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Celebrating One Year of Community and Love for Rocks - Interview with Parrish Jefferson, Collector and Ardent Supporter of Rock Art

Celebrating One Year of Community and Love for Rocks - Interview with Parrish Jefferson, Collector and Ardent Supporter of Rock Art 73

Welcome to a new series of Rock Street publications presenting the life and achievements of our rock painters, their latest works of art, rock painting tutorials, and other news from the world of rocks!

 

Today I have the extraordinary occasion of interviewing the most significant collector of rock art of our days, amazingly supportive person, and activist of kindness in the world of art, Parrish Jefferson. 

Exactly a year ago Parrish began her Instagram journey and started collecting painted rocks. Since then she has been encouraging hundreds of artists to continue their work, promoted rock art campaigns, and acquired art works from artists from all around the world! If you are one of those artists who had the chance to meet and talk with Parrish, you will agree that she never failed to show her endless passion for rock art.

Hope you enjoy the reading and her beautifully painted rocks.

Stay blessed, 

Christine Onward

 

Celebrating One Year of Community and Love for Rocks - Interview with Parrish Jefferson, Collector and Ardent Supporter of Rock Art

 

Who is Parrish Jefferson and how did this passion for art begin?

I'm just a gal from Texas, highly educated but have never been able to keep a stable career due to my husband's job which required frequent reassignments. It allowed me to see much of the world though. They also translated into helping me relate to artists from many places, in every corner of the globe!

 

painted rocks mandalas art collection stone painting Parrish Jefferson USA

A traveler's passion for art - glimpse into part of Parrish Jefferson's collection of rocks from all over the world! 

 

Since starting your account on Instagram I have been following your posts with curiosity at first, and then with some sort of an addiction, I must admit. With each post I was eager to know what other beauties you were adding to your rock collection, what other stunning creations you found and what far-away countries they were coming from. Tell me more about your collection. How many rocks have you got so far? How do you exhibit them? What does their display look like?

 
At last estimation I have about 350 rocks! I collect all genres, colors, themes etc., from USA, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Latvia, Korea, Indonesia, every country in Europe. What's heartbreaking is that in some countries postal costs are so high, it isn't even feasible to do business with the artists who live there. It is frustrating for them and myself all the time, unfortunately.

mandala painted rocks boho chic design collection Parrish Jefferson

Part of Parrish's rock collection in blue hues

 

Displaying so many rocks has become really challenging for me. I often display in vignettes featuring certain colors or by theme (such as my Southwestern Style collection or that with a Native American look). I've also collected special bowls from several artists to provide more beautiful displays for rocks. I even have some on wall sconces! It's almost time, however, to purchase some new wall shelves!

rock art dots mandala collection Parrish Jefferson blog Christine Onward  Parrish's stunning collection of rocks and the decorative plate in hues of turquoise

Has collecting painted rocks changed your life in any way?

Collecting rocks and becoming part of the rock painting community on Instagram has changed my life in so many positive ways I'd never dreamed possible!

It began with a simple first purchase....from Valeria Campagna. Boy, did I set the bar high! I was so impressed, that I posted awful pictures (my fault!) and shared my excitement with the few followers I had. That began one of the most important relationships in my life. Valeria is a dear friend and actually, we will be working together soon on a new project involving Etsy, other artists, and it will include opportunities for new artists as well! That's all I can say at this point, but I'll be making announcements in May.

I also have in the works a world wide 'Rock Olympics' (rather an annual rock painting competition). N.A. More details about this event will be published in a few weeks on this website

boho chick home decorations mandala painted rocks blog Christine Onward

With a touch of boho-chic and admirable colours

 

With the positive feedback received from posting such beautiful works, collecting rocks soon became a passionate hobby! I had to hone my staging and photography skills and learn what a hashtag was! I made an advice sheet for new artists who wanted to make a name and sell Art. Artists then began coming to me for advice, wanting to be featured on my page; this was an honor to me and a happy and productive use of my time. It's been a joy.

home decorations painted stone rock art blog Christine Onward

 

Over the last year you have shown tremendous support for rock artists from USA and from across the globe. You frequently tag new artists in your posts, share their achievements, encourage new releases and new campaigns. Why? Where is this desire and energy to help others coming from?   

As I collect from established and well known artists as well as beginners,  I tend to meet thousands of them, even tangentially! I fully believe that one's motives are what matters in this life of soul-growth. Therefore, helping artists, featuring their art to best highlight its beauty, to support and encourage, to introduce new talents...well, it's a way  of paying it forward. Spreading beauty is always a treat! Further, promoting the business side of art is often distasteful to artists, so I help there as much as I can!

I also want people to know that artists have been VERY KIND to me! Not a week goes by without receiving gift rocks I didn't even realize had been sent! I'd estimate at least 30% of my rocks have been gifts. I consider that I'm overpaid in unexpected, generous gifts and say as much when people commend me for helping artists! And by the way, I never charge and never have, for any help. It just wouldn't feel comfortable for me.

painted rocks dots mandala boho chic interior decorations unique blog article christine Onward

Rock art mastered with magnificent skill and patience

I know this is going to be very difficult to respond to, but is there a specific rock in your collection that has a special significance for you or story attached to it that is worth talking about?

I do admit to having one favorite stone. Valeria painted the 'Parrish Rock' inspired by my energy (her words) and it is not only sentimentally the most meaningful rock, but also aesthetically one of the most beautiful rocks you'd ever hope to see! It has a sacred place in my home, with her framed words, and Christine, when I received it, it felt like I had won a Grammy or the Nobel Peace Prize! 

painted rock Val Campagna mandala blue art online Christine Onward

Val Campagna, the "Parrish Rock" and framed are Val's words about inspiration and friendship across oceans

 

Over this last year since your Instagram launching, you have surrounded yourself with a huge number of rock artists of outstanding talent and success. Along the way, some of them have also become good friends. Could you mention some of your artist friends?

They will be so many! I will only mention SOME of my wonderful, talented, and amazing artist friends, I do hope you will jump to check on their accounts for their art works are absolutely divine: Valeria Campagna, Andrea Moebes, Yosy,  Purvi Patel Sandi O., Corrina Marie Canning,  Oti's Art Studio, Summer Tan, Vallerie, and special regards to Viola, Karin Getaz and, the Empress, Liona Hotta

painted stones mandala boho chic design blog art online Christine Onward

 

Last but not least, knowing so many artists and being involved so deeply in their creative world, what is the message you would like to send to them? Can art change things for the better?

The last words would be about the great therapeutic value of rock painting. Painting on rocks is something everyone should experience. It's calming, fun, creative whether one has innate skill or not.

Recently however consciousness has been raised regarding the ubiquitous problem of art theft. I've done several postings and had dozens of artists contact me in distraught over this issue. Artists, please tag those who inspire you, never take advantage from a peer's design, and finally, if it happens to you... TAKE ACTION! Let's keep this world of rock painting a beautiful thing!

art online mandala meditation peace love kindness blog Christine Onward

Stunning art works and memorable colours from Parrish Jefferson's collection. Thank you for kindly enchanting us with such marvels and your kind words! 

 

Parrish and I are welcoming your comments in the section below. Also you can make inquiries or add info on rock_street@yahoo.com.

If interested to buy, the rocks for SALE are here

Story of my painted rock - visiting the land of Turquoise

Story of my painted rock - visiting the land of Turquoise 10

Stones are like treasure chests. They capture inside the purity of the universe, the power of waves, whirling winds, and roughness of sand. We only add our story, with colours, brushes and no words – just love.

This is a story of how and where I painted this rock. Hope you enjoy.

WHY NOT USE A LITTLE RED?

WHY NOT USE A LITTLE RED? 9

Christine Onward talking about the symbolism of red and its use in creating art on rocks 

Red appears to be the colour that artists have been using the most in their art works. It is suggested that the value of a piece of art will increase dramatically just by using red in its composition. Recent studies also suggest that at least 77% of the art works in history have used predominantly the red colour.

But why is red so highly appraised in the world of art? And how is this preference for red reflected in the art rock painting?

Here are a few of the most significant explanations I found when it comes to using red in rock painting. To exemplify I used a number of rocks by the artists of RockStreet Collective, recently  posted in the group.

poppies painted rocks artists of RockStreet Collective

Photo collage by artist | Lysa Mignot |  of RockStreet Collective (artists tagged in group cover photo)

Probably the most common suggestion for the use of red in art is love. Being such an intense, “hot” color, artists have used red to convey emotions such as passion, happiness, or intense love.

But how do you represent love on a painted rock?

You may use the symbol of love heart

love heart mandala painted rock Valentine's Day red gift for her  red love heart painted stone interior decoration gift for her 

Red painted rocks with love hears by | Karin Getaz | Kathy McLoughlin | Christine Onward 

 

Flowers painted on rocks in red may also elicit feelings of love: 

 rose painted rock interior rustic red decoration valentine's day  poppy red flower painted rock beautiful decoration red love Lysa Mignot   red flowers painted rock love decoration Pamela Campbell

Rocks by | Angel Martinez Garcia | Lysa Mignot | Pamela Campbell |

 

Red is believed to make you happy

ladybirds painted rocks red garden decorations basket happy decor  love heart painted rock flowers garden decoration ladybug love romance  frogs red garden decoration painted rocks happy children

Happy painted rocks by | Gaby Avila | Dawn Harper  | Kim Koch |

 

Red is such a powerful eye-catching colour that can make us quickly attracted to what we see. This is probably why, for outstanding designs, artists are prone to using red more than any other colours of the spectrum.

 decoupage flowers red decoration romantic decor paperweight  owl painted rock interior decoration outstanding art  rustic aboriginal art red decoration interior design bookend

Rocks interior decorations by | Angel Martinez Garcia | Lysa Mignot | Christine Onward |

 

Red is used to reflect beauty in nature , as seen in the feathers of these fascinating birds:

  flamingo red bird painted rock rockstreet collective  peacock painted rock paperweight red poppies interior decoration   red bird garden decoration parrot chinese artist

Red and birds, painted rocks by | Tanya Nikolaevskaya | Christine Onward | 陳 泳澖 |

 

Red is also suggested to enhance strength, confidence and optimism. Here are some outstanding decorations using different hues of red:

mandala red dots painted rocks meditation nature energy  painted rock red mandala rockstreet collective  red mandala swirl painted rock magic karin getaz

Painted rocks by | Henriett Jäckl Pauline Parker Karin Getaz |

 

And some more red? How about romantic landscapes with a red sky at dawn?

sunset sunrise red sky birds affirmation painted rock romantic breathe

Painted rock by | Christine Onward |

I will conclude here, although the story could continue with no end. Red painted rocks can make for a wonderful piece of decoration. Being a powerful colour which triggers intense emotions such as love, passion, happiness, the colour that attracts attention and makes every piece of art more desirable. There is no reason why you shouldn't try it for yourself.

***If you think your red work of art stands out from the crowd, feel free to post your rock in RockStreet Collective.  We celebrate RED week on our Instagram account starting from 4th to 10th of June.  There will be two artist winners every day!! Winning rocks will be featured on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and website. Looking forward to meeting you too.

More RED rocks for sale Here.

keep calm and paint red rocks

 Painted rock by | Sara Stich |
 

 

Tags Made Easy: Quick 10-Step-Hashtag Template to Increase Your Views on Instagram

Tags Made Easy: Quick 10-Step-Hashtag Template to Increase Your Views on Instagram 18

Tags Made Easy: Quick 10-Step-Hashtag Template to Skyrocket Your Views on Instagram .
RockStreet Collective's PAINTED ROCKS – the Halloween video

RockStreet Collective's PAINTED ROCKS – the Halloween video 19

 

 

How do you make a group of artists, all different in age, styles, culture, personalities and interests feel like home? How do you make the art on rocks not only the common language for everyone, but also a source of fun, relaxation, joy, interest and so on… Here is an idea I came up with recently.

 

Collage of artworks by: Carrie Hart Sharp | Johns Found Art  | Berna Figueredo | Maria Michela Troccolo - Oceanomare Stone painting, sassi dipinti | Lindsey Bridges Art  | April Anderson | Ernestina Gallina - Pietrevive 

 

I woke up on Sunday morning thinking I need to make a Halloween gift for my RockStreet Collective hub of friends. I searched through my rocks, thinking that a simple post with a spooky painted stone and nice Halloween wishes will suffice. Then I looked around, and noticed everyone was also posting spooky rocks. Just in the most incredible styles, and colours, and moods reflected in so many approaches from so many countries!

 

Collage of artworks by: Petra Groth | Nadejda Vladeva | Mike Fant - Mike's Art Glass  | Rachel's Rocks | Ruth Yong | Jey Kam  | Pamela Campbell | Gaby Avila 

 

So I thought I could just make a funny video with painted rocks, new or old, from our RockStreet Collective group of painters. At 9 in the morning I began downloading Halloween photos of painted rocks. By lunch time I had about 90 photos saved on my computer, each of them with the most interesting, colourful, scary, original etc. designs.

 

Collage of artworks by:  Eiji Shimamura | Erika Warren | Chaz Kohut | The Mad Lou Rocks | Sandra Suazo | Danijela Milosevic  | Sussi Louise Smith | Shyla Jannusch | Nicky Stones

 

As you might already know, making a video is not just a simple thing of putting pictures all together randomly just to see what comes up in the end. Most of the photos I had downloaded needed editing. On each photo I had to type its author’s name as well. I had to explain the ownership of each creation for everyone. It was meant to be equally fair for everyone :) . Sooo, about 90 photos to edit until dinner time!

 

Collage of artworks byChristine Onward | David Eric Leftwich | Lorraine Redlich | Liz Campanile Gibson | Marilena Sostero | Lyn Phillips | Annegret Ehrmann | Monica Maticiuc

 

At the end of the day I had 81 photos of 43 artists from around the world edited and ready to go into the RockStreet Collective Halloween celebratory video. I apologise to those artists of our Collective who didn’t make it to the video. If I missed any of your photos, it was not done on purpose.  

 And here is our video:

Halloween painted rocks by RockStreet Collective

I would like to thank all the artists whose works of art on rocks made up to such a wonderful, engaging little Halloween video. Since then I have received tens of thanks, wonderful words of gratitude, wonderful stories of life about how much this little attention from my side means to them… I also had some complaints that the video doesn’t play in some people’s countries. I think it might have been the song I used, “Abracadabra” by the Steve Miller Band, your country’s rights on the song, the device you are using, or just the misbehaving YouTube.

 

Collage of artworks by: Mónika Mészáros Kavicsfestés | Melinda's rock paintings | Spray PaintArt Veljo | Mariella Trigari | Michelle Sullivan Maddix  | Steenzoekertje Zoeken | Tami Hegwood

 

I will end my little Halloween video story here by thanking you all for bringing colour and joy in our lives every day. Painting on rocks does change lives – always for the better. And you make this happen.

With love,

Christine Onward of RockStreet Collective

Featured image by : Cynthia Snider
THIRD ROCK FROM THE SUN by Tony Flurscheim

THIRD ROCK FROM THE SUN by Tony Flurscheim 30

Tony Flurscheim talking this week about his first encounter with painted rocks and therapeutic benefits of rock painting

 

When I first saw Christine Onward’s work on the net I could sense something creative and unique there. And the universe conspires at times to arrange things…

She happened to live almost next door to where I holiday each year. At Diamond Beach, a 5 hour drive north of Sydney. We meet up for a series of rocks for my sister’s Reiki Practice Waves of Energy and order some other general pieces.

 

Sunrise in Diamond Beach | Photo by Tony Flurscheim | Facebook | Instagram

 

I can still remember our first meeting with Christine at the little café in Blackhead, nearby Diamond Beach. They have great pies there all the time. My brother-in-law is normally a placid man of few words. He was in awe when shown the rocks! He literally stood up, looked alive for a change, picked up one piece and just said: I want this one!

 It came to me just then: Rock Art must bring out extraordinary drawing talents and create Healing Powers as well.

I bought some rocks and the following week I went to Canberra, our nation’s capital, to visit my friend in a nursing home. He has Alzheimer’s. I wanted to give him a rock as a gift. I handed it to him. You should have seen the look on his face! 

It lit up. Full of life. He connected with the rock. He touched it, felt it, and quickly put it in his pocket.

 

Photo and rocks painted by Christine Onward | The Stunner Boutique

 

And one more twist of fate: Months later my friend in Canberra lost the rock I gave to him. It happened that Christine was also in Canberra for a brief stay. I contacted her and had her do up another piece, with my friend’s name on the back of the rock.

I have since been told he’s very happy, and the rock is his constant companion.

The third rock from the sun. It does have mysterious ways of Healing. And a big thank you, Christine for making that happen.

 

An interesting find | Photo by Tony Flurscheim | Facebook | Instagram

 

 

- Tony Flurscheim – Sydney, Australia