'Everything's got hearts': Monroe rock painter, 76, created Valentine's Day collection

MONROE — Diane Ford has been preparing for Valentine’s Day for weeks.

Ford, 76, of Monroe paints images on rocks and then leaves them outside for others to find.

“I’m working on Valentine’s Day a lot right now,” Ford said last week. “I have Snoopy with hearts, gnomes with hearts, teddy bears, a little guy who looks like jumbo marshmallows, flowers, everything’s got hearts.”

One of her heart-themed rocks just went to a local doctor’s office.

“I left one outside the office. Next time I went back, the rock was inside, sitting on the reception desk. I said, ‘You have one of my rocks, but it’s a snowman; you need to update to a Valentine’s Day rock,” Ford said.

She got into rock painting last summer.

“I started painting sweatshirts many years ago. I did them for friends. I sold a lot of T-shirts, hats, ties, but then I got out of it. I discovered some groups on Facebook about painting rock,” Ford said. “I just followed more and more groups. There are tons of Facebook pages all over the world. Some people are very talented.”

Soon after joining a couple of the groups, Ford was at a Monroe ProMedica facility when she noticed the rocks outside the door.

“They caught my eye. One was faded and needed touch-up. I brought them home and painted some flowers on them. Before you knew it, I was painting rocks right and left,” she said.

Ford asks permission before taking rocks.

“I always promise to bring them back (painted),” she said.

Ford’s first few rocks were painted with Q-tips because she didn’t have painting supplies. Since then, she’s amassed an assortment of paint brushes, paint pens, paints and spray sealer. She’s created about 130 rock art projects so far. One of her first subjects was a ladybug.

“I made dozens of those. I have a picture of all my rocks. I don’t sign them. I don’t take credit for them,” she said.

One of her favorite pieces has a farm scene.

“There’s a pond, a little boy fishing; it’s a larger rock. I have it on a stand. I’m pretty proud of that one. It turned out really nice,” she said.

The farm rock is one of the few Ford kept.

“I can’t keep them all. Store where I go, I leave them outside the door. When I come out, they’re usually gone. I try to put them where people will notice,” she said.

She’s also left rocks at a dentist's office, a cemetery office, the local post office and at an emergency room. The farthest was left at a casino in Grand Rapids.

“They bring a smile. I try put some in my car, and I keep a couple in my purse for when I’m out and about,” she said.

Occasionally, like at the doctor's office, she meets the recipients.

“I gave a check-out lady at Hi-Lite a rock. She said, ‘You’re the one who puts rocks outside. I’ve been grabbing every one I see.’ Some people are tickled with them,” Ford said.

Other rocks go to people she knows.

“My neighbors all have one of my rocks. All my girlfriends have my rocks; one gave me a shoebox full of rocks from Lake Superior,” Ford said. “I’m working on two swaddled babies. I have two showers coming up.”

Ford described her style of art as “primitive.”

“It’s certainly not outstanding. Mostly it’s just cute, a little comical. I’ve had no training. I am not creative on my own. I see pictures that are really cute and try to paint them,” she said. “If they turn out well, I’m happy to give them. If not, I repaint them.”

She’s learned some rocks make better canvases than others.

“A flat surface (is best). It’s hard to find nice smooth rocks. I look for one flat side so they sit right. You have to be a little creative with grooves,” she said. “I try to find anywhere from 2 by 2 to 2 by 4 inches. They are easier to transport, wash up and put back.”

Often, a rock’s shape suggests its design.

“Sometimes I look at them forever. One was an odd-shaped rock, kind of big and bunny-shaped. I asked my son. He said it looks like a casket. I ended up doing that. That rock scared me more than anything else!,” Ford said. “Another was a pie-shaped wedge. I put the center of a daisy on the corner with the petals wrapped on the rock.”

Ford works on her hobby several days a week, usually in the evenings.

“My husband, Paul, is a big supporter of my painting," Ford said. "I show every rock to him before I say I’m done. He takes orders from the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He’s on the ritual team that does funerals.”

The couple’s son, Paul, also is a fan.

“He says, ‘Can I take this one and take it to work?’ He worked at Ford in Rouge. He gives them to his buddies, for their wives,” Ford said.

The Fords also have two granddaughters.

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A 1964 Jefferson High School graduate, Ford worked at Nortel Lanes for 25 years, retiring a year before the fire. She did computer work for the bowling alley.

“I really loved that job. I was a bowler for many, many years,” she said. “I also had worked for Monroe Sports Center for eight years.”

After retiring, Ford worked holidays for a glassblower who had kiosks at the Mall of Monroe and the former Northtown Square Mall in Toledo. Ford worked in hiring and scheduling, but she got a chance to dabble in the art.

“He was teaching me to do some blown-glass earrings, little teddy bears and unicorns,” she said.

— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe rock painter, 76, create Valentine's Day collection