Deer Tattoo with Viking Urnes Design

Inspired by the magnificent carvings in the Urnes Stave Church in Norway, this half sleeve piece weaves a deer and sea-serpent-like creatures in a tangle of foliage. The design I based this art on is the North Portal, from the original 11th century church, reused when the church was reconstructed in the 12th century. One of the interpretations of the design is that the stag is eating the bark of the ONE WORLD TREE (Yggdrasil) where the serpent Nithog lived and nibbled on its roots. A powerful Viking tattoo.