Lloyd the cardboard dragon lives by the … Whatcom County Library System administration office. Or rather, in it’s lobby.
The handmade dragon, donning circular spectacles and reading a book, is surrounded by trees, mushrooms and other critters. Designed and built by Birch Bay artist Kim Morris, Lloyd was created for the November 2024 WCLS Open Book event and funded by donations to the Whatcom County Library Foundation.
“Dragons, I feel like they get a lot of bad rap,” Morris said. “If I can sit and read, what creature would I love to huddle down and be? I think I’d like to be a dragon.”
Morris is an artist of many mediums. In addition to cardboard, she works with acrylics, watercolor, silkscreen, wood, clay, resin and probably more she can’t remember. She doesn’t create “for the money” — art gives Morris a purpose, especially a piece like Lloyd.
Cardboard is great on a tight budget, Morris said, and can be made into anything. Leading up to building Lloyd, she asked everyone — including the library — to save their cereal and cracker boxes.
Different shades and thicknesses of cardboard add depth to a piece. Morris cuts it up with “several different kinds” of scissors as well as a band saw. “I’ve always had this same band saw — she’s like 6-foot tall and probably 45 years old,” she said.
Lloyd and his forest, which took three months to make, is taller than the average man, but not Morris’ biggest piece. In Oregon, she created a 30-foot B-17 airplane for the Erickson Aircraft Collection museum.
Morris named Lloyd after her brother, Gregory Lloyd Morris, who died in a Coast Guard accident.
You can see Lloyd when he travels occasionally to Whatcom County libraries. Listen to the WCLS podcast about Lloyd and Morris here.
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Jaya Flanary is CDN's designer/digital editor; reach her at jayaflanary@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 106.
