Thursday, January 20, 2011

Gardening Halflings and Gnomes

It all started with a gift for my friend's birthday.  I made her a sculpture of a dwarf standing in front of his lighted mushroom house.  It was so much fun to create, I decided to make another version.  The mushroom house itself is really cool.  I wrapped clay around a glass votive holder for the stem and living area of the mushroom and cut out the door and windows so the light could shine through.  Inside is an electric tea light.

OOAK Fantasy Sculpture Gnome and Halfling Lighted Mushroom House OOAK Fantasy Sculpture Gnome and Halfling Lighted Mushroom House
Pretty flowers grow up the stem of the mushroom and around the base of the house.  I decorated the cap of the mushroom with glow in the dark leaves and stars.
OOAK Fantasy Sculpture Gnome and Halfling Lighted Mushroom House 
Then of course there are the main characters of this piece, Gnor the Gnome and Henry the Halfling.  As I was sculpting these two I remembered our neighbor and Grampa exchanging fresh garden vegetables during the summer.  They were good friends and always willing to share whatever they had grown that season.  I still remember Mr. Wednt bringing Gramma bouquets of dill- LOL!  In this sculpture Henry is bringing over a basket of tomatoes, corn, lettuce, and carrots.  The more I look at Henry, the more I see Mr. Wednt in him- he even used to wear a straw gardening hat.  This all came through subconsciously, and I didn't even see the connection until after the piece was finished.  The Gnome and Halfling were inspired by Boris and Dinko Tilov.  I've been doing a lot of the projects in their Sculpting Mythical Creatures in Polymer Clay, and having a great deal of fun with them.  Their characters are always fun and whimsical, and full of personality.  I'm currently working on another project from that book, and should be listing that one in the next week or so (all depending on how complex I make it).
Thanks for stopping by and sharing the creativity!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

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