Gnomes for the Four Seasons-Work In Process

I have been making woodland and winter gnomes for my Etsy shop and I decided to make spring and summer elementals and offer them as a seasonal set.



Gnomes are known in various countries by various names.  For example, Tomten in Sweden, Leprechaun in Ireland, Dwarves in Germany, Dactyls in Greece.  They are part of a classification of elemental beings from myths and legends and correspond
to the four elements:

• Gnome, spirit of earth
• Undine (also known as a nymph or mermaid), spirit of water
• Sylph, spirit of wind (also known as spirit of air)
• Salamander, spirit of fire

Check these links from Wikipedia for the traditional description.



And here is a small selection of books for wonderful tales about elementals from the Waldorf tradition.

For adults:

• Fairy Worlds and Workers, Marjorie Spock
• Nature Spirits, Rudolf Steiner
• Nature Spirits and Elemental Beings, Marko Pogacnik

For children:

• The Seven Year Wonder Book,
• The Tomten, Astrid Lindgren   
• Tales of Tiptoes Lightly, Reg Down
• Liputto, Richard H. K. Vietor 
• Over the Hills and Far Away Stories of Dwarfs, Fairies, Gnomes,and Elves from around Europe Illustrated by Ineke Verschuren , Daniela Drescher

If you have read my blog before you might recognize the process I use to begin a project.  The unseen part is thinking and daydreaming about what I want to make before I begin to bring it into form.  I might look through my books from my days as a Waldorf teacher for inspiration, or hold the project in my mind as I fall asleep.


Then I gather materials.



                                                                       



 I tend to work in batches. So I have chosen a body color for each season.











 I have templates that I have made for the woodland and winter gnomes so I will use those again: hat, garment and beard.

Come back soon to see what the finished set will look like.

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