This week’s exhibit-of-the-week isn’t in an art gallery. It can’t be seen easily. But for those who make the effort, all the artworks are free of charge, for whoever finds them.
Finders Keepers is an annual hunt for artist-decorated rocks, which will be hidden throughout West Hartford. The event was founded last year by members of the local creative collective WeHa Artists Emporium.
The event lasts just as long as “The 12 Days of Christmas.” The hunt will begin Dec. 1 and run through Dec. 12. People who want to find the rocks can visit the Facebook events page — facebook.com/events/748399035292451 — to find clues about where they’re hidden. Different rocks will be hidden on different days.
“We post the clues at various times to work with different schedules,” said Hannah Dunnack Jackson, one of the artists who will be contributing painted rocks to the hunt. “Sometimes we hide rocks early so stay-at-home folks can get out and find them. Other times we’ll hide them in the evening so after-work rock hunters can have a chance.”
Other artists painting and decorating rocks for the hunt are Stefanie Marco — who founded WeHa Artists Emporium — Julie Phillipps, Phyllis Meredith, Laura Marks, Kimberly Heil, Thea Wilcox, Angela Shenk, Chris Ouellette, Bonnie Mackenzie and Lisa Connors.
On Sunday, Dec. 13, the event will wrap up with a holiday exhibit at 11 Lexington Road in West Hartford from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. People who don’t find rocks during the hunt can buy rocks at that event, as well as other artworks by members of the group.
On the Facebook event page, people who find the rocks can post their discovery in the comment threads under the clues. “It is nice to know that the rock is no longer there for both the other hunters and the artist,” Phillipps said.
