A Welsh snow dragon sculpted by a university student has been drawing queues of admirers – and sending social media into meltdown.
Rachel Savage, 19, fashioned the dragon by hand as a way of cheering up her local community during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Inspired by the national emblem of her adopted country, she was also influenced by the fearsome dragons from Game of Thrones.
Passersby have already Christened her the new “Mother of Dragons”, a reference to the hit fantasy series.
Facebook has also been lit up by pictures of the sculpture.
“Totally blown my mind,” said one user.
“Absolutely amazing. Great to see something positive,” wrote another.
Rachel built the snow sculpture over six hours on Friday in front of the family home in Buckley, Flintshire.
“At one point we had seven people standing in a socially distanced row patiently waiting to take photos of the dragon,” she said.
“I wanted to give people something to enjoy as they walked out for their daily exercise.
“It’s been such a tough time and I wanted to cheer everyone up.”
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Helping out with the project were mum Helen Crossland, Rachel’s chief “snow collector”, and her younger half-brother Vincent, 12.
Encouragement came from step-dad Paul and older half-brother Alex.
The dragon, looking out over Buckley’s higher common, follows an earlier creation that also caused a stir in the community.
In early January, Rachel built a formidable-looking snow bear.
“We used to live in Leighton Buzzard before moving to North Wales last year because we love the area so much,” she said.
“A few years ago my brothers and I built a snow bear in the back garden and topped it with a flowerpot.
“It became a family tradition, every time it snowed. So when we moved to Buckley, that’s the first thing I made.
“It was just a bit of fun. But after seeing how it brought the community together, I wanted to do another sculpture that referenced our new home.”
Rachel’s creativity is no surprise: she’s currently in her second year at De Montfort University, Leicester, where she is studying architectural design.
But she needed no pictures or sketches to bring her latest design to life.
“Lots of people were asking me if I have a book nearby, or my phone, but I just like building models with my hands using images that come into my head,” she said.
What do you make of the snow sculptures? Have your say in the comments section.
