Thom J Kelly

Thom J Kelly Artist and Wood Carving student from Lancashire. Apprentice at Hjerleid Skole and Handverksenter
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I’m pleased to announce that after many delays and side quests I have finally completed my education as a woodcarver hav...
22/01/2026

I’m pleased to announce that after many delays and side quests I have finally completed my education as a woodcarver having passed my “Svenneprøve” (journeyman’s test) Quite an arduous task of designing and carving three objects in three different styles. Baroque Acanthus, Rococo and one style that was free to choose from.

I thank for the opportunity of being an apprentice and a social thanks to teacher for his endless patience and source of knowledge in all things wood.

There’s a lot more still to learn, and I’ll be found for another season carving at

📷

Finally finished the largest bowl I’ve attempted on the pole lathe, it’s been a great learning experience, splitting the...
04/08/2025

Finally finished the largest bowl I’ve attempted on the pole lathe, it’s been a great learning experience, splitting the material by axe and wedge before starting the initial rough shaping by axe while it was still attached to the log giving me the ability to take bigger cuts with the two handed axe.

Not completely happy with the final finish achieved on the bowl surface but the lathe I used definitely struggled with the weight and size.

Another example of one of the beasts found on one of the sleds buried within the Oseberg ship. I enjoy carving these qui...
15/06/2025

Another example of one of the beasts found on one of the sleds buried within the Oseberg ship. I enjoy carving these quick examples on pieces of wood previously destined for the fire, giving the visitors to the museum a chance to touch and feel the carvings, handling them in a different way aswell as being useful as a reference for future projects.

A sample of an ornament recreated from the Oseberg sleigh 3. Scheteligs Sled. #
05/05/2025

A sample of an ornament recreated from the Oseberg sleigh 3. Scheteligs Sled.
#

Some projects take time to finish, I started this kjenge in 2022 as a wedding present for dear friends. Working on it sp...
03/02/2025

Some projects take time to finish, I started this kjenge in 2022 as a wedding present for dear friends. Working on it sporadically it was always in the back of my mind, only two years late for the wedding I managed to get it finished. This thing is pretty big with a capacity of over 2 litres of beer, plenty to share.

Always back and forth about the final design of whether to carve more detailed animal heads or not I settled on just repeating the design of the kjenge I carved previously based on ones carved by and at .

Carved from a large aspen tree we cut in the forest at Dovre, maybe I’ll put together a compilation of videos from working on it.

Painting with egg and oil.
26/10/2024

Painting with egg and oil.

Long time, no posts. Here’s a small summary in one picture of what I’ve been working on this last year at the . The mai...
25/10/2024

Long time, no posts. Here’s a small summary in one picture of what I’ve been working on this last year at the . The main project this summer was a version of the Animal bed post carving from the Gokstad ship, but I’ve twisted the design to make it more three dimensional, next it will be tarred and painted before being mounted above the main entrance to the longhouse. The carving for this was all with hand tools, the main shaping was done with axe and adze before being refined by carving irons. Behind it is a three meter carving which will be used as the roof runner also for the entrance way based on a carving from the 10th Century found in Denmark, more detailed posts will come in the future (maybe). Otherwise I have been producing more of the Oseberg fish plates and experimenting and getting to grips with bowl turning on pole lathe!

Oseberg fish plates, Over the winter I’ve worked on producing copies of the fish plate found in the Oseberg ship, carved...
26/03/2024

Oseberg fish plates,
Over the winter I’ve worked on producing copies of the fish plate found in the Oseberg ship, carved from birch. They will soon be available in the gift shop!

To be continued… the summer is over, as is the time in the longhouse for now. I finished all of the carving for the new ...
04/10/2023

To be continued… the summer is over, as is the time in the longhouse for now. I finished all of the carving for the new Gables to decorate the main entrance to . They now just miss a touch of colour and they’ll be ready to set up.
But now back to Dovre.

Back in the long house among some of my old carvings. Here I’ve spent a couple of hours finishing my chest lid at last t...
13/06/2023

Back in the long house among some of my old carvings. Here I’ve spent a couple of hours finishing my chest lid at last that will be on display while I prep for the main project.

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Bio

Artist from the North West of England, specialising in wood carving inspired by historic art styles and mythology.

Graduated from The University of the Creative Arts with a BA(hons) in Creative Art for Theatre & Film. Junior Craftsman at Asgard Scotland Craft Demonstrator at the Lofotr Viking Museum Currently studying at Hjerleid School of Handcraft