Where the Gnomes Begin: Tracking Spawning Spots

Over the past year, me and some helpers have been setting out gnomes as part of the Gnome Project. Some of them stay right where they were placed or disappear, while others get picked up and moved again and again.

This map shows something I’ve been curious about: where the most active gnomes start their journey.

• Black dots mark the gnomes that have never been moved or that have disappeared.

• Colored spots with blue rings show gnomes that have moved, with the color and size scaled to the number of moves — more movement means a larger marker and a shift further along the color range.

• Zoom in and you’ll see the differences more clearly, while clicking on a marker gives some information about that gnome.

It’s not scientific, but it’s fascinating to see a few places turn into spawning grounds where gnomes get picked up right away, while others simply fade into the landscape.

I don’t have all the questions yet, and I definitely don’t have the answers — but that’s part of why I keep experimenting. Each map like this gives me a clearer picture of what’s working with the project, and what might come next.

At its core, this is a community art project. The art isn’t only in making the gnomes, but in the whole system: setting them out, tracking their movements, and sharing those interactions. My hope is that it reminds us there’s a thread of connection running between us — always there if we choose to reach out and hold it for a while.