Part of the original décor has been revived as part of the newly remodeled Dragon’s Head.

A Viking ship used to find its place between the booths of the Head in the Campus Center. The wooden artifact was discovered in storage while the remodeling project was underway this fall.

Student Body President Tyler Mohr asked senior art and history major Heidi Antonson of Ralston, Neb., to paint the ship.

The senior who “majors in history because I love it and art because I can do it” said she was intrigued by the project and set out researching traditional designs of Viking longboats. “I had to be historically accurate with the paint job,” she said.

Some of the traditional designs were adorned with jewels in the center. These were combined with others for variety and Antonson made her own mark of “H” and “A” for the shields on either end.

The senior worked on the project in her parents’ workshop over Christmas break and during the weekends of Discovery Term.

“ I think it looks really good in here,”Antonson said. “But I put so much work into it, that I almost want to take it off the wall and take it home.”
Antonson’s father, Ken, helped Heidi with some of the drilling and set the jewel in the eye of the dragon. He also donated the cost of the materials for the project.

The ship was Antonson’s first three-dimensional project. “I kind of took it on because it was another medium that I haven’t experienced.”