Norse Myths Series

While Travis was reading Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology, he was inspired to create something. These boxes were the result. He wanted to commemorate some of his favorite myths and some that meant a lot to him personally.

Travis has spent much of his life studying literature, poetry in particular, one that really stood out to him was the myth of the creation of the mead of poetry. The mead of poetry is the origin of all poetry (good and bad) in the world.

These boxes (with the exception of the mead of poetry) are made from Ash wood. In the myths, the first person, Aske, was carved from an ash log that drifted ashore. The second, Ella, was carved from an Elm tree. Unfortunately, Elm trees experienced a blight a number of years back and isn’t available for working with unless you know someone that had some survive. We use Ash to make these boxes to invoke this sense of origin and commitment to myth that pervades each of these pieces.

The Mead of Poetry Box

The mead of poetry, made by the mischievous dwarves Fjalar and Galar from the blood of Kvasir, the wisest god, was given to the giant Suttungr, who hid it inside a mountain, after they killed his father.  Odin tricked Suttungr’s daughter, Gunnlod, into letting him take a sip from the vats that contained the mead; he drank all of it, transformed into an eagle, and fled.  Chased by Suttungr, also in eagle form, Odin flew as fast as he could back to Asgard and spat the mead into vats. It is because of this that we have beautiful poetry in the world.

Fenris Wolf Devours the Sun and Moon

This box illustrates the moment during Ragnarok, the end of everything, when Loki’s son, Fenris Wolf, eats the sun and the moon. In the myth, the gods were afraid of the massive wolf and so tricked him into being bound by the dwarven ribbon, Gleipnir, for all time; they stuck a sword in his mouth so that it couldn’t close to bite them. At Ragnarok, Fenris roams the worlds, his huge jaws unable to close, and devours everything in his path.  After avenging himself on Odin, Fenris devours the sun and the moon, plunging the worlds into darkness.

The Gates of Valhalla

Warriors lucky enough to fall in battle are taken to Valhalla by the beautiful Valkyrie, where they fight and train all day and feast and drink with Odin all night. There are 540 gates, each of which can accommodate 800 warriors.