River rocks are her canvas and scripture is her work of art

The other day…By Donna Culotta

Growing up, I always believed that flat rocks were for skipping across the water. Dahnell Bell has another use, she paints on them and spreads the word of God at the same time. Her flat rocks would be rather hard to skip on water because they are larger than a stone and with heft.

Louisiana is not a rocky state so Dahnell and her husband, Rob, take a trip to Baton Rouge and buy smooth, flat river rocks imported from some far away state. The flatter the better to paint on.

“I started painting on rocks 14 years ago when someone gave me rocks from their trip,” Dahnell said. She decided to paint on them, not because she knew how to paint but because they were calling to her.

Nothing stops Dahnell from achieving and the same can be said of her painting.

“I taught myself,” she said casually, “I looked in books, I checked out Pinterest, I looked for designs, quilt designs, dogs, cats, animals, quotes and humorous sayings.”

At some point, as the collection of painted rocks grew, Rob asked his wife what was she going to do with them?

A Quilter’s Journey

Let’s step back a bit. Before Dahnell began painting she was a quilter and her specialty was art quilts.
Art quilts are different from regular quilts in that they aren’t used for bedding but are designed for visual display although they’re created in the same way with three layers.

Dahnell had been taking her art quilts to craft shows.

“The shows were very popular,” she commented, “so I took the rocks and people grabbed them.”

Two years ago something kept coming to Dahnell’s mind. “You know when you keep getting a nudge three or four times it’s from the Lord,” she proclaimed.

Dahnell’s nudge was to start painting scripture on the rocks.

At the same time, “the Grief Ministry at church wanted little rocks with scriptures. I stopped everything to do that and now it’s become my ministry.”

Overcoming Challenges

Perhaps this is a good time to tell you that Dahnell has use of only one hand. She lost the use of her other in an accident when she was 16-years-old.

“It’s not a handicap!” she pronounced, “It’s just a challenge because I have God on my side. I can do everything I want to do.”

Dahnell can even play the piano. “I have a Clavinova and can play the right hand. Rob programmed the left hand for me.”

And remember, she was a quilter; a one-handed art quilter.
She raised two children and calls the inability to use her left hand a “nuisance.”
She has lived through a broken back and just had a shoulder replacement not letting any of it hold her back even though she couldn’t sit in a chair while the broken back healed.

The Art of Painting Rocks

Circling back to her rocks, after Dahnell and Rob choose just the right rocks, they come back home and wash them.

The surface is prepped with acrylic semi-gloss spray clear coat. Then to paint on her rocks, Dahnell sits in her recliner with a pillow, which helps steady the rock.

She started using some of her favorite Bible verses in the beginning but if you know anything about the Bible there’s a never ending supply of scripture.

The rocks are three sizes, have a decorative border, a design in the middle and a scripture encircling the artwork. They are bright, colorful and well done.

“It takes me probably three hours at the most to paint a rock,” Dahnell remarked.

“People put them in flower beds and on grave sites,” she added.

Being a positive person, Dahnell has traveled through life believing “God always gives you a way to do what you want to do.”
She says she is more blessed than so many others who have it worse.
As to not having her other hand, Dahnell will tell you, “I forget I can’t use those fingers.”

See More of Dahnell’s Work

To see examples of Dahnell’s artwork go to:
DBWorksOfHeart.etsy.com
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