Dragons have played a major part in the folk-lore of many nations and cultures. Almost anywhere you look you'll find dragon artwork - from ancient China and the Celtic cultures in western Europe - to the current works of the readers of this publication
Those early folk tales have been updated in popular fantasy fiction. Dragons are major characters in the stories that many of us hold dear: J.R.R. Tolkin's The Hobbit, Anna McCaffery's Dragonriders of Pern series, and Alan Dean Foster's The Dragon and the George series.
Those somewhat younger will remember the Disney movie Pete's Dragon, and other movies such as Dragonslayer and the more recent Dragonheart.
Stories of dragons and examples of dragon artwork are woven into the cultural history of much of our world, and we continue that tradition even today.
To celebrate the part dragons have played in our many cultures, Woodc@rver Online Magazine is sponsoring a contest:
There will be two major divisions in the contest:
Division 1 will be only for dragons based upon "Ol' Don" Burgdorf's exclusive pattern in this issue of the Woodc@rver Online Magazine.
Division 2 will be for all other dragons, including sticks, in the round, relief or pyrographic art.
There will be actual prizes awarded in the various divisions and catagories, and winners will be determined by vote of readers of this publication. Winners will be announced in the November/December issue of WOM.
For details of the Dragon Carving Contest, click HERE.
While you think about what you might enter in the contest, here's a gallery of Dragon art by some of the readers of Woodc@ever Online Magazine. Thanks to all who contributed photos of their work for this gallery
Detail of stick by Mik Strevens
Detail of stick by Mik Strevens
By Wayne York