Dragon Swing

My latest dragon staff. As far as I can tell the wood is...hickory? Maybe? I cut it from a branch that fell on a friends fence in Ohio, and it wasn't until I started trying to figure out what to make out of it that I realized it had a pretty awkward bend at the top. Anything that I carved out of it would look like it was leaning precariously over a very long drop. Almost like it was dangling in space. Hence, the swing. The top was also split into long wing-like shapes where it broke off from the main trunk of the tree, so the dragon part was pretty mandatory. 

Took me a few months to finish this one...okay, technically it took me an ENTIRE YEAR to finish this one. I started working on a new dragon staff at Maker Faire NC 2013, and after letting it site for a while I finished it just in time to have it on display for Maker Faire NC 2014. I told myself if it didn't sell at any of the craft festivals I did this year, then it would become my entry at the NC State Fair Craft Competition. Which is exactly what happened. And then I won a blue ribbon for it. (hyperventilates for a few minutes) So I've submitted three dragon staffs for this competition, and won two blue ribbons. Obviously this means I need to make more dragon staffs