These whimsical little gnomes game to life by the talented hands of these artists!
Betty Montgomery is an Ohio legal trailblazer — the first woman in state history to serve as County Prosecutor, Attorney General, and Auditor of State, a record she built across a career defined by accountability, public service, and a deep commitment to the people of Ohio. A Bowling Green State University alumna, former Chair of the BGSU Board of Trustees, and current Of Counsel at Mac Murray & Shuster LLP, Montgomery brought that same sense of civic purpose to Johann Bauer, the gnome who honors the immigrant families who built German Village and reminds the community that freedom, responsibility, and belonging are values worth passing down.
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Bryan Moss is a Columbus-based, Grammy-nominated artist whose work spans painting, sculpture, and comics, fusing traditional fine arts with contemporary styles to explore identity, cultural heritage, and the human experience. Celebrated for his Grammy nomination for album art design for international recording artist Rema and showcased in galleries and art fairs nationwide, Bryan brought his signature vibrant detail to three Project Gnome characters: the imaginative Finn Wunderlich, the proudly lederhosen-clad G. Max Schmidt, and the devoted bibliophile Wolfgang Leseratte.
Ellen Knowles is a Columbus-area pet portrait artist with a deep love of animals rooted in childhood visits to her grandparents' dairy farm in Centerburg, Ohio. Working primarily in oils, her realist style is softened by expressive brushwork and a signature touch — flowers adorning the heads of her animal subjects as a quiet personal tribute. For Project Gnome, Ellen painted two gnomes: Liesel Weber, the singing spirit of German Village, and Hilda Schwartz, a milkmaid who remembers when 19th century immigrants built the neighborhood brick by brick.
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George Settos is a visual artist based in Wooster, Ohio, working across photography, canvas, and live art exhibitions from his gallery, Settos Art Factory. His pieces are known for bold textures and abstract qualities, with work shown throughout Ohio including a past exhibition at The Old Mohawk right here in German Village. For Project Gnome, George painted three gnomes: Greta Gall, Otto Mohler, and Friedrich Spieler, each honoring the traditions, stories, and community spirit that make the Village endure.
Jim Chakeres leads the Gnome Project team and serves as a member of the German Village Garten Club, helping guide Project Gnome from concept to reality across the neighborhood. Beyond his organizing role, Jim brought his own creative touch to the Village: he designed the landscape setting for the Gnome Quartet at 3rd and Whittier, shaping the garden display that surrounds the four green gnomes. His work grounds the playful scavenger hunt with the same horticultural care the Garten Club has championed for sixty years.
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Johanne Stogran is a Granville-based decorative and tole artist specializing in botanical stroke painting and folk art. A longtime fixture in Ohio's decorative painting community, she teaches seminars, in-person workshops, and classes through organizations like the Heart of Ohio Tole. For Project Gnome, Johanne painted Frieda Lichtner, a gnome who has spent generations admiring colorful windows and turning bits of light into stories of beauty and craft.
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Jordanne Renner is a multidisciplinary portrait artist and educator whose work spans large-format film photography, figurative sculpture, mixed media painting, and public art. A RISD and OSU graduate, she has received grants from the Puffin Foundation, FotoFocus Biennial, and GCAC, with murals in public installations from Columbus to Hoboken. For Project Gnome, Jordanne painted Hans Der Falter, a butterfly-themed gnome that feels right at home with an artist drawn to the body, landscape, and the stories places carry.
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Katie Lee is a Columbus-based multi-media artist and member of the Milo Arts community whose work explores memory, nostalgia, and identity — often drawing from old family photographs to invite viewers into quiet moments of self-reflection. A summa cum laude graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, she works primarily in painting, drawing, and handcrafted book arts, a medium she considers the heart of her practice. For Project Gnome, Katie painted Walter Morgen, a gnome who believes every day begins best with warmth and good company.
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Kitiera Alley is a self-taught Columbus artist with a natural eye for the living world around her — dogs, gardens, florals, and the quiet details of nature that most people walk right past. For Project Gnome, that sensibility was a perfect fit: Kitiera painted both August Honig, keeper of Frank Fetch Park's beloved gardens and beehives, and Sophie Vogel, who finds joy in the birds and butterflies that visit the gardens near The Sycamore.
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Larry Hamill is a Columbus photographer and artist who has been making work — and supporting himself doing it — since graduating from The Ohio State University with a BFA in Painting, Drawing, and Expanded Arts. A German Village resident from 1976 to 1985, the neighborhood has remained his studio ever since. Known for mixing abstraction and realism through color, texture, and light, he has posted a new image to social media every single day for over twelve years. For Project Gnome, Larry painted two gnomes: Erasmus Loop, a well-traveled storyteller who always finds his way home, and Beowulf Plankster, who knows a great neighborhood restaurant is built one conversation at a time.
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Lisa Parks Godfrey is a Columbus-based representational oil painter and founding member of 24 Lincoln Street Art Studios in the Short North, where she paints still life arrangements in the tradition of the old masters. Her path to painting began through art programs with children and adults with developmental disabilities — an experience that revealed her own creative calling. For Project Gnome, Lisa painted Sarge, a gnome who served with honor and came home with a deep appreciation for community and neighbors.
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Margaret Manley is a self-taught Columbus artist whose background in Zoology never really left her work — the natural world, human-animal dynamics, and the careful study of living things are central to her practice. She sold her first piece in 2020 and has since worked across pet portraits, murals, figurative work, and more, steadily developing a voice that blends realistic style with themes of memory and psychology. For Project Gnome, Margaret painted Roter Kardinal, a gnome who spends his days among the cardinals of Schiller Park — a natural fit for an artist who has been drawing animals since she could hold a pencil.
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Mary Penta is a Rhode Island-born, Columbus-based painter who travels the world and captures what she finds — working in acrylics layered with marker, pen, and colored pencil to create work that lives somewhere between surrealism and impressionism. Her paintings play with saturated color and magical light, often drawing on animals, personal stories, and themes of empathy and time. For Project Gnome, Mary painted Theodor Bachmann, a gnome who keeps a careful, loving watch over the creatures and rhythms of St. Mary School — a fitting subject for an artist who believes in leaving the world more beautiful than she found it.
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Columbus-based artist Michael Dickinson has spent decades capturing history in paint — from lithographs of Union Station to a restored painting on the Ohio State Capitol's grand piano. His work spans murals, watercolors, oils, and art glass, with pieces collected across the country. For Project Gnome, he painted Patrick O'Callaghan, honoring the Irish heritage woven into the fabric of German Village.
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Nicholas Roesch is a Columbus-based graphic designer and illustrator whose work blends a distinctive personal style with commercial craft. Currently designing for Where I'm From Apparel, his illustration work can be found on his Instagram and personal portfolio. For Project Gnome, Nick painted Willi Freund, a gnome who believes the best shops offer more than goods — friendship, laughter, and a sense of belonging.
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Ryan Orewiler is a Columbus-based fine artist working out of his Franklinton studio, where he produces paintings, murals, and large-scale installations across a wide range of media. A graduate of Columbus College of Art and Design, his work has shown in galleries from Chicago to Berlin, with pieces in collections at Nationwide, Children's Hospital, and The Ohio State University. For Project Gnome, Ryan painted both Karl Kustennah and Erik Mietstallung, bringing his bold visual storytelling to two of German Village's most distinctive neighborhood spots.
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Will Eylar is a Columbus florist and event designer whose work has become a fixture at some of the city's most beloved celebrations, including events at the historic Taylor Mansion on East Broad Street. His fluency with living botanical material made him a natural fit for Franc Hofgarten — a one-of-a-kind gnome crafted from plants rather than wood and perfectly at home among the gardens of Frank Fetch Park.
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