I always like using unusual materials or techniques in my work, so when I got the opportunity to carve an ostrich egg I just had to give it a try! The process took a lot longer than I anticipated and ended up taking almost three months to finish the entire project. I hope you all love this piece as much as I loved making it!

Game of Thrones Dragon Egg Light

Ostrich Egg

To begin the project, I bought a whole ostrich egg shell online and cut it in half with a rotary tool and cutting wheel bit.

Baby Dragon Silhouette

I then sketched out the form of the baby dragon and cut the silhouette from three different papers with different translucencies.

Scales Sketch

To begin carving the egg, I first sketched the scales on the ostrich egg in pencil and then drew the final outlines in permanent marker.

Beginnings

Since this was my first ever egg carving, I experimented with different tools and rotary bits before taking on the entire egg.

Rough Carving

I used a carbide bit to rough in the basic shape of the scales, then some rough sanding bits to get the scales to look like they overlapped.

Fine Carving

Next, I used finer sanding bits to refine the final shapes of the scales.

Finished Egg

Finally I finished everything off by hand. I used fine files to add crisp edges to the scales and detail sanding sticks to make sure all machine marks were removed. I then polished the egg surface with very fine jewelers sandpaper and dyed it with alcohol inks.

Framing

For the frame, I bought a square wood shelf on Etsy, stained it a dark brown and burned the edges with a torch. I designed the leather details, had them laser cut, hand-stitched them together, and tacked them to the edges of the frame to echo the egg chest from the show. I dyed and distressed the interior fabric and attached everything with upholstery tacks.

Final Lighting

I finished the piece by adding LED lighting behind the egg, complete with remote. There is a hidden battery pack that powers the LEDs, or the lights can be plugged into a wall outlet for extended use.

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