My dragons. Let me show you them...

Jun 24, 2007

I am not a “crazy cat lady” (though I think I fall into the 'honorable mention' zone, being quite happily single, mildly eccentric, and living with three cats). I do believe, though, that I'm well on my way to being a crazy dragon lady.

I have nine dragon statues (two are different colors of the same statue, though; so I have seven different ones.) Number ten and eleven are on their way. (Or eight and nine, for those counting unique models rather than color variants.) Photos below...

Iteration 06/20/2007

1. Coiled Dragon — my first dragon. I bought this one first, after almost a year of thinking about which one I should purchase, because a) it's smaller; b) I liked this statue; and c) it was one of the least expensive at the time (still in university, on a bit of a budget, and still not a 'collector of things'.) He looks not like he's guarding so much as reminding: the power is mine to take at any time; but with all power comes the responsibility to use it wisely and to live with the consequences...whether positive or negative. Every action is a choice, even if it's a lack of action (choosing not to choose). We all make choices every day, whether we're aware of them or not. Some choices are made for us, other choices may be limited because their reactions to others' choices, and most of our choices are influenced by others; but we all have the ability to stop, be aware, and make more of our own choices. Our lives are at once more, and less, under our control than we like to believe.
   
   A few years ago, this dragon was knocked of its shelf (thanks, cats) and chipped. Smallish chips, to be sure; but I was a bit upset. I had moved half a dozen times, owned this particular dragon for nearly ten years, and had never ever chipped any of them. I thought about trying to glue the chips back into place, but lost the chips when I moved from Canada back to the US. I later began to shop for a replacement again, but found myself a bit uneasy at the thought of simply replacing one of my household guardians. Now, I wouldn't want to replace him. Gaining wisdom is never a painless process, anyway. True power is earned through hard work (mental and emotional). Those who truly have wisdom have more than a few scars from their journey. So, in a way, the chips just reinforce my interpretation.
2. Celestial Dragon — in university, I majored first in Chinese, then in Linguistics (27 courses versus 12 courses...you do the math.) My interest in Asian cultures was only abetted when I learned that, in Asian mythology, dragons were considered guardians of wisdom and signs of heaven's favor (as opposed with the Western-predominant associations of dragons with evil.) I made this dragon a guardian of the threshold of my home. (He's done a good job. I've never had a major household catastrophe.)
3. Mother Dragon — this lady has a full-time job, as Monkey's guardian. She even reminds me of Monkey: deceptively tranquil in pose, but ready to jump the instant she detects a threat. (Though while this dragon would jump toward the danger in order to take a good bite out of the offender, Monkey would jump up...and run and hide.)
4. Adolescent Dragon — I bought this and the fledgling dragon shortly after I first brought Ursa home. He's been guarding Ursa for the last several years, but once I added Fog to the family, I knew that Ursa needed a new guardian.
5. Fledgling Dragon — I bought this and the adolescent dragon shortly after I first brought Ursa home. He guarded Ursa through kittenhood, until Ursa's personality began to fix itself. Then he guarded Fog, until I decided to get both her and Ursa more suitable guardians.
6. Lap Dragon — This one's personality looked a bit like Fog, a bit like Ursa. I couldn't decide which should have this as their guardian dragon. Since there isn't a dragon in this line that's rolled over on its back, imperiously waiting to have its tummy rubbed (Fog does that all the time), the lap dragon matches Fog's happily entitled attitude. Ursa is my favorite (yes, I'm a bad mom - we're not supposed to have favorites, but I do), so the lap dragon could match him...but Fog constantly pushes him out of his sleeping-spots, so I think he needs a guardian with a little more 'muscle'.
7. Curled Dragon — when I saw this online, I just had to purchase. He looks like a cousin of my personal guardian dragon. As an added plus, this is signed by the artist. I've admired her work so much over the years, and really enjoyed having the dragons with me, that it's kind of nice to pay a little bit extra for a signed piece, as a way of showing my appreciation.
8. Black-gold curled dragon — I really like the coiled and curled dragons. (Okay, I'll admit...I'm a sucker for the ones guarding crystals.) I bought this one the same time as I bought the two coiled dragons, straight from the manufacturer.
9. Black-gold coiled dragon — I like this model so much that I wanted to get two. This was the only color available through still-functioning online shops (and may I briefly digress and say how much I -=HATE=- searching for something, seeing pages and pages of results, and finding that most of those links lead to abandoned online shops? The phone numbers don't work, the address doesn't turn up when I do a search on the store-owner's name, emails go unanswered or bounce...it's all a right royal pain in the ass. [But I digress. I was able to get the dragons I wanted.])
10. Male Dragon (no photo - in transit) — I think I may ask this one to watch over Ursa, specifically. He needs a strong guardian, to help him not be the picked-upon cat in the house. Fog has systematically bullied Ursa out of four prime cat-napping spots around the apartment, including the pet bed I bought specifically for Ursa. Fog is such a bully.
11. Scratching Dragon (no photo - in transit) — Fog, the only cat who was ever an outdoor cat, brought fleas into the house with her when I first adopted her. She still occasionally scratches at imaginary fleas (she hasn't been outside in over a year, not even out on to the patio; and all three of them have been treated with Advantage, so the apartment is flea-free.)
12. Clay Asian dragons — given to me by a friend, years ago. They're a bit smaller than the coiled dragons, and are plain sculpted clay.

All dragon statues and color schemes are copyright © Melody Peña. These photos are copyright © me. Yes, I do own all of these statues; and no, none of them are for sale.

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