Why are these people painting rocks in South Florida? It has to do with quarantine

The pet rock craze hasn’t come back to life from the 1970s. But maybe painted rocks will be the next trend.

In Victoria Park, a neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale, mysterious artists are painting rocks and leaving them at homes to foster unity during the coronavirus crisis.

Some rocks, which people pass by on their walks, have words such as “believe,” “strong,” and “beauty” painted on them. Others have paintings of animals or smiley faces.

The national Kindness Rock Project was started in Massachusetts by professional coach Megan Murphy. Children and adults in the Fort Lauderdale community paint rocks and leave them along the street for neighbors to enjoy.

The rules are to make them, discover them or move them. Rock painters are called “fairies” for the magical feelings that the rocks produce in community members.

Brittany Caldwell of Fort Lauderdale started a Facebook page when she realized that many of her neighbors were also coming across them. The group’s 60 users have created a virtual rock garden where they share photos of the rocks they have come across.

“As horrible as COVID-19 has been, it has brought the community together and has helped us all become more humble and refocus on the things that matter in life,” she said.

Caldwell, 32, and her mother began painting rocks as well to spread messages of “compassion, love, strength and faith,” she said. This project has been used as a healing tool nationally, including in Broward County schools after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting.

“I just think people like being around a lot of the positive energy,” said Connie Caldwell, Brittany’s mother. “It’s something to bring light into their world — because we’ve just been hammered with so much darkness.”

Teresita Martinez, a licensed mental health counselor in South Miami, said connecting with others in new ways has helped her clients cope with the COVID-19 situation. Feelings of anxiety and loneliness are widespread because of uncertainty and isolation, but projects such as the painted rocks can create a sense of community.

Art is a way to show others that they are being thought of, even if by strangers, the counselor said.

“The most beautiful thing we can give each other right now is a sense of ‘I still mean something, I can be seen, I can still connect, I just need to be creative about it,’ ” Martinez said.

The national project has made its way to other South Florida areas, too. Painted rocks found in Palmetto Bay in Miami-Dade read, “Don’t Worry Be Happy,” and “He is my ROCK!”

Janice Palmer, a disabled veteran, can’t walk far, so she started a rock garden in her front yard in Middle River Terrace, a Fort Lauderdale neighborhood.

Along with her mother, son’s girlfriend and friend, she paints rocks and adds them to her lawn. Palmer disinfects the display every morning so that neighbors feel comfortable adding rocks or taking them.

A year ago, Palmer was in a pneumonia-induced coma, and she said that painting rocks has helped her spend quality time with her family while joining in on something that brings happiness to her neighbors.

“I’m glad I’m here to be able to participate and to bring joy to myself and others, whereas maybe I didn’t as much before,” she said.

Kip Reynolds, a Fort Lauderdale Realtor, said seeing the rocks on his morning walk helps alleviate his stress over the pandemic. He and his husband, Brent Kuenning, who works in technology research, both appreciate that it’s an activity that children and adults in their neighborhood are enjoying.

“When you’re walking and trying to enjoy the moment, it really perks you up,” Reynolds said. “It changes the perspective.”

“It gives you a little joy to start your day off,” Kuenning added.

This story was originally published June 2, 2020 at 6:21 AM.