The Year of the Dragon Bench

 It's The Year of the Dragon so what better time to look at dragon benches? 

ekeidar Creative Commons license

From February 10, 2024 to January 28, 2025 it's the year of the Wood Dragon.

People who make things with wood and chainsaws are particularly fond of dragon benches. 

Dinas Emrys, Wales

And Game of Thrones-type benches. 

Dragon Bench by Igor Loskutow

Eddie, my Inner Editor: This is not a good start. You promised to get a primate photo in at the start.

Welcome back, Eddie, you have been away for a while.

Eddie: Away? You fired me. I've been on garden leave.

True. But under pressure from many readers and the good people of Fribble-under-Par, I have asked Eddie back to edit this important Year of the Dragon post. He came back, under certain conditions.  

Eddie:  A picture of me. Or else.

So here is a picture of Eddie 

It's very small. I'm not sure it captures my true character. 

It does. Dragon people have little willpower and do not like to admit that they make mistakes.

Eddie: And now for my bad points. 

Well, since you ask, people born in the Year of the Dragon are also confident, resolute, ambitious, and full of energy. 

Eddie: I'm a Monkey. In astrology Monkeys are the best match for Dragons. That's because Dragons are attracted to cheerful, enthusiastic and intelligent Monkey Benches such as myself.

Or Rooster Benches . . .

michiel2005.FK.3288878800_4a1a46e51b_z

. . . or Rat Benches.

Benchsite 2020, The Year of the Rat

Eddie: Call me fussy, but I would not want a romantic relationship with a rat.

Sadly, 2024 is not a lucky year for Dragons to be in love. And it's also unlucky for health, career, and finances.

Kim Smith, Flickr

Eddie: It sounds like a bad year for Dragons. They might as well give up now.

That's bad advice, Eddie. People born in the Year of the Dragon give up too easily. They need encouragement. 

Eddie: I encourage you to give up this story and go get a cup of tea.

No, I'm going to be like a Dragon: full of charisma and strength and fighting spirit. Readers have been promised dragon benches in celebration of the Dragon zodiac sign.

Eddie: One dragon, one primate. That's what we agreed. So here's a very interesting monkey bench from Chinatown in San Francisco. 

image from www.karenlaw.ca

Eddie, you've already put two primates in and I haven't got going with my dragon benches yet.  

OK then, out of the goodness of my heart, you can do two dragons in a row.

Great! So here are two beautiful dragon-inspired benches. First, this gorgeous rosewood bench, painstakingly restored by Master Craftsman Eric Saperstein, who is one of the Artisans of the Valley in New Jersey. 

image from www.artisansofthevalley.com

And here is a cheerful monkey on a very small bench. 

image from www.playgroundinfo.com

I think the monkey adds value by making the bench photo more interesting, as the art critics would say.

Monkeys as Art Judges 1889, Gabriel von Max

Do you notice that I only got to show one of the two dragons benches you promised me? 

Sorry, but it's not my day to care.  Here are some very nice people on a bench in an art gallery. 

Eddie, that's you!

Yes, I was an attractive baby. 

And quite a photogenic adult as well.

uNatural, etsy

You look like a card shark. Are you still gambling, Eddie? 

Eddie: No comment.

Well if you are, you need to avoid the numbers nine, eight and three this year. They're unlucky. Your lucky numbers are one, six, and seven. 

Eddie: Thanks for the tip. Is there any chance of seeing a dragon bench before The Year of the Dragon runs out?

I like this unusual cedar dragon by Preston Manganaro at the Outside In gallery in Piermont, New York. 

 http://outsideinpiermont.webs.com/

I have another very good dragon bench made by chainsaw artist Paul Sivell on the Isle of Wight.

 http://www.thecarvedtree.co.uk

And then a bench-style sofa seat that's colourful and comfy.

NowPleaseTakeASeat, Etsy

Enough dragons. Sock monkeys are excellent value I find.

This is Eli and Sirus at their wedding. Or Civil Partnership as we say in the UK. 

image from www.themonkeyville.com

Eddie, you are sneaking in extra pictures again. And this is TWO sock monkeys, so that counts for two for you. No more sock monkeys!

I'm going to do my dragons now. This is a pretty sea dragon bench from Lost Art, who restore historic garden furniture.

image from www.lostart.co.uk

The only thing is, green is an unlucky colour in The Year of the Dragon. Which is unfortunate, because dragons are often green. 

Sleeping Dragon Bench, www.mcvaysculpture.com

Red, purple and black are also unlucky.

Eddie: Looks like 2024 is not going to be very colourful.

A lucky colour this year would be gold. 

Zlata Neha by Lukas Rittstein, wikimedia

Or silver.

MX3D Oregon Dragon Bench

Are you telling me this is a Dragon Bench?

Yes, it's 3D printed advanced technology at the Nike Center in Oregon. It's called The Oregon Bench. And it's silver for good luck! 

Eddie: Oregon? That's a bit far north for dragons.

North is a lucky direction this year. So is West. But we have to go south to see a real komodo dragon on Komodo Island.

photo by Toby McAlister

It's a dragon but it's not a bench. You can't sit on this dragon, can you? This blog is called B-e-n-c-h-s-i-t-e.  Do you see the word Bench in there? Does that give you a hint as to what this blog is about? 

I do, but it's my blog and I love the real dragon. 

I'm sure readers are more interested in primates than dragons. People didn't descend from dragons, did they?

Monkey with Skull, 1893, Hugo Rheingold

I'm not going to discuss evolution. I'm going to show Dragon Hall, a medieval trading hall in Norfolk. It has a very nice sign and some lovely benches. 

photo by Chris McAlister

photo by Chris McAlister

I've picked up on your tricks: notice how I slipped two dragon pictures in?  

Didn't notice. 

Two can play this game you know.

I'm ignoring you. 

And just to make the point, here's a dragon bench from Poland. 

image from http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/wikipedysta:Wojtekskaiski

And another one from Wales. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nh53/95603371

The Welsh dragon is a big thing in Wales.

The British Ironwork Centre

This monkey has fallen off his bench. He is Macaco Gordo (Fat Monkey), by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman. He was made in a park in Sao Paulo in Brazil in 2010. 

images courtesy of Florentijn Hofman at http://www.florentijnhofman.nl

Fat Monkey is made from 10,000 flipflops sewn together. No kidding. Here they are up close. 

I couldn't have imagined that in a month of Sundays.

Speaking of sundaes, here's an ice cream monkey bench for you.

image from www.asianreplicas.com

This isn't really a monkey bench though, is it? It's a monkey on a bench. And don't think I didn't notice how you slipped another one in.

Here's a Victorian dragon bench from Lost Arts. Aren't the blue ends beautiful?

image from www.lostart.co.uk

Yes, but look at this garden monkey bench from the Singapore Japanese Gardens. Look how minimalist and serene it is. 

image from www.everydayminimalist.com

Yes, that's true. But this is TWO monkeys again, Eddie. 

Did you count both blue dragons on the Victorian bench?

Well, maybe not. 

What about this dragonfly bench then? It's a sort of dragon.

image from www.cottageandbungalow.com

Eddie? I know you hate insects, but it's a beautiful bench. Why are you covering your eyes?

image http://www.popartdecoration.com

Oh, don't start that See-No-Evil stuff with me. 

It might be pretty but that dragonfly bench is not a dragon and it's not a primate and it shouldn't be here. End of story.  Here is a terrific monkey couple on a log bench.

image from www.rakuten.co.jp/kanmuryou

Eddie, you have stolen this off my own blog. These are on the Japanese post. Regular readers will have already seen them.

You kid yourself that you have regular readers.

Back to dragons now. I insist. 

Do you know the dragon flag benchpress move? It was a trademark move of Bruce Lee in the Kung Fu movies. Remember those?

No.  

This Kung-fu Master uses the Dragon-head Bench as a weapon. Let that be a lesson to you, Eddie.

image from http://hasayfu.com

That sounds like a threat.

I suppose in a way it is. 

I would like my treble fee now, please, as we agreed.

We agreed double, not treble.

In that case I will have to consult my lawyer.

In that case I have just two words for you, Eddie: Circus. And Circus.

That's hitting below the belt.

Yes, sorry about that.  It's just that I'm running out of benches.

Must be the end.

CoolingandCooling.c.uk

Wow, Eddie, these dragon bench ends are beautiful! You are an annoying but highly skilled editor. 

You know I would never send you to work in a circus. I'm bananas about you.

Happy Year of the Dragon.

Thanks. It's nice to be back. 

Credits

Years of The Dragon include 1928,1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, and 2012. If you were born in any of these years, chances are you are a Dragon. Whether you are lucky or not depends on what you consult. Different information on lucky numbers, colours, directions, etc appear on different websites. It's probably best not to make any life-changing decisions based on this story.

If you're interested in benches and also astrology we have had a Chinese New Year bench story almost every year here on Benchsite. There was The Year of the Ox in 2021, The Rat in 2020, The Pig 2019, The Dog 2018, The Rooster 2017, The Monkey 2016, The Goat in 2015, and The Horse in 2014. Eddie was allowed to do The Monkey but absolutely banned from everything else. 

The very fancy wood bench at the start of the story is in Chon Buri in Thailand. It was photographed there in 2011 by ekeidar and made available on a Creative Commons Share Alike license. 

Dragons have a long history in England and St. George is the patron saint of merrie England, a folk hero, a warrior, a much-loved saint. He is known for having slain a dragon and St. George's Day has been celebrated since the eleventh century and in Henry VIII's time you could be fined for not attending St. George's Day celebrations. Forgotten in some decades, the feast of St. George's Day has been revived and there is much white-and-red-cross flag waving these days.

I'll let you in on a little secret about Eddie: he hates insect benches! Personally, I find Eddie rather hard to work with but if you like his style, you can see the posts he has ruined edited for me on Benchsite. In 2013 there were the orange benches. Eddie got stressed out and threw a strop. He interfered with my careful numbering system in 31 Things to Do on a Bench. In 2014 there were the Blue Monday benches in January and then, worst of all, the Red Bench disaster in February. After that, Eddie went to Mexico for a while and I had a bit of peace. I am having to rethink my animal editors. Monkeys are bad enough but cats . . . as for Meredith, don't get me started. Put it this way: if I had to call in Noah to round up animal benches for the ark, monkeys and cats would not be on it. 

If by any chance this is not enough monkeys for you, 2016 is the Year of the Monkey Bench. I thought it only fair that the story about monkey benches should be handed over to Eddie. What could possibly go wrong? 

Wales is a very dragony place and the dragon is a symbol of Welsh identity. The simple wooden bench is on the beautiful trail to Dinas Emrys in North Wales. 

The beautiful green Sleeping Dragon bench is by Pat McVay in Whidbey in Washington State. www.mcvaysculpture.com

Annette Cox has an Etsy shop called Now Please Take A Seat. It's full of comfy benchy sofa type things like the colourful dragon bench sofa seat. 

The British Ironwork Centre in Shropshire makes great themed park benches. Besides the dragon one shown here, you can find a clutch of chicken benches elsewhere on Benchsite. 

Estonian chainsaw artist Igor Loskutow now lives in Germany. He created the very intricate carved wood Dragon Bench in 2017. Some people have likened it to a Game of Thrones dragon bench.  

The Dragon Hall photos are by Chris McAlister. Oh how I love people's holiday photos! Dragon Hall is a Grade 1 listed medieval merchant's trading hall in Norwich, Norfolk. The Great Hall was built around 1427 but archaeological research on the site has shown evidence of 1,000 years of human habitation.

Preston Manganaro's cedar dragon is at the Outside In Gallery in Piermont, New York.  http://outsideinpiermont.webs.com/   The Outside In describes itself as an ARTefact gallery offering a diverse collection of fine art, found objects and hand-selected artisan objects.  

Paul Sivell makes intriguing chainsaw sculptures and is inspired by nature, local traditions, and mythology. His distinctive style is well known around the Isle of Wight though he also works throughout the UK and abroad. The dragon bench is one of his many functional sculptures (benches!) which can be seen at http://www.thecarvedtree.co.uk/

Thanks to Karen Law at www.karenlaw.ca for her image of the Chinatown monkey in San Francisco. Karen has interesting travels and photographs which are well worth a look. 

The beautiful rosewood dragon bench was painstakingly restored by Eric Saperstein, who is one of the Artisans of the Valley. The artisans do hand crafted custom woodworking and period restorations. The Valley is in Pennington, New Jersey but is more easily visited at  http://www.artisansofthevalley.com/  The artisans publish a blog and a quarterly review of their projects at  Artisans of the Valley's Artisans Quarterly Review Volume 6 Issue 1 - 2013

The sock monkey couple are Eli and Sirus. They were married in a same-sex wedding ceremony in Massachusetts. You can see the wedding and other sock monkey activities at www.themonkeyville.com

The round gold bench is or was photographed in Liberic in the Czech Republic in 2011. It's called Zlata Neha, by Lukas Rittstein. 

The curvy silver bench is called the Oregon Dragon Bench. It is located at the Nike Advanced Innovation Center in Beaverton, from the design laboratory Joris Laarmass. It is from 3D printed technology. 

The monkey on a bench was photographed by Erin Eastman at www.playgroundinfo.com. It was created as a tabletop sample for tradeshows. The bench is by DuMor Site Furnishings and the sculpted/molded monkey is by Tivoli Too.

The komodo dragon was photographed on Komodo Island by Toby McAlister in March 2011.

The bench with the bright red dragon feet is at Beddgelert station in Wales. Beddgelert is a town lucky enough to be along the line of the Welsh Highland Railway and Snowdonia National Park. The bench was photographed by nh53 in 2013. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nh53/9560337181  nh53 is very, very well travelled indeed. 

The flipflop Fat Monkey is by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman at http://www.florentijnhofman.nl/dev/projects.php   Many thanks for permission to use these images. Here is a brilliant short video about the making of the monkey:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5FyGf7PCA8&feature=related

The pretty dragonfly bench is by Cottage and Bungalow and costs $2,260. It's at www.cottageandbungalow.com  

Three Wise Monkey benches are easy to find in bronze, plastic and just about any material you desire but I liked these life-size Three Wise Monkeys On A Bench from http://www.popartdecoration.com   

The two serene minimalist monkeys holding up a bench are in the Singapore Japanese Gardens, photographed by the Everyday Minimalist on her extensive, minimalist travels. This is a girl who knows how to live out of one suitcase. She has a fascinating website with excellent minimalist advice at www.everydayminimalist.com 

The beautiful blue dragon bench is Victorian cast iron. Along with the sea dragon bench, it comes from www.lostart.co.uk where they are dedicated to the careful restoration of historic garden furniture.  Many thanks for permission to use these images.

The lovely carved wood Japanese monkey couple are from http://www.rakuten.co.jp/kanmuryou/

Hasanfu is a Kung Fu style which features The Five Animals. The Dragon is the final form and the most difficult because it combines physical moves with a culture of spirit and a higher state of awareness.The Dragon-head Wooden Bench Weapon move is demonstrated by a Kung-fu Master at the Lam Tang Kung Fu Academy in Lexington, South Carolina. This and other Kung Fu moves can be seen at their interesting website at www.hasayfu.com

Circus Circus is a casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Eddie has never worked there and never will. I, however, was a cocktail waitress there in . . . no, I'm not going to name the date but if you're thinking evolved from apes you're in the right era.