreading the positive vibes. Fishers Rocks members and others are encouraged to write on the rocks where to post the picture, and to hide them again for someone else.
That’s led to some well-traveled rocks, as far away as California and Canada, Routt said.
A rock with the word “smile” painted on it was found in June 2021 in a Banyan Tree in West Palm Beach, Florida. A rock with the words “hello,” and “smile,” was found at the Vigo County Fair.
Some rocks reflect the time of the year, with likenesses of Santa Claus at Christmas or Jesus at Easter. A rock depicting a large pumpkin in a pick-up truck was found in South Haven, Michigan, around Halloween last year. Recently, members have been painting rocks with sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine, to support the country in its war with Russia.
Most of the rocks are found in familiar local nature spots, however, with Potter's Park Bridge and Cheney Creek tops among them. But the treasures also have been found at the Ale Emporium, Kroger and gas stations.
Routt likes leaving rocks at little libraries, the small book depositories that have been placed on city sidewalks, and the Ritchey Woods in Fishers.
She said she hides about 20 per week and begins by buying bucket full of river rocks at a home supply store and decorating them with acrylic paint.
“The river rocks are big, smooth and flat, easy to paint on,” she said.
Rock painting doesn’t benefit just those who find them. Decorating them offers a respite, a way to take the mind of unpleasant externa, events beyond our control. During the pandemic it offered a stay-at-home diversion, such as knitting and bread making, with the bonus if getting people outdoors to hide the stones, Routt said.
But the most satisfying part of her hobby is to watch as children find the rocks.
“They say, ‘Oh my gosh, look at this!'" she said.
Sara Risley, 48, of Indianapolis, has found about 12 rocks and said the hobby encouraged her to take more walks in trials and through parks.
“It is nice, it is something that doesn’t cost any money and I might make someone’s day,” she said.
The first rock she found in Marion was so beautiful, Risley said she left it there because she thought the artist intended for it to stay.
“It was all colored polka dots on a rock about the size of my hand,” she said. “It was a work of art.”
She put the rock back but checked on it a few days later and decided to take it and post it on the group FB page. Some rocks she hides and some she puts into a rock garden. “Sometimes they are just cool to have around,” she said. “I imagine some people keep them on their desk.”
Risley’s other hobby also means she might find the rocks in unusual places during her travels. Risley posts videos on a Facebook page for a series called “Get Lost Indiana,” in which she travels to attractions across the state.
Fisher City Councilor Jocelyn Vare joined the group after finding a rock with the word “Hello” in her neighborhood then hiding it again at Fishers Heritage Park at White River. She’s not very active but, as a member of the Fishers Arts and Culture Commission, supports the group.
“It is a cute little charming activity and it is nice that anyone can participate,” she said.
The Fishers Parks and Recreation Department has even gotten in on the act. It gathered a collection of hundreds of rocks when it opened the AgriPark a couple years ago, which are still scattered around the farm. And at the opening of the Nickel Plate Trail tunnel last month it organized a rock painting that drew 150 people, mostly children.
Parks Director Sarah Sandquist said the participants were not obligated to hide the rocks but she has already spotted several along the Nickel Plate trail.
“They are messages of whimsy, hope and kindness, several with of pictures of animals,” Sandquist said. “It has become a popular activity.”
Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317-444-6418. Email at john.tuohy@indystar.com and follow on Twitter and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Did you find a painted rock in Fishers? Here's who's behind the artwork
