My Rock Painting Hobby

Rock painting has been such a fun and joy-filled activity for me these past several days and I’m having a blast with it. It’s not only been therapeutic but just enormous amount of fun. I haven’t had so many colors in front of me in so long and it just makes me so ecstatic!!! This summer I started getting more into gardening and this goes so hand-in-hand with that hobby of mine. I’m still learning both of them, but both of these activities bring me so much joy! Here are the photos of some of the rocks I have painted: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17864036462577357/.

My colleague, Claire, inspired me to start this hobby. She shared rocks she and her son painted and I instantly fell in love with this art. I inquired about it and then started reading blogs and other websites for it and also watched several YouTube videos before I started painting my own rocks. I’m going to link all of these things below in case you’d also like to start rock painting. I’ve been getting this question quite a lot so thought I’d just put the info in a blog post and share. 

First and foremost, be safe while doing everything and enjoy it and share with others around you! 💗😁

Here’s what I do for my rock painting:

1. Get the rocks. Select the kinds you’d like to paint. They could be any shape or color. I have quite a few in my backyard / garden that I purchased long while ago so I just go pick some out from there. My suggestion is to buy some from local stores. I got some of mine at TriCity Rock here: http://www.tricityrock.com. There are many other places that sell rocks. 
2. Wash and prep the rocks. I wash the rocks with soapy water and brush in sink, making sure the bits from rocks don’t go in sink / garbage disposal. You can also wash them in two buckets - one with soapy water and other with clean water. Make sure to remove the dirt and other things from them. This video has been very helpful to me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD_v8zg26VU.
3. Let the rocks dry completely before you start painting them. I let them air dry on towel or plate in the yard and go flip them after a few min to let the other side try.
4. Get acrylic painting pens or colors and brushes, whichever you prefer. I use the Artistro acrylic painting pens. Here are the links to purchase them:
1. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07485T22B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
2. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NS381GK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
3. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NSP573D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 
5. Paint the rocks. This is the most fun part!! Enjoy it!! Let your imaginations run wild and also get inspired by everything around you (several links with ideas below).
6. Let the rocks dry completely.
7. Seal your rocks. If you plan to place your rocks outdoors or near water, make sure to seal them before you do that. You can spray them or paint them with sealant. See this page on how to: https://rockpainting101.com/how-to-seal-painted-rocks/. I haven’t sealed any of my rocks yet. Waiting for my Krylon spray paint to arrive. I have ordered this one and it’s on the way: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004O7HTDQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Once I have used it, I’ll share how I like it.
8. Let the rocks dry completely.
9. Use your painted & sealed rocks in your home, garden, desk, anywhere you like and gift them to loved ones. You can also hide them in open public places for strangers to find them and spread kindness and positivity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kindness_Rock_Project I didn’t know this was a big thing until recently! Check out here for more on that: https://www.google.com/search?q=best+places+to+hide+painted+rocks&sxsrf=ALeKk03U40trOU1l96ECfDo3zE_vMmjlRw%3A1627928377056&source=hp&ei=OTcIYfQF6M7Q8Q_rhBg&iflsig=AINFCbYAAAAAYQhFSWigbd3pOQDn1qiQFl5oNHpU6CA2&oq=hide+painted+rocks.  

Here are some more links to check out:

My favorite rock painting blog / resource: https://rockpainting101.com/

Rock painting ideas: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rock+painting+ideas

More Rock painting ideas: https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=rock%20painting%20%20markers&rs=rs&eq=&etslf=3585&term_meta[]=rock%7Crecentsearch%7C4&term_meta[]=painting%7Crecentsearch%7C4&term_meta[]=markers%7Crecentsearch%7C4

More Rock painting ideas: https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?rs=ac&len=2&q=rock%20painting%20ideas&eq=rock%20painting&etslf=2101&term_meta[]=rock%7Cautocomplete%7C0&term_meta[]=painting%7Cautocomplete%7C0&term_meta[]=ideas%7Cautocomplete%7C0

More rock painting ideas: https://www.google.com/search?q=rock+painting+ideas 

Hope these are of help!! If you do start rock painting, please share your work. I'd love to see it! 💖👍😃

Kanan

Visit Museums for Free

D just reminded me of this again today, and I thought it was a good idea to spread the word around to the art-lovers.

Bank of America has this promotion called Museums on Us 2008, with which if you're in any of the following states in the US, then there are a select few museums where you can get a free admission all year long on the first weekend of every month with your Bank of America card.

Arizona

California

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Illinois

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Texas

Washington

Now isn't that the coolest!?

Click here for more info.

Hypnotic Santoor

So finally after a wait of more than a month, I got to attend the "Hypnotic Santoor" concert of Rahul Sharma and Ustad Zakir Hussain. And the wait was completely worth it. It was my first time ever listening to Zakir Hussain perform live and also Rahul Sharma.

The concert lasted about two and a half hours only but the way this duo mesmerized the audience was out of the world! The coordination between the two artists or rather maestros was amazing and their communication flawless. So often during the program I sat there and just wondered how two people can play such synchronized music without reading if off from a piece of paper that too at a stretch of more than an hour at a time non-stop. It felt like same person was playing both instruments, specially when you listen to the work where they both slow down and speed up and then in low notes and high notes and low volume and high pitch music... all you can do is sit there shake your head and get lost in the heavenly music that falls on your eardrums. And then there were times when I realized why Zakir Hussain is called THE BEST tabla player of the 20th century.

The first half of the program was more of Rahul's signature work which involves classical Santoor combined with the new age music he experiments with on different taals of tabla, and the latter half was mostly on Raga Kirvani combined with different tabla taals. I liked both parts equally as they both were so enjoyable and I wished the program didn't pause for the break or complete at the end.

Rahul's smile is beautiful as well ;) and the way he performs is so very simple but the music he produces with his Santoor is completely mind-blowing! As for Zakir Hussain, I now know why music lovers all over the world are gaga for his tabla playing skills. To see his hands perform magic with the set of tablas was awesome!! The speed at which he plays tabla, you can feel he's deceiving your eyes and ears. Watching a live program and listening to classical music on audio are two completely different experiences and the first one takes the cake without a doubt! You just have to be part of it to experience it. It is truly a breath-taking feeling!

It was funny how the two artists were so much in hurry even during the break and at the end of the show, they just didn't seem to want to stay on stage. Who knows may be some crazy audience member might jump up on stage and start asking for an autograph. They both literally ran off the stage at the end of the concert after taking a bow towards the audience.

I wish the concert lasted longer but given the fact that it was on a week night, everyone was eager to be out of the theater, including the artists. It was a wonderful concert nevertheless! I feel lucky to have gotten a chance to attend it and watch these artists perform live. It is at times like these I feel blessed that I coexist on mother earth with these divine artists and have an ability to appreciate their art.

Art in Easter eggs

I personally don't celebrate Easter, but have quite a few coworkers who do. My Bulgarian coworkers not only dye(color) the boiled eggs with different edible colors but also play the egg-fight game. So what do they do in this egg-fight? Well, everyone picks out a colored egg from a basket that they dyed earlier with colors. Then people hold the egg in their hand with egg securely inside the soft grip of their fist, and tap the top of the egg to another egg that's in the hand of the other person. This goes on until one person is left with an unbroken egg. Eventually, everyone but one person is left with both ends of the egg broken. The winner is supposed to have good luck for entire year. The eggs are colored using edible dyes - some are multicolored and some are single colored - and left to dry. After the egg-fight, people usually peel, and eat the boiled egg with salt sprinkled on it or the way they like. This year I got an opportunity to capture a couple of dyed eggs on film! Btw, the traditional Easter bread they make is out of this world!