Amazing Little People

"Delicious autumn! 

My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth 

seeking the successive autumns." 

- George Eliot

I love the above quote as it so perfectly encapsulates my feelings this time of year. If only there were two seasons: summer and fall.... sigh. Seeing as it's October, I turned another page of my Inuit Art calendar, featuring artists from Cape Dorset, Baffin Island.

This was September - which I never did get around to showing you.

It's entitled Yellow Bear, Brown Bird (Kenojuak Ashevak)

For that matter, here is (was) August. Sheesh!
I took a bloggy break in August - so I do have a good excuse.
Swimming Bear by Sheojuk Etidlooie

And finally we reach October's Legend of the Little People by Kavavaow Mannomee 

Our son worked on Baffin Island at one point a few years ago and brought us home a number of pieces from local artists as gifts. Legend of the Little People immediately brought to mind this one:

 Known as an Ulu, this all-purpose Inuit knife was traditionally used by women

for skinning and cleaning animals, cutting food, trimming blocks of snow and

ice used in building igloos and cutting children's hair.

The edge is very sharp, the handle and rest are caribou bone.

Legend of the Little People reminded me of a darling picture I stumbled across a few weeks ago and have been meaning to share. Like a lot of you, I adore little people, be they forest folk, elves, hobbits, fairies, gnomes... have I missed anyone? However, I had never thought to include Smurfs in that list! (probably because they're imaginary... lol) Isn't he adorable? If you click, it will expand further.

"The Smurf is actually the result of a symbiotic relationship between two organisms. We believe that Smurfs put their 'embryos' in the button of a developing mushroom. From a distance, Smurfs seem like they are wearing a hat and pants but as you can see this is a fallacy. The fungus provides camouflage and protective epidermal layers for the creature, while the creature provides nutrients and mobility for the spreading of spores."

Mr. Smurf got me thinking about a book I found a couple of years ago while rummaging through a large antique mall in Brantford, Ontario. I was instantly enchanted, yet set it down after few minutes and moved on. A few weeks after returning home I regretted that decision, called my mom and requested she pick it up for me; unfortunately it had apparently been purchased. Approximately six months later, I returned to the same establishment and did another thorough search myself - still nothing. In the end, I ordered it through Amazon.

The wonderfully detailed drawings and accompanying stories are simply precious. It richly describes everything you've ever wanted to know about gnomes, but didn't know who to ask:

how do they make a living?

how is a gnome's home built?

their history, 

legends, 

clothing, 

courtship and marriage, 

physiology, 

gnome acupuncture, 

animal aid,

where do gnomes go on their honeymoon?

Burning questions, and thankfully no detail is too small or overlooked!

Ha ha, I'd crawl in the pages if I could!

That's all for today - I'm not quite sure how we got from George Eliot to Gnomes... but we did! Did you know that George Eliot was in fact Mary Anne (Mary Ann, Marian) Evans? George Eliot was her pen name, which she is said to have used to ensure her works be taken seriously. She also hoped to escape the stereotype of women only writing lighthearted romances. (Wiki)

Tomorrow morning we set off for a few days in Nelson, BC. My husband has business there and I am tagging along. If you've never visited Nelson, I highly recommend it. It's a very scenic location and the town itself is both quaint and quirky, it has sooo much character and fabulous shopping - a lot of it very earth muffiny and handmade. I'm taking along my camera - hope to bring back some pics which show the town at it's best. Have a great week - I'd really like to say have an amazing week, but after reading a few of my previous posts, I have only just realized how much I use that word: A LOT!

Cheers!