Rock designs reflect joy of creator
Patsy Pinch strolls along the banks of rivers, streams and lakes finding treasures.
“A resource we’re not going to run out of any time soon,” she said.
She sees things in these “treasures” that others don’t. “But they don’t talk to me,” she joked. Simple, abundant and 100 percent natural, rocks are her palate and with them she forms works of art.
While painters use color on their palettes, Pinch uses shape, sorting hers in baskets with labels that include “fatties” and “flatties.” She has baskets of heart-shaped rocks, ones with interesting texture and egg shapes.
Pinch has always liked rocks, but a diagnosis of thyroid cancer in 2005 stuck a fork in her road and she took the artist’s route. After surgery to remove malignant tumors, she began handling rocks, which she found calming and energizing.
Pinch, 55, has no formal art training, but she has always been musical. She has played the piano for more than 40 years and recently picked up the accordion. As an artist, she said, “I’m a late bloomer. I think it’s always been a part of my soul, but it’s just now evolving.” She also enjoys gardening.
Her hobby that she calls “rocking” has turned into a business. From her artist’s statement called “Rock(et) Science,” she wrote: “I lovingly select the rocks and determine their artistic purpose … my designs can be conceptual, functional and versatile, and include: birdhouses, bookends, candle holders, cabinet pulls, coasters, mirrors, paperweights, shadow boxes and soap dishes.” Her shadow boxes display rocks in such a way that they become meaningful symbols of a flower, a face, a dragonfly, or an exclamation mark called “Live Life with Enthusiasm.”
She incorporates humor, wit and joy into each of her designs which comes from her desire to fill her life with such things. Her desire is reflected in her work and the way she handles each rock, which she scrubs clean, coats with a semigloss sealant, and then finds their purpose.
So far, Pinch has done well in her adventures and ventures. Her designs are carried in businesses including Artios on South Grand, Paradies Shops at the airport, Living Stone Custom Granite Countertops in Post Falls, and Simply Northwest.
Pinch creates her designs in her north side home. The garage contains boxes of rocks waiting to be sprayed with a sealant. A sort of sunroom contains bins and baskets of prepped rocks and a long work table. Her dog and cats enjoy watching her create. One cat likes to sleep on her shoulders while Pinch handles the rocks.
The rest of Pinch’s home has beautiful displays of rocks and her designs. It is hard to explain, but just looking at the baskets of rocks and touching the interesting formations is a therapy session all on its own. Pinch even carries a rock in her pocket, perhaps to soothe her and remind her to simply be joyful.