To quote Bruce Garrabrandt, “creativity doesn’t wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones.” This quote easily applies to Angela Schamp and her Gnome Tree. If you’d like to see the unofficial “Clarksville mascot” take a drive down North Street and you can’t miss the Gnome Tree on Center Street.
Angela had a large, old maple tree in her yard. Cicadas damaged it and it needed to be cut down. What happened next is a wonderful example of making lemonade when life gives you lemons. As she saw the tree coming down, it brought out her creative side. Angela knew she had to do something fun with what remained of the tree.
Her favorite color is purple, so she wanted to start by painting the entire tree purple. She bought a bunch of spray paint and painted it. Soon after, a friend of hers was at her house working on the roof. While they worked, Angela had an idea to build a roof for her tree. The roof is the only part of the entire tree that Angela outsourced, and every other detail is her own work. The roof was very large and her friend and his son carried the roof up to top the tree.
Angela started to add fun little details to the tree. She created doors, windows and a mushroom and painted them to add to her display. She had the inspired idea to create a tire swing from her deceased father’s motorcycle tire.
The idea to make this dead tree into a Gnome Tree was entirely Angela’s idea. She said she didn’t even know what it would become when she started out. After Angela painted the tree and added some fun details, her friend showed up one day with a couple of gnomes. She gave them to Angela and said, “Use your imagination,” and it led to the Gnome Tree.
After all her hard work last year, Angela had to start over when she noticed the bark peeling on the tree. She scraped off all the bark and repainted the tree peach by hand. She painted the entire front of the tree with a paintbrush. She added solar lights so the tree lights up at night. It was a lot more work this year, but the time investment paid off. The tree is very detailed this year and even the windows are hand painted.
Angela said that kids love it, especially her grandkids. Children are so enamored with the tree that they think they can step inside. The children also believe the gnomes are real and that they are just sleeping.
Angela already has a plan for some new additions to the tree next year. A color change is also in the works; she will be changing the tree’s color from peach to chartreuse next year.
The Gnome Tree and Angela’s story are an inspiration for us all. Instead of seeing a dead tree, Angela saw a blank canvas. She says, “go big, or go gnome!”
