A creative hobby and a positive message that really ‘rocks’
Anna Hackworth, 10, and her brother Riley Hackworth, 14, of Clinton, posed for a photo last Friday in The Courier News office holding two of their rocks they decorated as part of a random acts of kindness movement that is gaining in popularity across the nation. The Hackworths have recently launched it in Clinton, and are hoping more people in the community join in on the fun and the positive message.
For the past month, hundreds of painted rocks have popped up all over Clinton. People have found these rocks in parks, and businesses all over the community, in places like Jaycee Park, the bank, Hoskin’s, the dance studio, and Sweet P’s Snowball Shack.
The question is, whose artwork is this and why have they chosen to disperse their rocks in public places about town for others to find?
As it was reported in last week’s paper, these rocks were also found outside The Courier News office.
A pink, and later that morning, a blue rock were found outside both entrances of the newspaper office early last Monday morning. Pictures of them were subsequently posted on The Courier News’ Facebook page.
The rocks have since been “adopted,” and are now tucked, snugly, inside The Courier News editor’s office, atop his desk.
They are his pet rocks.
Okay, I am joking. They are not his pets, but he does like them, and finding them did bring a smile to his face. In fact, he talked about these rocks all morning the day they were found, and even mentioned them in his column, “Random Thoughts.”
Rock painting artist, you have a new friend, and his name is Ken Leinart.
They brightened his day enough to write about them in his weekly column, and to ask the mystery rock painter to come in for an interview for a feature story.
Well, this is that feature story and follow-up to the mystery rocks that showed up outside The Courier News last week.
Like the ones found outside the news office, most of the rocks that have been found in the community are painted and include on them words of encouragement and inspiration. “Love,” “be kind,” “think happy thoughts,” are examples of some of the messages that have appeared on the rocks. Some feature original designs and bright colors. Others are topped with glitter.
The artist’s intent in leaving these colorful stones in plain sight is clear: the works of art are meant to be shared.
As it turns out, more than one person is painting rocks in Clinton and gifting them to the public, so there is no lone mystery rock painter but a group of painters involved in what is a random acts of kindness type movement.
Clinton Elementary School student Anna Hackworth, 10, and her brother Riley Hackworth, 14, of Clinton, are the ones responsible for bringing the rock painting movement to Clinton.
It is a trend that started a few years ago, and has since swept the entire country with its positive message of bringing hope and inspiration in uncertain times.
“You put the rocks somewhere to make someone happy,” said Anna.
On the back of every painted rock Anna writes “#PaintedRocksClinton,” so the person who finds the rock can visit the Instagram and Facebook pages she and her mother have created.
It gives people a chance to learn more about the movement, post pictures of the rocks they have found, and hopefully, get involved in the movement as well, explained Amanda Brown, Anna and Riley’s mother.
In less than a month’s time, more people in the community and surrounding counties have followed Anna and Riley’s lead.
Eventually more friends and family have gotten involved, and from there, the movement has grown to the point that it has attracted the attention of people from adjoining counties. People from other counties are now coming to Clinton to hunt for the rocks, Brown said.
“Somebody yesterday from Scott County asked where we were hiding them [the painted rocks]. She said they were coming to Clinton to rock hunt. That’s why they’re coming here,” she said.
On April 26, shortly after they started rock painting, Anna and her mother created Painted Rocks Clinton, a Facebook page for the local rock group where people can join as members and post pictures of the painted rocks they find around Clinton, or rocks they plan to hide for others to find. In less than a month, membership in the Facebook group has skyrocketed from a few dozen people to more than 100, said Brown.
“I can’t believe how fast people are joining the group,” she said, “We have 112 members in the Facebook group already. There was only 52 members last night.”
Anna and her family found out about the fad from people in other counties, and saw what they were doing, Brown said.
They learned more about it from a news article they read about a mother and a daughter in Nashville who painted about 650 rocks, and started a rock painting movement there, Brown said.
And the movement is not just confined to Tennessee.
“Apparently people all over the country are doing this stuff,” she said.
According to Anna, she started painting rocks simply as a hobby, with no particular purpose in mind other than to have a creative outlet, but when she heard about what people in other communities were doing, she wanted to do the same.
Anna’s brother Riley started painting rocks and hiding them for the same reasons Anna did.
“It makes me happy,” Riley said, referring to the reaction he gets when he learns someone has found a rock he has painted.
So far, the family has painted more than 100 rocks, and they are planning on painting some more, especially now that schools will be closed for summer break.
“We do it because it is fun, and it’s meant to spread positive messages and to brighten someone’s day,” Brown said. “It’s also something fun we can do this summer.”