The Lion at Captain Fishhead's

Astoria, Oregon ~ September 19, 2010

See Captain Fishhead's Front Porch

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

A Salmon at Tapiola Park

Astoria, Oregon ~ May 22, 2010

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Beast Holding a Lintel

Paris ~ May 5, 2004

The Cluny Museum

A beast of some date and description bites hard on this lintel from a past age in the Cluny Museum in Paris. I wish I had photographed the placard, but I didn't, so I can't give the age or background of the piece. I believe the wall is from Roman times, or maybe part Roman and part Medieval. The building itself is fascinating, having begun as a Roman bath and evolved through history, being used in the Middle Ages as an abbey, and now as a remarkably fine and unusual museum.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Old Pub Dog, 1595

Stratford-upon-Avon, England ~ February 17, 2010
Garrick Inn

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Red Head

Warwick, England ~ February 17, 2010

Warwick Castle

A dog's head carved on the arm of a chair in the great hall of Warwick Castle.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Birds on a Crest

Oxford, England ~ February 18, 2009

This is one of a number of painted crests carved on the old wooden exterior doors of the Bodleian Library.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Palo de Sangre Jaguar from Colombia

Jaguar hand-carved in Colombia

"Palo de Sangre" is the type of red-colored wood used

I used to sell this type of wood carving in my Tapir and Friends online store; I imported them with the help of Sergio Sandoval of Bogota. I hope to do so again, but there are a few cost issues to overcome. The carvings themselves are not very expensive for their beauty and uniqueness, but (1) they are often damaged when being shipped through U.S. Customs. In each small shipment, a few are drilled, sometimes in the visible parts, to be sure there are no drugs inside, and they're "re-packed" in such a way that legs and tails are often broken when I get them. Another thing (2) is that each piece is unique, and I'm still looking for a cost-effective way to make them available to customers so that each piece can be seen and yet the prices aren't jacked sky-high because the process is labor-intensive. I love this native South American art, and hopefully will find a way to overcome the issues this year or next. I've heard that FedEx or UPS shipping may be safer through Customs than DHL, so I'll have to experiment.

You can read more about Palo de Sangre here, and you can see some of the carved pieces in this Picasa Web Album. I don't have a compliled album of all of the pieces that have come through here at this time, but I'll add it to my project list.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Estate Sale Birds

Astoria, Oregon, July 26, 2007

Here are a couple more things I wish I had kept. These birds make me smile.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Peacock Bass with Lianas

Manaus, Brazil ~ April 25, 2007

We saw this hanging wood carving in the open-air market in Manaus. Note the spot on its tail; this is a peacock bass, a common fish in parts of Central and South America, and much prized for food. The man standing behind the carving is one of the team of IBAMA officials who were checking the market stalls for possible illegal items for sale. IBAMA stands for "Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente E Dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis" (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources).

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.