For the week of July 9, 2017 Northeast Ohio Rocks! honors Barbara Fazzini as Artist of the Week. Below Barbara shares her story.
My name is Barbara Fazzini and I have been a part of Northeast Ohio Rocks for about 11 months. At the time I stumbled upon the group they had about 1000 members. Since that time we have grown to approximately 170,000 members and counting! I have had an interest in painting for many years. I dabbled in painting back in 1990 when Bob Ross had his painting show on TV. I would tape the episode and then paint along side him while I pushed pause so I could paint at a much slower pace! My interest in part stems from my grandmother. She was an artist and painted beautiful nature scenes. I'd like to think that I got my interest in painting from her. From a professional standpoint I am a nurse. Nursing became my passion when my son was born premature and needed specialized daily nursing care. I stay home and take care of my special needs son both as his mom and as his nurse. As a result of being home, I had been looking for something creative to do that would extend beyond the walls of our home. It was then that I came across this group on Facebook. I have been engaged ever since. What I have found is that when I paint hours will go by, but it seems only like minutes. I love to see the looks on children's faces when a picture is posted of the rock they have discovered. The excitement in their eyes captivates me every time. I love to read the stories of someone who was having a difficult time, and they came across a rock and it brought them encouragement. The rocks that we paint bring a smile to each of the finders faces. I love being a part of something that works at spreading kindness and happiness and all of this is upon the smallest of canvases!
For the Week of July 16, 2017
For the week of July 16, 2017 Northeast Ohio Rocks! honors Sue Chapuis Atwell as Artist of the Week. Below Sue shares her story.
Northeast Ohio Rocks! is my favorite Facebook group. I love getting a chance to make people smile and feel good. The sense of humor posts make me smile too! The smiles of young children are some of my favorite posts because I know those smiles are so contagious! I think reading posts about how a rock has personally touched someone’s life makes sharing rocks the most rewarding even if my eyes leak a little. My dad always told us “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all”. What a great way this is to follow his advice! I like to find short positive sayings and decorate my rock with something that relates to the quote. I try to use something that all ages will smile about even if a young child can’t read. My mom introduced me to so many crafts, and she would buy every supply that could possibly be needed. Good for me, but not so good for my dad’s wallet. ;-) Other than the most common ones, we made paper, decoupage onto wood, carved wood, made jewelry, and so many others. Does anyone remember string art?! Lol Rocks don’t have to be freehand. I’ve had to find different ways to get an outline onto my rock. BTW, rubber stamping on to rocks isn’t one of the easiest ways. But… If you stamp on heavy paper and cut it out, it makes a great template. I’ve also used mod podge to add a picture I’ve already painted or colored. Finding your way to create a rock and a smile is very rewarding. Don’t give up! I’ve created about 80 rocks and found two. My doctor put me on “no walks” to help heal my plantar fasciitis which put a damper on my true passion: nature photography. Creating rocks has been great therapy, I enjoy it so much, and it has kept me out of too much trouble with my Dr. ;-) And, I figured a way to hide my rocks! I “Drive” to places that I think are good hiding spots! And thank you to the young lady for hiding hers on a sidewalk. My 1st rock! Rock on!
For the Week of July 16, 2017
For the week of July 30, 2017, Northeast Ohio Rocks! honors Donna Major as Artist of the Week. Below Donna shares her Northeast Ohio Rocks! Story with us.
Hi! First of all I do have to say that I honestly have no artistic/crafty background. I've tried many different types of "crafty" stuff over the years and I just didn't seem to have that crafting gene in me! I would see something cute, go get the supplies and would fail miserably, lol! I've been a stay at home wife for about a year and a half, somewhat due to some health issues. I desperately needed a hobby but couldn't seem to find anything that sparked my interest and had zero confidence in trying something new. Then one day while I was grocery shopping at Giant Eagle, I found this painted rock and my daughter was like "Ohh, that's one of those kindness rocks that people paint and hide to spread joy or a smile for someone that finds it!" I had no idea this was a "thing". So I did some research on it on Facebook and this was the first page I found and joined it. I started looking at all the pictures people posted and was instantly intrigued. I thought well, it seems like an inexpensive hobby that maybe I could actually try. I was addicted! So it took off from there! I started using mostly dotted designs and if I didn't like it, I could just paint over it and try again. As time went on I got a little more confident and started trying more detailed designs to my "masterpieces", lol! Now I love challenging myself to try more difficult or more detailed designs. My favorite type of design is TRYING to do Mandalas....wow, they take time and patience, but I love the challenge! I really get so inspired by seeing all sorts of beautiful rocks that you ALL paint and the happiness it brings people whether you find one or show us your masterpieces! My favorite thing about this page is that everyone is so kind and encouraging. I've read some really great stories about a rock that you've painted or found and what it means to you! For me, this is like therapy and has helped my anxiety tremendously. If I had to guess, I've probably painted about 100 or so and if I bring one more rock into my house my hubby is probably going to start using them for landscaping our yard! So thank you Nancy for creating this awesome page and all of you for sharing your beautiful rocks with all of us! Keep on rockin' my NE Ohio Rocks friends and you are ALL artists to me!!
