Today we’d like to introduce you to Tifney Schoenfeld
Hi Tifney, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Tifney and I paint rocks (TifneyRox). Yes, rocks. Big, small, rough and smooth…. Ivey painted well over 2000 rocks to date. The path to rock painting was definitely long and winding.
With early roots in San Antonio, I didn’t find my way back until 2015. Growing up in San Diego, California had its benefits and granted me the opportunity to raise 5 wonderful men and have a long career in marketing communications. My focus was on creative services, managing a graphics team, project management, proofreading, and copy writing. In 2013, a series of disabling chronic illnesses sidelined my marketing career and left me bedridden for 5 months. In an effort to find a new path, my very supportive partner John and I left San Diego in a 38 foot motorhome and traveled the western United States, Canada, and Alaska (spending a summer there) until 2017 when we settled in San Antonio. Trying part time jobs proved to be more than my health would allow as new medical issues kept piling on. I felt lost without a purpose or goal.
Inspired by a fellow chronic illness warrior who told me about The Kindness Rocks Project in 2018, I became enamored with rock painting and being able to give back to the community. Not being a painter, but knowing graphic design, I decided to teach myself with online classes and tutorials. I was hooked!
2021 alone, I personally painted and designed over 500 individual art pieces. That was my highest producing year. I paint an average of 300 a year now.
I paint, prep, and seal rocks, bricks, and stepping stones most days. I also mold my own “rocks” and design my own inspirational stickers. I create custom pieces for friends and family and find joy in rock hiding throughout my city. I often share my work through San Antonio’s largest rock group San Antonio Rocks.
Transforming rocks into works of art has been a journey of self-discovery and healing for me. Now as TifneyRox, and leaving my marketing communications and design career behind due to chronic illness, I found a new path in painting rocks. Painting has become my therapy, giving me a sense of purpose and fulfillment.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life in itself is not a smooth road. Bring a domestic violence survivor then a single parent for many years. My children (Michael 38, Nick 37, Jonathan 36, Gabriel 34, and Joshua 29) inspired me to be a better person and provider. With some trade school certification I was able to get a fantastic job in a small company. That company grew to a $1.25 billion company and I grew with it. Developing devastating health conditions that led to me being unable to work was a significant blow to my lifestyle and self-esteem.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a self taught painter of rocks, masonry, wood and canvas. I’m most proud of being able to give back to the community for any cause. Given a task, goal, charity, etc. I will paint rocks for donation. I’ve painted for Animal Defense League, Run Ken Run, various walks including, sobriety support, children’s therapy children’s hospitals, cancer treatment centers, and illness support. I’ve also done many memorial stones for my friends and family including beloved passed family, squirrels, dogs, cats, and birds.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I define success as getting up each day, getting dressed and walking my dog. I know that seems like a small set of accomplishments but, for those with severe and debilitating chronic illness, that is success. Before my health decline, I was caretaking my mother and step-father. My stepfather George, to his dying day, got up, got dressed, including shoes. I’d come home from work with a greeting from him with a smile on his face. So every day I get up, get dressed and do what I can that day with his memory guiding me. Painting is my reward, giving is my goal.
Pricing:
- Commissions are welcome on a limited basis and a quote available upon request from tifneyrox@gmail.com. Prices vary depending on the size and details. Available to mail throughout the United States.
Free Art rocks available for your charity as well with advanced notice.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tifneyrox?igsh=MWZqNnBhNHdxcXV3aw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tifneyroxbusiness?mibextid=LQQJ4d
