Lockdown 'anonymous rock hiders' go global

A lockdown art project which saw residents paint and hide rocks has gone global.

Consett Rocks was set up during the pandemic in County Durham to encourage people to get outside again.

Four years on, the community of painters continues to grow and rocks have been found as far away as Amsterdam and New York.

Group member Aimee Wilson, who paints rocks with her son, said she loves feeling like an "anonymous rock hider".

"We feel a sense of joy when we see someone has found them, we like the idea of making someone's day," she said.

One painter said it was a "special feeling" the group was not-for-profit, but to put a smile on people's faces.

The Facebook group was created by Stephanie Marie Winter and her aunt, Victoria Morris, during lockdown in 2020.

People were invited to decorate their rock, write "Facebook: Consett Rocks" on the back, and hide it somewhere in the area.

The page quickly began filling up with people showing off their artwork and announcing when they had found someone's rock, before re-hiding it.

Ms Winter said the aim was to "help with anxiety, to help encourage the community to go outside again and get creative".

She said people had discovered rocks as far away as Amsterdam.

Mandie Guthrie said it helped her through tough times during the pandemic.

She had lost her mother at the time and was off work for the first time due to the lockdown.

"I gave so many people lots of joy and got them out the house," Ms Guthrie said.

"The photos that would be put on Facebook and the smiles on the children's faces said it all."

She said her rocks had travelled as far as New York.

"Painting rocks is my happy place and everyone in the group that joins in makes it that much more special."

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