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GNOMES, HOMES AND GARDENS
SEAscapes
by Dennis Sheehy
July/August 2007
The 3rd Annual East End Artist’s Studio Tour and Sale in conjunction with the Munjoy Hill Hidden Gardens Tour is Sunday, July 8th, from 10am to 4pm. Gnome Homes will be on display at my studio and since Gnomes (statues, imagined or perhaps even real Gnomes) will probably be found in some of the gardens, it seems like a good time to write about Gnomes and their dwellings.
According to mythology, Gnomes are subterranean, often deformed dwarfs of folklore who usually guard precious ore or treasure. The term seems to have come into usage by Paracelsus in the 1400s but probably comes from the Greek word genomos, meaning “earth dweller.” Virtually all cultures have some version of little people or spirits that live in the earth, below ground or in the woods.
The most popular book of modern times to deal with Gnomes is called by that name, “Gnomes,” published in 1977 in the US by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York. It was written by Wil Huygen and illustrated by Rien Poortvliet.
When I first made Gnome Homes, it was without reference to Gnomes. They were simply miniature houses made from driftwood and other objects found at the beach while I played with my kids.
I was encouraged to show them to the owner of Edgecomb Potters, who liked them and wanted to sell them in his store in Freeport. He asked me what I called them and I said I don’t know. He then asked what kind of critters lived in them and I answered “probably gnomes,” partly because I had bought the book “Gnomes” and had read it to my kids. My daughter, Meredith, was 13 at the time and she exclaimed ‘Let’s call them Gnome Homes!!” So “Gnome Homes” they were and they became joined to the global mythology about gnomes, goblins, sprites, elves, trolls and other such creatures.
That was an easy connection for me since my Bachelors Degree was in English and since my ancestry was Irish and I had read a great deal about the “wee folk,” or leprechauns, as I was growing up.
While they were being sold in Freeport, I began peddling them to galleries along Newbury Street in Boston. One of the gallery owners wanted to feature them in an upcoming show. But the term “Gnome Homes” would have to go, he said. It was too cutesy for his clients. We kicked it around and finally came up with the term “structured environments.” The next day, I mentioned it to my daughter and she screamed “NO!” I decided that trying to do business in Boston would cost more than it was worth and retained the name “Gnome Homes.” I also knew that I would be losing the playfulness, the mythology and the fun and with that loss, a lot of their appeal.
As I began selling my work at craft shows, I noticed that people had a playful and visceral reaction. They would look quizzically and ask, “What is that?” I’d say it’s a Gnome Home. They would smile and look closer. Something had been triggered in their imagination.
Then, while vacationing on Monhegan Island, I read a biography of Carl Jung and discovered that he too picked up sticks and stones from the beach and made them into little houses and castles. And he had a dream about a house that led to his theory of the “collective unconscious.” I was fascinated. What had come from my own creativity, and was triggering others, appeared to be something very primitive and common to everyone.
My curiosity about this led me to the people of Thailand who have believed for centuries that every house and/or garden must have a spirit house. Inside live the good spirits, who will protect them from the bad spirits, as long as there is a daily ritual offering. This idea can be traced back about 5,000 years to the belief in animism.
A few years ago, a friend gave me a copy of a page from a book called “The Rebel Angels,” written by Robertson Davies. In the book, one of the characters talks about gnomes and has this to say: “One of my favourite cultural fossils is the garden gnome. You have observed them? Very cute objects; very cute indeed. But do people want them simply for cuteness? I don’t believe it. The gnomes provide some of that sugar in the drink of belief that Western religion no longer offers, and which the watered-down humanitarianism that passes with so many people for religion offers even less. The gnomes speak of a longing, unrecognized but all the stronger for its invisibility, for the garden-god, the image of the earth-spirit, the kobold, the kabir, the guardian of the household. Dreadful as they are, they have a truth you won’t find in the bird-bath and the sundial.”
Indeed, some of the garden gnomes I’ve seen are atrociously dreadful. There is even a group called the Gnome Liberation Front and gnome-napping has been the sport of many world travelers. I have been gifted with gnomes over the years and, nothing personal to those of you who know who you are, only two of them were of admirable quality. One was made by a glass blower and the other was hand carved and was from Norway. It was about 50 years old.
The world of tacky gnomes has not stopped me from making homes for them. At this time, I have made 590 Gnome Homes and sell virtually all that I make each year. Each one is numbered, titled, signed and dated. They are constructed on pieces of driftwood for a base, using white oak from old lobster traps for the houses. The later has become increasingly scarce and recently I have been using cedar from old fences and thus have retained the weathered look. I am considering making the houses out of exotic woods, and thereby shifting the appearance to a combination of weathered base and highly finished wooden house. However, if anyone reading this knows where I can get my hands on weathered lobster traps, I’ll be grateful for a phone call. 207-773-0793 or an email sent to gnomes@maine.rr.com
