Garden gnomes: magical or tacky? Well, art is in the eye of the beholder, and for the author's advanced seventh-grade art class, garden gnomes are magical. Gnomes have a very long history, dating back to medieval times. A fairytale describes them as brownie-like creatures that are nocturnal helpers. In this article, the author describes how her students created a gnome out of clay using a variety of hand-building techniques. The project began with a presentation that included a brief history and lots of examples through time. After discussing characteristics of gnomes, the students drew several sketches in their sketchbooks, reviewed the terminology and fundamental techniques for working with clay, and began to form their gnomes.