Happy 125th Birthday Florence

When I first heard about the 125th Birthday of Florence, I knew that I wanted to be involved. I floated the idea of creating a special rock design. I had gotten in contact with someone from the City to ask if there was a “logo” for the event and they had responded that the “logo” was on the event flyer. I went in search of the flyer to see what I was working with. The design was simple enough, but it was not something that easily translated into design for painting. I had to go to the drawing board…

Being a fan of color, I knew that I wanted to incorporate it in to the design. The original design had the “City of Florence” written in script which is pretty simple for me to replicate. I have always been told that I have fantastic handwriting, so I thought it was a challenge that I could tackle. Not even thinking, I reached for a pen and begun to draw on a rock. One color paint pen after another floated through my hand and before I knew it, I had created a rough draft, a first edition. I was happy with the design, but it was missing the collectability that I was hoping to achieve.

So, I went back to the drawing board and sketched out three separate elements that, when added together, create the finished design…. something of which I am incredibly proud. Each of the elements would be found on every rock, but the location would vary by rock based on the shape and size of the rock’s face. Several rocks were painted that day with the intention of being used for the Block Party. I became sidetracked by needing to paint rocks for the National Drop A Rock Day, where we made and hid rocks that had “You Matter” painted on them, and 4th of July for a couple of weeks and ignored

these rocks entirely. There they sat…. lonely and longing for more friends to join their rock group.

Earlier this week, I spoke with Jo, from BeauxArts, and she extended an invitation for #FOPR to be involved with the booth that will be dedicated to Rock Painting during the Birthday Block Party event. We hope to be able to provide inspiration to party goers and offer answers to any questions that people have about rock painting and hiding. The 125th Birthday Block Party will be held on July 27, 2018 from 5:30p to 9p. After our conversation, I shared with Jo pictures that I had of the rocks that we created for the event and explained what I had hoped to do with them. She was super enthusiastic and supportive, encouraging me to share pictures of the rocks on social media in an effort to create excitement for the event.

After that phone call, I got my butt to work and began making more rocks for the party. I was aiming to become a rock painting machine, cranking out as many as I could per day. BUT…Due to my INSANE work schedule, I have only been able to make about 3 rocks a day. **NOT ENOUGH*** We currently have amassed 14 rocks to be hidden around Bay St before the start of the Block Party, with the hope that they will be found and kept as souvenirs of the event. I do hope to be able to make a few more but if not, I think 14 is a pretty decent number……(I’m trying to convince myself of this because I really wanted MORE.) I plan to take some really good pictures-to post on different Facebook groups dedicated to Florence-as soon as I get to take a breath. I promise to share my account of the event and pictures from that day as soon as possible. But, until then…Happy Hunting!!! #FOPR

~Heidi