Dragon's Keep Mancala Board
The mancala board is done! This is one of the longest running projects I've ever done, and also the most heavily carved by a long shot! There are so many cool features about this game board that I'm excited to share with you guys this week!
So, the chip carved cylinder in the middle is actually a box! The lip on the bottom half mirrors the border on the top half when it's closed, so you can hardly tell there's a seam. This box holds all the game pieces when not in use. The box and the ring are connected by an axle which pierces both. When the axle is in place, the box is captured. Pull it out, and the box slides free.
This is also a good time to talk about the symbolic form of the box, which, with my client in mind, gave rise to everything else: the ring is a castle with battlements. The scaled box is a dragon, protecting his golden hoard. The bloodwood axle is a wand, or magic spell, which keeps the dragon in the castle and allows you to get access to his treasure. Whimsical, I know, but all the details make sense now, don't they? The stone and scale textures, the ring's unusual shape... Not everything I make has a hidden meaning, and hidden meanings don't really lend themselves to simple, practical, austere forms... but we can't be stodgy aesthetes all the time. Whimsy is fun!
The piece of blue velvety fabric I found to take pictures against was a very fortuitous choice. It really sets off the warmer tones in the woods. I think I'm going to turn it into a carrying bag, since my client wants to be able to carry his board around in his backpack.
Another cool thing is that the axle allows the dragon box to rotate. In order to leave only a small gap when the box is flat, but still allow free rotation, the inside face of the ring is quite concave. It's not the smoothest action ever, and sometimes the dragon box gets a little stuck, but it's still fun to play with!
Click images to enlarge.
