“Drago von Lindstrom,” a commissioned piece

This cello, named “Drago von Lindstrom” by its owner, was a commissioned piece.  The cellist wanted a special instrument to commemorate his mother, who had recently passed.  He requested the head of a dragon instead of the traditional scroll and for the eyes of the dragon to be matching inset jewels taken from a necklace that his mother had worn.

I worked with the client to discover what kind of dragon fit his vision.  Dragons have a rich worldwide lore, and different cultures represent dragons differently.  After many drawings and discussions, the client and I landed on a design loosely informed by ancient Germanic carvings. These ancient examples of dragons in early art informed the design of the scroll and the custom-designed label that I made for the cello.

Next, I began carving from a block of maple.  Despite the non-traditional design for the head stock, I wanted the cello to fit neatly into any standard cello case, to have a standard peg box for traditional functionality, and for the form and proportions to echo that of a traditional scroll. 

I also wanted the design to be tasteful to the very conservative traditions of fine violin-making, but to surprise the viewer with its graceful departure into something new and different.

The “Drago von Lindstrom” cello was perhaps one of my favorite and most challenging projects. The creative license to depart from tradition and to use my fine-arts background with sculpture was pure fun as well as an intense use of my woodworking capabilities.  Working closely with the client to realize his dreams brought me so much satisfaction.