Starting around the age of 5, I became obsessed with dragons (and dinosaurs, of course, but these were just two parts of the same puzzle as far as I was concerned at that age). My mother, ever the supportive parent, took this enthusiasm and ran with it. Along with books like Dragonology, she also began to parcel out a collection of resin dragon sculptures. The Fabulous Dragons collection by John J. Woodward.
I had no idea who this guy was. I didn’t care. As far as I was concerned, these dragon sculptures represented deities. Even when I was still pretending to be Catholic, I’d pray to Sheldruk, the dragon of wisdom for answers to my questions instead of God. If I needed to sleep, I’d ask Kersleaf, dragon of slumber, for his assistance. It’s pretty clear to me now that I never would have made a good Catholic.
Nevertheless, my mother parceled out the dragons. One each at Christmas, starting at the age of 6. I didn’t have the whole collection on my shelf until the ripe old age of 19, ending with Danokayth, King of the Sea Dragons. By that time, some of my older dragons were worse for wear. Chipped by years of love from a small child, wings glued back on, missing fingers or toes. Such is the fate of anything truly loved for a long time.
When I moved out of my parents’ house, I left them behind. No space in the apartment to hang their shelf. I think that was a mistake, but they’re still in my childhood room, gathering dust, and waiting for me to come around and bring them back to a place of honor within my home.
You can find profiles and photos of all the Fabulous Dragons here and John J. Woodward’s more recent work on his Facebook Page.
from the pen of icarus blake 
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