Rock Star
By Jill-Duff Hoppes
L indsey Gluck’s life is really rocky, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. For the record, we’re talking about actual rocks, not metaphorical ones.
The 37-year-old Lindsey is an avid rock painter, meaning she paints kindness rocks and hides her colorful creations for others to find.
“The world needs kindness,” says Lindsey, who lives in Longwood with husband Andrew and daughters Emily and Adele. “I get a lot of fulfillment and joy out of this.”
Lindsey’s foray into rock painting began about three years ago when she found a painted rock at the base of a tree in a Longwood-area park. Lindsey took that rock home but resolved to pay the unexpected gift forward by replacing it with another that she painted, herself.
“That’s what I did, and I haven’t stopped,” she says. “That’s how the journey began.”
Now, Lindsey paints and hides adorable rocks pretty much everywhere she goes, putting her art into the world to brighten the days of others. She also gifts painted rocks to friends and family and donates her work to causes and organizations near to her heart such as PJ Library, breast cancer awareness, and solidarity for Israel.
“Being Jewish and feeling very connected to my spirituality and Judaism, every rock I put out there is a mitzvah,” says Lindsey. “You can do little things to make the world better. You don’t know the waves it could make.”
A Solid Foundation
Lindsey grew up in South Florida as an only child and spent countless hours immersed in scrapbooking projects at home.
“I’ve always been incredibly creative,” she says, “and making things has always made me feel whole.”
For her career, Lindsey pursued a different path earning a law degree in 2011 from the University of Florida.
She worked as a civil litigator for about five-and-a-half years until the birth of her first child. Daughter Emily, now seven, is a student at Jewish Academy of Orlando. Lindsey’s four-year-old daughter, Adele, attends preschool at The Roth Family JCC. Sometimes the girls join in on the rock painting fun, too.
Many of her rocks feature Jewish imagery including the Israeli flag and Hanukkah dreidels. When Lindsey posts pictures of her Judaica-themed rocks on Instagram, she often includes a brief explanation of the custom or holiday that sparked her design.
“I think I’m representing Judaism in a cool way for so much of the world that doesn’t know us,” she says.
Her rock of choice is a gray Mexican beach pebble that she decorates with acrylic paints and markers. To paint the rocks, she uses a variety of fun techniques including splattering, pouring and marbling.
A Personal Purpose
Many of Lindsey’s rocks feature people’s names or uplifting words such as peace and love, all of which she hand letters. That process makes her feel close to the great-grandfather she never met – who was a sign painter. When Lindsey paints, she often wonders if he experienced the same fulfillment in his work that she does.
In addition to the rocks she hides and gifts, Lindsey accepts custom orders for large batches of painted rocks and leads rock-painting workshops for senior-living communities.
Lindsey includes her Instagram handle on the back of her painted rocks, so sometimes she hears from the people who find her hidden gems.
“It’s a very hopeful thing to hide rocks,” says Lindsey. “As we all say in the rock-painting community, the right person finds it.
To learn more follow @lindseypaintsrocks on Instagram.
This story was originally published in print in Summer 2024.