Art can be a personal expression of the artist's interests, emotions or experiences, and now members of the Manheim community can take an active part in making art.

People are invited to paint rocks located in a bed beneath a mural on the north wall of 38 S. Main St. The mural, painted by Katherine and Jason Horst, faces the parking lot of Francesco's Pizza and is located on a building owned by J.D. Young and his son, Steven Young.

As Jason explained, one day J.D. stopped by while the pair was working and started chatting with Katherine.

"He was wondering if he needed to make a change to the bed of rocks that spans the entire length of the mural," Jason recalled. "And in talking about it, they came up with the idea of having painted rocks."

Rocks may be picked up directly from the rock bed in front of the mural, taken home, painted and returned.

"Nice, clean rocks are also available for pickup at Horst Arts Center, where a rock pile and project promotion can be found," Jason said of the center located at 17 N. Main St. "Painted rocks can either be returned directly to the rock bed or returned to Horst Arts Center. Ideally, rocks should be fully covered with paint."

He emphasized that anyone who paints a rock does not need to be a professional artist.

"The rock painting is not about creating amazing works of art, though we love to see folks doing just that," he said. "The main goal is adding color. While it will be fun for viewers to walk along the rock bed and look at the individual rocks, most of the time the rock garden will be seen from a distance. And so, rocks simply painted a solid color help incredibly! We would love to see people match the colors seen in the mural and create rocks of blues, reds, purples and yellows."

With the title "Manheim Made By Hand," the mural highlights the town's history, including a legacy of glassmaking. It was installed throughout the month of September, with a celebratory launch and ribbon cutting on Oct. 3.

"That is when the concept of turning the rock bed into a painted rock garden was introduced for the first time, with J.D. Young laying down the first ceremonial painted rock that he painted," Jason said, noting that J.D. and Steven are attorneys at Young & Young of Manheim. "They are loyal Manheim supporters and were very generous in allowing their wall to be used to help beautify Manheim."

The Horsts hope the rock project will inspire the community.

"This mural is a celebration of Manheim," Jason shared. "We have been overwhelmed by the positive response from the town. While painting the wall, we had many people ask if they could help. It's a natural response when you see your town being beautified. But while everyone wasn't able to add paint to the wall, everyone can paint a rock."

In fact, he's also had a request from a local art teacher, asking for a delivery of rocks for students in her classroom to paint. "When the students have created their works of art, I will pick them up and add them to the mural's rock garden," he said.

Jason noted that the project is being promoted with the tagline "Make Manheim Rock!" and the mural is a project of the Manheim Area Chamber of Commerce. The mural was designed by Horst Arts Center, which also painted the wall with the help of Friendship Heart Gallery artists. It was funded by Manheim Chamber sponsors and proceeds from the Baron Brew Fest, plus grants from the Lancaster County Community Foundation and the Women's Club of Manheim.

Jason is looking forward to seeing the rock bed completed.

"The space is going to look even more amazing when every rock is painted - and that is something anyone can participate in completing," he said. "This is the town's chance to be a part of the project and to take ownership of this beautification milestone."