Atlanta Rocks

I met up with Tracy Bresson, founder of the group Atlanta Rocks and Yolanda Campbell, coordinator of Dragon Con Rocks to discuss the rock painting trend and how we can all spread a little joy.

How did this trend start?

It started with Megan Murphy and The Kindness Rocks project in Cape Cod, MA, and its spread through the country and even some places internationally. I saw her story and was inspired to start doing it myself. When I checked Facebook for an Atlanta Rock group, I didn’t see one, so I made one. I had no idea it would get to be this big (1,100 people in the group since being created in February).

What is the thought or goal behind painting and hiding the rocks?

To start painting the rock itself is very therapeutic. It’s not an overwhelming project to start and finish and it doesn’t have to be a masterpiece. After all it’s just a rock; no big deal. You can paint, color, decoupage, and carve it into anything you want. The only limit is your imagination! Hiding the rock is a good way to get out of the house and find some new places in your community. In a big city like Atlanta it can be really overwhelming to get out there and meet people and find a healthy community. Finding the rocks brings a little spot of joy to someone’s day, especially a child's. You never know what other people are going through and finding something like a silly painted rock could really turn their mood around.

What do you hope the finders of a hidden painted rock think when they find a rock for the first time?

We always hope they find us on Facebook and share with us, but overall we hope that it just makes them happy. Some groups have rules that you can’t take them home, you must re-hide them, or you can only keep one- but we are really more relaxed about it . As long as the collecting stays in a peaceful and safe manner, you can do whatever your heart feels like doing.

How many groups our out there?

There is an individual group for every Atlanta suburb at least, and probably at least one page for every state in the south. Acworth Rocks has a compiled list of every group in the state of Georgia.

Why Dragon Con Rocks?

We can really get the word out at DragonCon and we can really share a lot of uplifting messages at such a huge event. A creative event like this could really bring people in the community closer together and is just another fun family thing to do at DragonCon.