Gnomes, and New Harmony Part 2

 

It was a long car ride to southern Indiana last week, so I brought along a stitching project.

This little garden gnome from Lori Holt's Stitch cards seemed like the obvious choice. Like I mentioned in my last post, New Harmony was founded by a man who bore a striking resemblance to garden gnomes. lol!

I popped him into this little round hoop frame to go with the mushroom.

I haven't stitched since last year, so it was fun to give it a try again. If you ask my husband, he will say that needlework makes me crabby because I don't smile when I'm doing it. I told him that's because it takes all my concentration...that's why they call it "counted" cross stitch!

Cross stitch is meditative...not unlike the Roofless Church.

One of the most striking features of the town of New Harmony is a place called The Roofless Church. This meditative garden is filled with religious art that makes you pause and reflect. 

And when I visit, my big question has always been: How is it that this tiny town in the middle of nowhere can have such amazing art? Like this cross from Canterbury Cathedral, for example.

Or this:

Or this:

Everywhere you turn, there's something new to see.

I think one of the most compelling things about this town is the sense of peace that wraps around you the longer you stay there. There is not much to do in the town but walk and admire all of the art and the gardens, to pause and marvel at the trees, the Wabash River, the birdsong. It is quiet. Very, very quiet.

That must be why it is a magnet for artists and writers. They started something called The New Harmony Project to encourage writers in their craft.

I told my husband that if he left me there for a month, I think I could easily write a novel.

I did discover the secret to this tiny town's art acquisition, and I will share it with you tomorrow. Stop back to hear about oil barons, theologians, and a connection to MLK.