Scrimshaw Addiction

Lion Scrimshaw

This scrimshaw is of a Lion. It was done in 2013 using black ink. The Ivory is ancient fossilized Mammoth Ivory from Siberia. It weighs 46 grams and measures 40mm wide x 70mm high. The shape is called a “plaque”. That means that it’s flat with even sides which is the most desirable ivory to work on.

I tried something different with this piece. I sandblasted the Ivory using the technique explained in the section, “Scrimshaw Shortcuts” of this website. I then thickly applied black ink, let it dry and scraped it off where it needed to be lighter. It was an experiment.

The Scrimshaw

I don’t have any progressive pictures as I didn’t photograph it or document all the details back then. The process of making this piece was different to the way I usually do it.

1) Polish the Ivory

2) Apply thick oil paint to the whole piece

3) Scrape away ink in areas to make them lighter

The Base

The base is made from Snakewood with an Ivory name plate attached using Sterling Silver pins. It took as long to make as the Scrimshaw did. This is usually the case with making stands, and quite often doubles how long a project takes.

The Finished Piece

This picture shows the finished Scrimshaw on its stand.

The End.

Contact Rod: randclacey@bigpond.com