Photo credit Larry Hammill to be placed at Planks on Parsons
The German Village Garten Club is bringing 3 – 5 foot tall gnomes to the German Village area this summer and through the holiday season. This public art installation will celebrate our community’s European heritage and provide months of activities for locals and tourists alike.
Adopt or Foster a Gnome
Photo Credit Larry Hamill
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The above pictured gnome will grace the entrance of Planks at Parsons. Painted by Larry Hamill
A Little Bit of Gnome History
Gnomes were created by Swiss/German scientist and alchemist Paracelsus in the 1500s. He wrote A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies and Salamanders. He imagined gnomes as tiny, earth-dwellers and magical creatures that guarded the earth. He fashioned them with beards, cone shape hats and worker garments similar to miner folklore clothing. The gnomes would help agrarian farmers have abundant crops or play tricks on them, if they were not behaving in an appropriate manner.
In the 1870s in Gräfenroda, Germany, Philipp Griebel had a pottery business. He began making clay garden gnomes. The pleasant, bearded minature men were empowered to manage forest spirits and bring good luck to the gardens they were placed in. They became all the rage in Germany and he exported them all around the world.
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Another gnome you will see in the German Village area painted by Larry Hamill.
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GARDEN Adopt a Gnome Issue LXV
