Published Monday, December 16, 2002
Herald Staff Writer
Karen Hoagland said she no longer sees rocks when she's walking outside, she sees animals.
The Transfer resident began painting rocks two years ago. With the touch of her paint brush, big and small rocks alike turn to chipmunks, hamsters, fish, cats, ducks, horses and more.
"Each one keeps getting a little bit better," she said.
Mrs. Hoagland used to give the rocks away to friends and family. But a few months ago, her longtime friend Claudia White offered her space at her Sharpsville beauty salon, Claudia and Company, to sell and showcase her work.
"I've sold at least eight so far," she said. "That's the most I've sold since I started."
One dollar from each rock sale goes to Club Pet Adoption, a no-kill animal rescue shelter in Delaware Township.
Mrs. Hoagland said she hunts for rocks in the summer, then spends the winter painting them.
"I find rocks down by the river, at Lake Erie, whenever I go camping," she said. "Whenever I go out walking I usually come back with a rock."
The shapes and sizes of the rocks inspire Mrs. Hoagland's designs.
Smaller animals are shaped like baked potatoes, she said, while cats and horses are larger and oval-shaped. A turtle-shaped rock became just that -- a turtle.
Another rock she found had a small mound on the side -- perfect for a sleeping duck's head. Mrs. Hoagland said she had pet ducks as a child, and they always slept curled up with their heads bent over their wings.
She gets a lot of requests for fish, which she paints on flat rocks.
"It's hard, because you don't come by flat rocks very often," she said.
Mrs. Hoagland uses acrylic paints on the rocks, then sprays them with a clear varnish so they can be kept outside. It usually takes her about two days to paint one rock, she said.
With the holiday approaching, Mrs. Hoagland said she's been receiving many requests for presents. She said with a photo, she can re-create a pet cat or dog on a rock.
No matter what animal she paints on a rock, Mrs. Hoagland always leaves the bottom of the rock plain to show what kind of rock it is.
Like the animals she paints, each rock is unique.
"You are never going to find a rock the same size," she said.