The winter view toward the harbor is spectacular:

Primary sources for Viking Dragon images are the remaining wooden stave churches in Norway. Other sources include carved runestones and various artifacts, especially those found in burial mounds. The images used by the students in this class were from the 800+ year-old Urnes stave church. The dragon figures were carved on the capitals of the main support posts of the church.

Before the class worked on the relief carving, a "donut-shaped" image was carved in a practice blank to familiarize students with the tools and to practice working with the wood grain:

The pattern is then traced onto the basswood or butternut blank, which is about 12" by 12":

A small router can be used to help keep the depth of the background constant:

Then the v-tool is used to establish positions of stop cuts:

Next, the background wood is removed to bring out the relief of the design:

After the background is cleared out, relative heights of the pattern areas are set:

Additional gouge work on the various details finishes the carving:

A bench sander is used to smooth out the edges after the shield is cut out on the bandsaw:

The sealer used by the class was Danish Oil in natural, medium walnut, or golden oak color:

Lila completed a dragon that came from very far east of Norway:

Greg Wright, Executive Director of North House, gave the class a brief history of the school:

By the end of the three-day class many beautiful dragon carvings were completed. Here is the group of talented carvers: