Halloween Skull Carvings

Trick or treat! We’ve got some new hand carved skulls to share for Halloween! First, we would like to thank everyone for their support on the launch of our new website this Spring. Unfortunately we had to take it down, as the powers that be, such as payment processors, Facebook, and Google weren’t as ready as we are to share CBD hemp with everyone. Even though the 2018 Farm Bill made hemp legal in all 50 states, there is still a lot of regulation roadblocks between farmers and consumers. We produced another successful CBD hemp crop on the farm this year, but we’ll only be selling the flowers within Pennsylvania until Federal regulations get resolved. We’ll be sharing the hemp farm’s new website in an upcoming post, stay tuned! Enough talk about bureaucratic trickery, let’s check out some skull treats!

This massive 13″ grizzly bear skull from Alaska is a family heirloom that I was commissioned to create and carve a Nordic based design on. You can get a sense of the scale of the bear skull in the cover photo that shows it next to a large coyote skull and 2 raccoon skulls. I began by drawing a preliminary draft on the skull in pencil before getting approval to start carving. Below you can see some before and after photos of the rough draft and the finished carving:

The design features multiple Norse symbols with some modern interpretation. On the forehead is a “Valknut” symbol which is composed of three interlocking triangles. A “Trident”, or “Algiz” (rune of protection) emerges from the Valknut and pierces an “Infinity Knot” on the nose. The back sides of the skull have a circular “Triskelion” which has three interlocked spirals, and a “Triqueta”, or “Trinity Knot” in the triangular space next to it. The eye sockets have crescent moons and there’s an abstract sun motif on the upper jaw. There’s a triangular spiral on the sides of the nose, and the lower jaw has a simple Celtic weave.

While I was very pleased with how the bear skull turned out, more importantly, the owner loved the custom carving! Here’s the review they posted after receiving it:

“The skull is AMAZING!! The artistry and talent is unparalleled. You won’t go wrong here. I trusted them with a one of a kind item that was irreplaceable and they 100% delivered. Thank you!” ~ Kim H.

I enjoy collaborating on custom projects like this, and I am currently taking custom orders. If you have a special skull or a design you’d like to see on a carved skull, contact me with your requests. Another custom project that I designed and carved this year was a coyote skull with a pentagram design. The skull has woven pentagrams with moons, flowers and vines, a sun motif, geometrics, and some Celtic weaves. Here’s some pics:

If you like this pentagram design, we’re now offering it as a made to order carved coyote skull listing in our Earth and Sky Alchemy Etsy shop. With custom order skulls, I’m open to modifications in the design, and if there’s another skull design you like, feel free to contact me for a custom listing. Here’s a few more coyote skull designs from this past year:

I’ve always been fascinated by the forms of animal skulls and how each one is unique. While every coyote or raccoon skull has the same general form within its species, each individual skull has unique features. By letting the form and features of the skulls guide the designs, every skull comes out different, like the individual creatures they came from. Here’s a look at some of the raccoon skulls from this past year:

One thing that spooks out some people is how skulls have a link to death. For me, these skull carvings are a way to honor the living animals that once were and the beautiful forms they created and left behind. Death is not an ending point, but a transformation between living forms. By creating beautiful designs that exalt the sculptural properties of the skulls, I am hoping to challenge the viewer to appreciate the “beauty” of death in the life process.

For a final treat, here’s a sneak preview of a bear skull that I’m currently working on:

One of the things I like most about carving bear skulls is that the extra thickness allows for some nice overlapping Celtic knotwork and three dimensional designs. This latest hand carved bear skull is nearing completion and will be available next month. If you’d like to reserve this one of a kind skull before it hits the market, please contact me via our Etsy shop.

Thank you for taking the time to check out my latest skull carvings. Please feel free to share, and have a spooktacular Halloween!