Ceramic Dragon Sculptures – Handmade Porcelain & Stoneware Art
Heraldic Guardian
“Wyvern” dragon pictured was carved and modeled in one solid piece of porcelain, an extraordinary achievement in ceramic artistry. Mounted on a Vermont Verde marble base, the sculpture measures 24L × 14W × 19H, the sculpture was fired in a high‑fire oxidation kiln, pushing the clay to vitrification. During the firing, the body began to slump under the intensity of the heat — yet in a remarkable moment of resilience, the dragon’s nose touched the kiln wall, fused to it, and held firm. The bond preserved the form, though after firing, a partial kiln brick had to be carefully removed along with the dragon, marking the unpredictable dialogue between clay and fire.
The result is a one‑of‑a‑kind porcelain dragon effigy, both fragile and enduring, embodying the heraldic spirit of the medieval Wyvern. Artist‑created and artisan‑sculpted, this piece stands as a testament to the ceramic artist’s vision and the dramatic beauty of transformation in the kiln.
Fantasy Porcelain Dragon Statues – Celadon – Inspired Oxidation Glaze
The above porcelain dragons are finished with an exclusive iron‑bearing glaze, a proprietary formulation created specifically for them. The surface glows with a translucent blue‑green depth reminiscent of celadon, yet achieved uniquely in oxidation rather than reduction firing. The cool purity of porcelain amplifies the glaze’s luminous qualities, creating a sculpture that honors celadon’s heritage. These one-of-a-kind Tatsu porcelain dragon bridges East Asian porcelain traditions, fantasy art, and contemporary ceramic dragon sculpture, inviting collectors who value mythic depth and refined craftsmanship.
Exclusive Porcelain Wyvern Dragon Sculpture
This porcelain Wyvern dragon sculpture is one of those rare kiln miracles that keeps me working with porcelain, despite how temperamental it is. Porcelain behaves almost like toothpaste — very little internal strength, high shrinkage, and always the risk of cracking, warping, or collapsing as it dries and fires. Add in the usual dangers of air bubbles, slumping during vitrification, and glaze flaws, and a finished piece like this is never guaranteed. In this sculpture, the oxidation iron‑bearing blue‑green glaze breaks into subtle jade‑like shifts, catching on the high points and pooling in the carved lines, echoing celadon’s blue‑green tradition in East Asian ceramics while still feeling distinctly my own.
This Wyvern — two feet, two hands, wings sweeping like flames — rides upward in a balanced, dynamic pose. The proportions, movement, and life‑like character all came together here; making this one of my favorite handmade fantasy dragon sculptures and a rare, truly complete success in porcelain.
“Ying-lung” Porcelain Dragon Sculpture
Carved and modeled to from a solid porcelain piece, this technically challenging sculpture was high‑fired to over 2300°F in an iron‑green blue oxidation glaze. Its winged form recalls the Ying‑lung of Chinese mythology, reinterpreted through the artist’s Western studio practice. Mounted on Vermont Verde marble, the piece measures 26L × 14W × 13H, uniting porcelain craftsmanship, mythic reference, and sculptural refinement in a one‑of‑a‑kind creation
Porcelain Dragon Teapot – Celadon‑Style Blue‑Green Glaze
This porcelain dragon teapot is a one‑of‑a‑kind vessel, wheel‑thrown and meticulously sculpted with a winged dragon motif. Constructed with advanced ceramic artistry, it achieves both functional elegance and sculptural refinement. The celadon‑style translucent blue‑green glaze, developed through high‑temperature oxidation firing, enhances the porcelain’s delicate form with luminous depth. More than a teapot, it stands as a unique fusion of utility and imagination — a refined work of ceramic art within the Dragonartist collection.
John Gardner’s Beowulf’s “Dragon” in Stoneware
In 1972, author John Gardner commissioned monumental stoneware Beowulf’s “Dragon” to commemorate his retelling of the Old English epic. Rising nearly eight feet high, the sculpture was built in hollow ceramic sections reinforced with concrete and permanently anchored into the trunk of an ancient silver maple with massive lag bolts, and a hidden cable brace. Positioned beside Gardner’s Beaux‑Arts farmhouse in the southern Illinois farmland, the Wyrm confronted visitors from the second‑story balcony, a guardian of treasure and fate echoing the climactic battle of Beowulf. Imagined through the ancient craft of salt glazing, its surface fuses into glassy textures of earthy ochre and smoky green‑blue, as though the dragon were born directly from the kiln’s flames. This union of literary legacy and ceramic artistry stands as a towering testament to Gardner’s vision and to the enduring resonance of the Anglo‑Saxon epic.
Salt Glazed Stoneware Vessel
This salt‑glazed stoneware jar is a rugged yet refined vessel, wheel‑thrown from natural clay and carved with a stylized dragon face. Heavy reduction firing produces golden ocher to dark iron‑black tones, while the vaporized salt forms a shimmering, textured surface unique to the kiln atmosphere. Functional in form yet sculptural in presence, the jar embodies endurance, tradition, and the artistry of high‑temperature ceramics — a timeless creation born of earth, fire, and salt.
Dragon — Monumental 3D Ceramic Stoneware Sculpture
The firing heat transforms clay into stone, forging permanence from earth and flame. Rising 11 feet on its Catskill Mountain bluestone base, this monumental stoneware sculpture embodies Beowulf’s Dragon — a commanding presence, its raw iron‑rich surface resembling sandstone, grounded in geology as much as myth. More than art, it dominates the entrance to our home as an imposing guardian, protecting our treasured domain with an intimidating yet eternal watch.
“Guardian of Wisdom – Porcelain Tatsu Dragon Effigy“
This tall vessel is wheel‑thrown in porcelain and carved in relief with a wingless dragon motif. The surface is finished in a proprietary iron‑bearing celadon‑style glaze, achieving translucent depth through high‑temperature oxidation firing. The result is a durable, vitrified body with a polished river‑green finish that highlights the carved detail and emphasizes the balance and protective presence of the effigy
Stoneware Red Dragon “Wyrm” — Bas‑Relief Mural
This monumental 4 ft x 8 ft stoneware bas‑relief dragon mural thrusts outward in three dimensions, its deep red glaze radiating the fierce presence of a sculpture born of fire. Anchored into a Catskill Mountain bluestone wall, the dragon appears not as a soaring beast but as a grounded Wyrm, a guardian of treasure and fate. The wall itself was built on the site of an old sugar maple, and over time one end settled where the roots decayed, producing a pronounced tilt that gives the installation an almost otherworldly appearance. The dragon’s crimson surface shimmers against stone, embodying the enduring Western symbol of chaos, challenge, and guardianship while uniting ceramic artistry, geology, and myth.
Porcelain Tatsu Dragon Vessel – Work in Progress
Commissioned funeral urn, wheel‑thrown and artisan‑carved with a twirling Tatsu dragon, shown in its greenware state awaiting transformation. More than a vessel, it stands as a guardian of memory — carrying ashes yet also carrying love.
Winged Wyrm Dragon — Bas‑Relief Ceramic Stoneware Mural
This monumental 4 ft × 8 ft bas‑relief mural is conceived as a painting in clay — a handcrafted stoneware panel where sculptural form and color create a visual response to story and symbol. Built from a heavily grogged clay body, glazed with bright Mason stains in a clear proprietary glaze, and oxidation‑fired to over 2300°F, it unites durability with artistic vision. The Winged Wyrm, a coiled serpent with wings but no feet or hands, rises in three dimensions as a guardian presence. Its imagery reflects the duality of night and day, sun and moon, earth and sky — a paradox of struggle and faith rendered in ceramic art. Though not yet mounted, the mural stands ready to take its place as a lasting work of clay, embodying resilience and the enduring nature of monumental mural tradition.
Studio Reflections: Creating Dragons in Clay
In my studio, each dragon begins not as a myth but as a movement. Clay twists and twirls beneath my hands, rising like a flickering flame that seeks form. The abstract gesture comes first — a spiral of energy, a rhythm of curves — until the spark of life emerges in the addition of a face. That moment is rebirth: the spirit animating an abstract shape, the breath of vitality captured in clay.
Cultural myths give these dragons their names — Norse Wyrms without wings, Chinese Yinglong soaring through the skies, Anglo‑Saxon fire‑breathers, or Greek drakes guarding hidden treasures. Their physical attributes — wings or none, feet or serpentine coils, fire or air — determine how cultures imagined them. These names connect my sculptures to traditions across the world, and they help seekers of dragon art discover them.
Yet myth is not my driving force. The true excitement lies in pushing abstract forms into life, in shaping clay into movement and spirit. Naming each dragon after cultural archetypes is a way to honor tradition and strengthen the visibility of my work, but the creative act itself is rooted in the joy of transformation — clay becoming flame, form becoming life, sculpture becoming dragon.