Window Sill Garden Gnomes

Claude · #1 07-02-2008, 10:01 PM

My wife and I were visiting some friends in upstate NY this past weekend, and I happened to notice that her window sill African violet "garden" looked rather plain: it needed a gnome! So...I went outside and carved one. I swept up my mess, put my tools away, and put him next to one of the violets. He looked sort of lonely, so I went back out and carved a companion for him. Cleaned up my mess (again...my friend is getting lots of free wood chip mulch in her garden), and installed the companion. Sorry about the quality of the photo - available light and I was in a hurry, because I wanted to see how long it'd take her to spot the gnomes. Since they're carved from 1 inch by 1 inch basswood, and less than 3 inches tall, I thought it might take a while. Wrong - she spotted them within 15 seconds of going near the sink...

Claude

gene messer · #2 07-02-2008, 10:10 PM

Wow .. Claude .. are you the perfect traveling whittler .. I bet they think your the most right now .. Those are great looking little characters and the carving is wonderful ..

excellent job .. and you cleaned up too ! Boy what a house guest you are ..

Gene

tucker1931 · #3 07-02-2008, 10:30 PM

Hey there Claude, what a great gesture and a neat little pair they are, good for you.
Cliff

Iowa Carver · #4 07-02-2008, 10:45 PM

Claude, those are really great! Nice job. Did you carve these from a book or just off your head. Nice work!

Corey

Claude · #5 07-02-2008, 10:54 PM

Thanks, guys!

Corey: I had a little bit of the idea in my head, sketched the side view and front view on the wood and started hacking away at it. The only bad part of the whole process is that I had no finishing stuff with me. Next time we visit them, I'll take some varnish along, and probably some different colors of paint so I can paint them colors she'd like. I lean toward greens similar to the leaves they're beside, with maybe some brown accents...but whatever she likes is what I'll do. I'll try to remember to take my Dockyard micro-gouges along next time so I can also finish the eyes...

Claude

Iowa Carver · #6 07-02-2008, 11:59 PM

Claude I think that is great. I like how you do the eyes on these. I need to do more practice with that. Thanks again for posting them. Oh... you could take them back with you, paint them and mail back to them. I see now that they are 1 x 1 carvings. They look much larger than that!

Corey

wood-whittler · #7 07-03-2008, 05:24 AM

claude,

those look great it seems to me that the small and quick are the most fun to do, great work.

bart

squbrigg · #8 07-03-2008, 06:14 AM

Great idea and a nice thought. Leaving a pair of small carvings to brighten up their home is something they shall certainly remember and appreciate. Well done ........ both on the carvings and the kindness.

Bob

Anthony Filetti · #9 07-03-2008, 07:40 AM

Oh that's just great Claude, now we are going to get inundated with THEM up here, the little thieves!!!

Great job on the gnomes Claude!!

Tom H · #10 07-03-2008, 10:07 AM

Claude, Wonderful gesture, and wonderful little pieces. Claude, you do some really nice little carvings. I think it was some of your little carvings that got me started on the wee small stuff.

Since you seem to enjoy carving the little gnomes, and since you have that sense of giving; here's an idea, that I do. I carve little gnomes out 1x1 that end up 3 inches high too. I put detail into the faces (not your neat eyes), and not much detail into the body. I paint and polyurthane them. I then wait until my next door neighbors leave the property and I hide these little gnomes all arount their yard. Sooner or later the neighbor girls (3 and 5) will have a hunt for them....Fun, fun, fun....

Thanks for sharing that neat little couple.

Tom H