Scrimshaw is an art that dates back over 200 years to the whaling days of New England. Accepted as one of the most important Folk Arts of our American history, scrimshaw almost died out in the 20th century. Today, this art is being perpetuated by a handful of tireless artists who work for hours to create pieces of unique beauty.
Using only a sharp pointed tool and India ink, American whalers of the 18th and 19th centuries intricately engraved scenes of the voyage and the hunt on whale’s teeth and bone. Almost all of the scenes they scribed were of ocean going vessels and things to do with the sea. Themes scrimshawed today can vary from nautical scenes to wildlife, flowers, birds, Indians…really almost anything.
Although scrimshaw was originally done on whale teeth and bone, I work mainly on fossil mastodon ivory, which is 10,000 to 50,000 years old. I also work on fossil walrus ivory, antique piano keys, bone and bamboo. I use a very sharp point and engrave the design onto the surface of the ivory. I work under a direct, bright light because I’m working “white on white”, seeing the design only by the shadows that are cast in the cuts. I do not ink my work until it is finished, unless I’m doing a color piece. Then I ink one color at a time, starting with the darkest colors and ending with the lightest. I use a German casein emulsion paint called Plaka, made by Pelikan. It is waterproof and very durable. It comes in many rich colors. I personally enjoy doing black and white better than color pieces. I feel I can get finer detail and shading in black and white.
In some stores you can find "scrimshaw" in abundance and extremely cheap in price. Buyers beware! If you see cheap scrimshaw, very possibly you are seeing items that have been laser etched. These are produced in mass quantity and all look alike because they are machine made. Instead of ivory, this work is done on plastic. If you look closely you can tell which is done by hand and which is done with a laser. The lines that are done with a laser are all the same depth and width. Scrimshaw that is done by hand will have lines and dots of varying sizes. Machines don’t have the ability to reflect this very human touch.