Musings

My Stone Painting Obsession – #The100DayProject

Gemma - Wheelescapades

If you follow me on Instagram you’ll have been recently inundated with painted stones.

It all started with a Christmas gift.

I’m a crafter, always have a project on the go. So, the go to gift for me is a craft kit. Last year I received a metallic stone painting one.

With way too much time on my hands, after a weirdly quiet Christmas I got started on the kit to pass the time. I’d never painted stones before, well there may have been the odd time as a kid when I gave it an attempt with my two minute attention span. But I’d never taken it seriously. Until now.

Who knew at 35, in the middle of a pandemic, I would become addicted.

This years #The100DayProject was starting soon. I’d really enjoyed taking part in this last year with my collage of cross stitch squares. So decided it would be a great opportunity to work on my stone painting.

The kit I was gifted came with 4 stones, and so didn’t keep my craving under control for long. I began searching for stones everywhere, pinching a few from the garden, being drawn towards pretty rockeries in others gardens (I didn’t pinch theirs).

With shielding and lockdown going on, shopping wasn’t the easiest. I haven’t been in a shop for 14 months, that must be some kind of record. It feels weird but not weird. I’m not in any hurry, my bank account has thanked me, but a browse soon would be nice. If only there weren’t so many irritating people around.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Stone sourcing. I found the best place to buy nice large smooth ones online was HobbyCraft. Then I made up the numbers with smaller garden shingle.

My first stone took forever, creation spanning across two days. The little tools included in the kit took some precision, getting just the right amount of paint and dabbing at the right angle. After a couple of stones, when I knew the obsession was getting serious, I invested in some dotting tools. I say invest, they were £8. Easily found online, they are pretty plastic sticks with various sized metal balled ends. Give them a Google.

Round grey stone painted in dots of blue, gold and purple in a mandala design.

My shaky hands took a little practice, but I soon got in the zone and really enjoyed it.

Planning designs ahead was fun, with Pinterest finally coming to use rather than multiple crafting ideas just sitting forever in my pinboard in the cloud.

Wow there are some good stone painters out there though. Even after my 100 I’ve got some mastering of technique to do. It was a little overwhelming realising that mine may never look that good. But you can’t let the talents of others put you off!

My first bunch of designs were of whatever came out of my head or sparked from Pinterest scrolling.

A collection of eight painted stones on a white background. Included is a white somber with purple and black mandala pattern, a matte black stone with clusters of various sized dots in gold, silver and bronze, and a purple stone with a floral design.

And then I got a little more focused and decided I wanted to make collections. This was partly to use up paint (as I’d squirted loads out) but also because sometimes there are too many ideas and you can’t decide which one to do.

I particularly like this monochrome collection.

Five stones in alternating colours, black then white. In a row. Each is decorated in dots of the opposite colour.

And this group have an Indian mandala feel to them with the luxurious colours.

Fine boldly designed stones on a white background. Including A long cylinder stone painted metallic purple. It has alternating rows of gold and red dots spiralling g around the stone. And Large dark grey semicircle shaped stone with a half mandala design in red and gold dots.

Some of the smaller stones I put together to create one larger piece, where the dotted design spread across the stones. Some lovely person on Instagram said that the white dots on these appeared as pearls. I also think the indulgent purple colour reminds me of a certain chocolate brand.

Three metallic purple stones in a row with white dots forming a continuous wave pattern across them all.

I went all out in neon on my final eight.

A large round grey stone that tapers one end. Painted in concentric circles where the dots get bigger with each round. Each round a different bright colour including yellow, orange, blue and purple. This large stone sits in the centre surrounded by other brightly painted smaller pebble size stones.

I had a great time getting stuck into this project. Although still intricate and detailed like the other crafts I enjoy, I hadn’t painted for years. When thinking of painting I’ve always imagined something on a larger scale. My arms reach and movement have gotten more limited over the years, which is why I’ve always stuck to the delicate crafts. Not wanting to lean on and smudge all my work. This has made me consider painting different though. In a much finer, compact way.

All 100+ stones arranged in a circle shape on a wooden floor.
#100DaysOfRocking

You know how you can tell a painter because they always have a dash of paint somewhere on their person? Well I looked and felt a bit like that. If only I could wipe my brow.

The #The100DayProject started earlier this year, at the end of January, with the consensus that people needed something to do during various lockdowns all over the world. It’s weird and amazing thinking that there are people all over the world taking part in the same project. While at the same time going through similar experiences of the pandemic. I enjoyed following others and the hashtag on Instagram. We live in a world of creativity.

I don’t currently have any plans set in stone (ha!) for all these mini artworks. I’m considering scattering a few around Norfolk for people to discover. But, if you have any ideas, do let me know.

An image to pin. Title text My Stone Painting Obsession - #The100DayProject is in dark grey text on an orange background at the top. The same image as above of my final eight stones takes up the rest of the space.

Published by Gemma - Wheelescapades

Whenever friends and I are out we always end up discussing, critiquing, analysing where we are and what we are doing. From talking about the food we are eating, the soap in the toilets, the awful bus journey to our destination, anything and everything we encounter. Because of my disability (SMA type2) many of the situations we get into, issues we discuss and laughs we have can be due to wheelchair access. Often me getting stuck in mud or shingle, or me making my way through the most cram packed shop you can imagine, wondering how I am ever going to find the way out again! I aim to write a blog that describes these dramas, tells stories of our laughs, adventures and frustrations, while giving detailed information on accessibility and wheelchair access. Also I like tea. ALOT. The quality of the tea often determines my return just as much as the accessibility.

30 thoughts on “My Stone Painting Obsession – #The100DayProject”

  7. Gemma, I absolutely LOVE these! They are gorgeous. You’ve got this down to a fine art. Your designs are beautiful.

    I know of a town where residents were asked to paint stones last year during the pandemic then they were placed in a commemorative garden. It was a lovely idea.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  8. Woooooo, congratulations! Le artiste has completed the masterpieces!

    I wonder how those 100 days would have looked were it not for that initial Christmas gift..? I think it’s a great one to try and you’ve done incredibly well. Not just sticking with it but with coming up with new designs time and time again. I’m still disappointed by the clear lack of diamante penises (penii?).

    It will be strange for you going back to the shops after 14 odd months. I’ve not really browsed in all this time. I’ve mostly gone into a shop quickly, head down, mowing people out of the way that come too close with my walking stick (not really, but I imagine it every single time), get what’s needed and leg it. I do pay before legging it of course. I can’t imagine a leisurely browse anymore, and I certainly can’t imagine stopping for a coffee. I don’t know how it’ll go back to ‘normal’ unless there’s a way to know whether the vaccinations are likely effective in any given individual.

    I imagined stone painting and decorating to be rather fiddly. It’s good there are tools to make it a bit more ergonomic.

    I’m not shitting you when I say I think your stone designs are amazing. The quality of the end result is likewise awesome, the way they all look almost factory made to a pre-made specification.

    I love the idea of scattering some around the area to bring a smile to those finding them. Do you think you’ll try another creative endeavour like this soon to fill the stone-shaped hole now the 100 day project is over? xx

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Firstly I challenge you to the next #The100DayChallenge to create 100 penii!

      I’m currently doing a mix of scratch art, and diamond painting to keep me entertained.

      I actually went to the shop this week for the first time. It wasn’t nearly as weird or exciting as I imagined. It was fairly quiet which was good. Bar one unmasked lady that decided to lean over me to reach something! People spoil it for others.

      Yes, I wonder about the vaccine and how effective it would be with my condition and being more susceptible anyway…

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. 100 penii, though you don’t specify what they have to be made from. Is this a multi-media challenge? I’m oddly tempted!

        I’m also tempted by the diamond art after seeing a lot of it on social media but I have it feeling it’ll either be very relaxing, or very frustrating.

        I’ve bought my dad a few different scratch art designs for birthday/Christmas gifts. They seem pretty cool to do though I’ve never done one myself. Enjoy!

        Wow, that’s a big deal with going to a shop! Sounds similar for my mum as we walked to the nearby Tesco Express yesterday so that she could try her first shop in over a year, too. It was a very, very rare occasion compared to any other time I’ve been out during the pandemic where thankfully it went well and I didn’t feel the urge to impale any idiots with my walking stick. She also found it wasn’t quite as weird or liberating as she’d anticipated after all this time. Just rather odd. Glad you found it fairly quiet as well as that helps but yes, I think there’s always going to be at least one moron. I suppose it’s not as awe-inspiring or monumental partly because it’s still so uncertain and not straight back to “normal”. xx

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Oh it’s a multimedia challenge, each one different. And I’m very much looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

        I find the diamond art more relaxing than the scratch art, I think because it requires slightly more concentration.

        Liked by 2 people

  11. Wow! I’d never heard of rock painting before but these look incredible! I especially love the monochrome collection and the yellow and orange ones – but they’re honestly all stunning. I’m happy that this lockdown art challenge helped inspire you to create more. What an incredible skill to discover.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.