Gnomes Themed Design Challenge

Gnomes were the theme for this month’s Art Elements design challenge. Gnomes are a type of fae creature and are earth elementals. You’re probably most familiar with gnomes as garden decor or as the spokesperson for a certain online travel booking website. As a long time fan of gnomes, I had so many ideas for exploring this theme. Alas, I only managed two of them.

My first gnome project was to decorate the lid of a small hinged tin. For this I used polymer clay to sculpt a gnome in relief and then added him to a background. I worked this way because it was unseasonably warm (whatever that means in this era of climate change) and my very fresh clay was super sticky. If I had tried to compose my gnome directly on a raw clay background, I would not have been able to easily move or reshape it as needed. Yes, I could have cured the background first, but I don’t like doing multiple cures unless necessary for structural integrity of a piece.

Polymer clay gnome figure work in progress
This is my polymer clay gnome in progress on a piece of paper. At this stage, he was waiting for me to turn that blob of red clay in the upper right corner into his characteristic red hat. I went with a “hands tucked behind his back” pose because hands are challenging for me, especially at such a small scale (he’s about 5 cm tall without his hat).

After I was happy enough with the gnome figure, I created a background on the lid of tin, using a slightly pearlescent light blue for the sky and a mottled green blend for the grass. I added a few clouds to the sky and some small flowers in the grass. The gnome’s facial features are very simple because my sculpting skills are very rudimentary. While I would have preferred to create a face with more character, I think this works.

Hinged metal tin with polymer clay gnome on lid.
This is the gnome tin after curing. That line running across the upper right corner of the sky is not a crack in the clay. It’s an unintended mica shift effect from using a clay blend that contains mica. If I had noticed it in the raw clay I would have re-rolled the sheet to get rid of it. I thought I would use a wash of acrylic paint to emphasize the textures in the clay but I haven’t been able to let myself do it. It’s almost impossible to get the paint out of all the nooks and crannies if I decide I don’t like the effect.

The next project was to make some little gnome figurines suitable for tending to houseplants. As in, you could place them in a small pot or planter. I was going to make them in the all-hat-big-nose style that seems popular on Pinterest but I just couldn’t manage the big hat. I thought I could work my way up to the big hat, but never got there.

Ginger gnome couple figurines in polymer clay.
The ginger gnome woman was the first little figurine I sculpted. For some reason, I made the eyes proportionately larger than with the gnome on the tin. I stayed with that size for the rest of my figurines. I can’t decide if it makes them look cuter, or somewhat evil. For the ginger gnome man, I tried to get more realistic, adding ears, arms, hands, legs, and feet. It did not go well. He’s rather lumpy. But he’s quite proud of his mustache.

While I was sculpting my first two gnome figurines, I was thinking some gnomes probably have darker skin if they spend so much time outdoors and aren’t gingers. When I shared a photo of the ginger gnome woman on my social media, a friend had the same idea. She asked if I could make a “brown” gnome. Did you know mixing skin tones is hard? Like, really hard. For my ginger gnomes, I just added a smidge of copper clay to beige clay and got a decent approximation of pale skin. For a mid-tone skin, I used some techniques fro mixing acrylic paints that I found online. It took the better part of two hours to get a color I was happy with.

Polymer clay gnome figurine front and back views
The brunette gnome woman will be on her way to my friend who requested her. The color blend for her skin contains raw sienna and burnt umber for the base, orange to lighten, purple to darken, copper for a little glow, and translucent for depth. I dabbed some pastel on her cheeks, as I did with the ginger gnomes.

After finishing a ginger gnome couple and a brunette gnome woman, I decided to make a blond gnome woman. I wasn’t being methodical about measuring clay for the various parts of my figurines and somehow, their heads just kept getting larger with each iteration. If I had kept going, I think they would be bobble-heads.

Polymer clay gnome figurine with blond braids.
By the time I made what turned out to be my last gnome for this challenge I decided to measure the clay I was using for each part of the figurine so I could reproduce the same size in future. I hope I make time to revisit these little figures and refine the design.

There might eventually have been more gnome men and I might have worked out the kinks in making the seated figures. There might also have been some itty bitty gnome beads or charms. But, as you’re probably aware, the month of March was a little stressful for anyone who was paying attention to the emerging novel coronavirus pandemic. I needed some book therapy and spent a good many hours binge-reading fantasy and fiction to escape and decompress.

Polymer clay ginger gnome couple figurines from back view
The back view shows just how lumpy the gnome man turned out. He’s also a little tipsy and tends to fall over backward. But for a first attempt, I’m not going to beat myself about all the flaws. I will simply make note of things that need changed or refined for the next attempt. I think this cute couple will find their way into one of my potted plants. I was going to show you a photo of them in said planter, but the plants are in my office, where I’m not allowed to be until further notice due to the pandemic shelter-in-place and social distancing measures.

While that’s all I’ve got for you in the way of gnomes today, there’s plenty of other gnome-inspired art for your viewing pleasure because this design challenge is also a blog hop. Please visit the other participating artists to see how they interpreted this theme.

AE team:  Marsha Cathy   Jen   Jenny   Lesley   Claire   Niky

Guests:   Tammy.(<–You are here!)   Linda   Hope   Cat   Sarajo

23 thoughts on “Gnomes Themed Design Challenge”

  1. Claire

    I am still astonished how much you still managed to create! The gnomes are really cute and I think something a lot of people need right now. 🙂 I hope you will find time and energy to relax, decompress, and still create!

    1. Tammy Adams Post author

      Thanks so much, Claire. I’ve escaped into a couple dozen novels this month and I would worry about pacing myself if it were harder to get digital books. 😉

  2. Cat

    What a sweet little gnome community! I’m partial to the first one because I love the way he stands – the tucked in hands thing is what I do myself a lot as a person 😉 – and maybe also because he looks so familiar to me (German descent perchance? 😛 ).

    1. Tammy Adams Post author

      Thanks so much, Claire. I don’t know his ancestry, but we can assume there’s some German in there. 😉

    1. Tammy Adams Post author

      Thanks so much, Kathy. I used to be a redhead myself. Sadly, I am one of those unlucky gingers who’s hair turns brown before going grey. Maybe that’s why I gave my first woman gnome red hair. 🙂

  4. Catherine Mendola

    You always manage to create so many items! I love the tin and all the gnomes but the ginger gnome couple is my favorite. They are adorable. The ears are too cute on the little guy and his mustache is definitely something to be proud of 😉

    1. Tammy Adams Post author

      Thanks so much, Cathy. The mustache was a last minute addition and I’m glad I decided to add it.

  5. Jen Cameron

    They are all so charming! I love them. The mustache…wow! I also found it super interesting that making darker skin tones was difficult. The result was worth it though. Just adorable!
    Thanks for participating during this challenging time.

    1. Tammy Adams Post author

      Thanks so much, Jen. I imagine blending skin tones isn’t as hard for folks who understand blending pigments better than I do. But luckily there were a few tutorials online for how to mix acrylic paints that translated more or less well to the clay.

  6. Hope Smitherman

    You always amaze me with your clay skills. I love that you made several skin types too. And, your bravery in making female gnomes is impressive. I stuck with the boys for my needs, but am happy to see the females represented in your skillful work.

    1. Tammy Adams Post author

      Thanks so much, Hope. For some reason, making female gnomes was easier for the figurines. Probably because I didn’t try to give them too many features. Or limbs. LOL.

  7. Jenny

    Utterly charming! Im so glad you could join us! I am partial to the gingers, naturally. I like the big eyes – feels a bit more fae and mischievous. The one dude wont be tipsy if he is in a plant!

    Your darker skin tones are spot on. I tend to think of it as akin to human skin tones. Im sure there are gnomes from all regions and all skin tones! I know I do mermaids in all shades!

    1. Tammy Adams Post author

      Thanks so much, Jenny. Mischievous is the better descriptor for their big dark eyes. I like it. And I had the same thought about gnome dude – if his butt is in some potting soil, he should be able to remain upright. LOL. And I agree, there must be gnomes on every continent and therefore with a wide range of skin tones. Just like mermaids. Although, I tend to imagine mermaids with fish colored flesh. LOL

  8. Linda Landig

    Wow, they are all so creative and whimsical. Love them. I made my gnomes in ceramic, but I think your idea of tucking them in amongst your plants is brilliant. I think I’ll make some bitty ceramic gnomes and do that. Thanks for the idea.

    1. Tammy Adams Post author

      Thanks so much, Linda. I think miniature versions of your ceramic gnomes would be adorable.

  9. Marsha

    I really love these little guys! So much work went into them and you did great with the different skin tones. I can totally see these guys hanging out in the areas where ones house plants live 🙂

    1. Tammy Adams Post author

      Thanks so much, Marsha. They are as eager to find a home in some potted plants as I am to get back to work in the office where my plants are. I enjoy working from home, but I do miss the standing desk and dual monitors in my office.

  10. Divya

    I think you could make up an entire animation with your gnomes or atleast a photo book style story book. All of them seem to have interesting back stories as well.

    1. Tammy Adams Post author

      Thanks so much, Divya. Maybe I should make few more gnomes and then a little village setting. LOL

  11. Niky Sayers

    What lovely little characters, I think the gnome on the tin is my favourite, I love his little face!

    1. Tammy Adams Post author

      Thanks so much, Niky. I was pleased with his face too. I think it was beginner’s luck that it turned out the way it did because I struggled to recreate the effect when I moved to the figurines.

  12. Sarajo Wentling

    Cute gnomies! I think my favorite is actually on the tin lid. There’s just something about his expression!

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