This Artist Turns Rocks Into Detailed Animals

Artist Inna Kondratenko's Spirit of the Stones series turns oddly-shaped little rocks into cute animals, and these rocky little wonders will melt even your stony heart. With just a bit of paint and a ton of imagination, Kondratenko creates adorable rock animals that fit inside your pocket or purse better than any other service animal.

Rock animal paintings, like out-of-this-world snow sculptures, take an underutilized natural resource and turn it into artwork. Instead of throwing them at trains or telling other people to kick them, Kondratenko gives these rocks a whole new lease on life, aesthetically speaking. Through her animal rock paintings, Kondratenko tries to elicit the "individuality" of each stone, and her interpretations make for some spectacular rock animals.

Some of her cute rock animals depict animals people see in their everyday lives, but quite a few of them also depict a number of lesser common animals. They make for fantastic little placeholders and are small enough to also be your own sturdy little companion. Regardless of how they're used, these fantastic animal rocks provide a simple but beautiful piece of work that highlights the wonders of the natural world, both biotic and abiotic.