09/06/2026
The repetitive whittling of the simple Gnome head/face serves a couple of purposes.
For the beginner, it is something that can be completed in a short period of time while developing hand-strength and technique using a couple of tools (detail and optional 1 1/2" knives and a Vee gouge. After sketching in the brim of the cap I score the line with the point of a sharp knife - go deep. I then flatten the center area beneath the brim - this is where I will carve the nose. Make the flattened area wide enough to sketch in a good sized round nose. Note- if you mess up here, no problem; just reverse the ends of the piece and start over again. I use the detail knife to go all around the nose. Following the nose you can then flatten the cheeks, shape the cap and use the Vee gouge to detail the beard.
A second purpose of a simple carving if for those who will attend shows to sell their work. How so? Consider the Car Wash; it gives you a menu of choices and each choice has a description of what will be done, starting with a basic wash and ascending in price to the top level wash/wax etc. This is called "tiered pricing" where the customer is able to see and select from a variety of choices (Seen everywhere e.g.Honda offers autos- Civic, Accord, Odyssey, Acura and choices within each model LX, EX, EXL). The simple Gnome head/face is the lower tier. The second tier could be something like the small Santa Face/head (shown) in the photo. Where the Gnome is sold x dollars the Santa is sold by a multiple of x. . For example, $10 for the Gnome, the Santa would go $15 -$17 a larger Santa/Gnome would be in $30 for example. Hope this helps.
