More information on the painted stones
During the walk from Espalion (France) to Santiago de Compostela (Spain) I took 61 painted stones with me. I left these behind between August 1 and October 11, 2015 along the walkway, every day. On my website and social media, almost daily a photo of a stone was posted along the path. Hereby the name of the giver, GPS coordinates and a haiku (short Japanese poem). After my return to the Netherlands everyone received a certificate of authenticity of their stone.
The stone weighs an average of 15 grams (at the beginning of the trip I had about a kilo of stones in my backpack). The stones were or given to me by the client or picked by myself.
The stone may remain for eternity or taken by another pilgrim…..….. (see the comment by stone no. 20, which is found by a pilgrim)
On the back of the stone, I painted the name of my website. Finders or participants of this art project can find information about this project on my website, or leave comments.
Why would someone do such a thing?
I like challenges, And I like the challenge to walk for 1470 kilometres. Since several years the Camino attracts me. But the time wasn’t ready yet.
31 July 2015 is finally the day I walk from Espalion (France) to Santiago de Compostela (Spain). Arriving at San Pied de Port (France), I crossed the Pyrenees to the north coast of Spain (Irun). From there I walked the Camino del Nord, along the coast of Spain. Until just before Gijon, I left the coast to walk to the mountains (the interior of Spain). Through the amazing Camino Primitivo I arrived in Santiago de Compostella. From there I walked to Finisterre on the west coast of Spain.
Why does anyone do such a thing and then take 61 more stones along?
Making this trip meaned dealing with a lot of personal challenges. It’s the same with the paintings I make. Under the name Mural Mania I make murals. Painting miniatures on pebbles was also a special artistic challenge!
During this spiritual route, there are things I wanted to leave, wanted to share and wanted to learn! Why should I not do this for other people? And in a way, which is closest to me: through painting. The symbolism that I leave something for others and making my own backpack literally every day lighter is also beautiful! From the many nice comments on Project Stone, it’s obvious that both participants and interested people followed the project with great pleasure.
Because the journey itself is fairly intensive, this art project gave me the space to focus primarily on the walk. I paint the pebbles before my departure, inthe Netherlands.
Application
Project Stone ended. But I started a new Project, for which Project Stone was the foundation. This project is different and amazing. For more information caminostones.com. When you have questions or want to apply for the new project, please contact me through info@caminostones.com.
Very good questions and answers.
-Where Can I find stopnes on your website? Click here, you find an overview with circles with pebbles in them. You click on the circle with s specific stone for more information.
-Up to what date could I apply? Until July 7th 2015 for Project Stone. For my new Project Caminostones you can already apply through info@caminostones.com.
