Join in the Fun with "Santa Monica Rocks," a Treasure Hunt in Santa Monica

Have you seen people around the city happily searching for painted rocks on sidewalks, beaches, and in stores and parks? They are playing "Santa Monica Rocks," the art-rock game launched by the Ten Women Gallery on Montana that combines the fun of hide-and-seek and art-making with the technology and community of geocaching. Their goal: To make art a bigger part of Santa Monicans' daily lives.

The rules are simple: any budding artist can paint a rock, making sure to write Santa Monica Rocks on the back, and hide it in the community. When someone finds a rock, they should take a photo and post it to the Ten Women Gallery Facebook group dedicated to "Santa Monica Rocks" at http://www.facebook.com/groups/santamonicarocks. They can also post to Instagram with the hashtag #santamonicarocks. The rock finder can then either hide the rock once more for another person to find, or keep it and replace the rock with one of his or her own unique designs.

The Santa Monica Rocks Facebook group is growing daily. Rocks have been placed all around the city – on Montana Avenue, at the Santa Monica Airport, Palisades Park and Tongva Park, the 3rd Street Promenade, and along the Santa Monica boardwalk and Santa Monica Pier. The activity was inspired by similar games happening across North America, in particular "Winnipeg Rocks," which Ten Women artist Lynne B. Clark and her family enjoyed playing while in Canada this summer.

"What I love about this game is that it's something both locals and visitors to Santa Monica - of all ages and artistic skills - can do," said Ten Women metal artist Debra Bard. "It's community driven, creative, and it gets people to unplug, get outdoors, and look closely at the wonders of our city."

About Ten Women Gallery on Montana

Ten Women Gallery on Montana is a co-op art gallery featuring the finest in local handmade art including jewelry, collage/assemblage, ceramics, printmaking, photography, painting, art glass, sculpture, metal arts, cards, and book arts. A local favorite, the Gallery has been honored for the past four consecutive years as "Art Gallery/Gift Shop Business of the Year" by the Most Loved Santa Monica Business Awards. The original Ten Women on Main Street opened in 1994 and in 1997 expanded to a second, independent site. It is currently located at 1128 Montana Avenue. For more information, visit www,tenwomen.org and follow the Gallery's events and posts on Facebook and Instagram.