With my younger brother, Mike, visiting for Christmas, a trip to the carousel carving studio was a must do event. This was his first visit to the carousel.

Let's start with an update on Saami, our reindeer. Below is an overview of the carving area around Saami.



Saami is getting some detailing on his body.


I wanted Mike to see the drawing of the Nisseman (gnome) that will adorn Saami.


Below is Sampson the rooster.


and a detail of Sampson.


The horse, Buster, is quite far along.


And below is the current progress of Freedom.


Here's a shot of Sir Hugo Page, the griffin's front end.


There's a dragon named Yun Hsiang in progress.


In the paint area is Hope, the giraffe, on the left, Tax, the black buck antelope in the center, and Sir Adrian Chapman, the armored horse on the right.

Peace, the lioness is looking peaceful.


Tuesday the cat looks nearly done.


That's all for now.

It's been more than 5 months since we last visited the carousel carving studio. Let's see what's happening.

Here's a view of the drawing of our reindeer, Saami posted on the wall, with sample antlers mounted on the wall, and Saami below.


A closer view of Saami is below.



Saami's side view:


and a head shot. You can see the beginnings of Saami's harness around his neck.


Cheyenne the cavalry pony appears to be galloping.



Zulu the serval is getting some repair work.



and a detail of Zulu's tail


Geno, the Orca whale is shaping up.


On the wall is the drawing of a horse named Freedom, with its head on the table below.



Freedom's body below



Freedom's back end


Taffy the alpaca receives more paint


Harriette the frog is painted.


Here's a close up of Harriette's head


One of the rounding boards


Below is one of the painted heads that will adorn the rounding boards of the carousel.

On Saturdays the carousel carving studio is always bustling with activity.

Timber the bulldog is having a facial reconstruction.



Lady Sophia the poodle is getting started.


On our last visit, the tiger was laying on its back. Today, it is upright.


Marcy the unicorn in progress is below.


and a close up of Marcy's head,


Sally the brown Swiss cow is frolicking in the studio.


and a detail of Sally's floral garland and Swiss emblem below:


The front of Saami the reindeer:


And the other side of Saami's front:



Sassie Mae is finished being painted and clear coated. It needs to cure for months now.


That's the end of today's visit. We're taking a long summer vacation; we'll return in the fall.

We visited the studio with our grand daughter, Mariah, after school. Mariah is growing taller as Saami is slowly taking shape.


Below is an full body image of Saami.

A head and front body view are shown below.


Here's a photo of the cavalry pony, Cheyenne.


March the unicorn is coming along.


Sir Hugo Page the griffin's progress is below.


Sampson the rooster is looking great.


Geno the Orca whale is in the early stage of the carving process.


Zulu the serval is also looking great.


The drawing of the tiger is shown here:

The tiger laying on its back looks more playful than ferocious.


But watch out for those teeth!


Sir Adrian Chapman returned from painting for some touch up work.


Taffy the alpaca is really coming to life with the terrific paint job.


We'll end our visit today with a photo of Peace the lioness.