recent scrimshaw, including elk tooth (and a nude!)

[KatherinePlumer]

Howdy all. I've been pretty quiet on here for a while. I have no excuse or reason, just sort of been in quiet mode. But on the off chance that anyone missed me terribly (wishful thinking?) I'll try to catch up, and be a bit more diligent about posting in the future!

Okay, starting with the most recent:

I can't remember who I have shown what, but a couple months ago a friend of mine found a dead elk while out trail riding, and he sent me the ivory teeth (do I have awesome friends or what?). It was a cow elk, and probably a pretty young one, so they are not very large teeth.



I figured the first time around with an elk tooth just *had* to be an elk. It's an interesting surface to work on. Actually the hardest part was probably getting the image on there! I don't know if this will make any sense to explain in writing but I sketched out an elk on a full sheet of paper, shrunk it down to this size (about a half inch square, egads), stuck that little printout under the scope and re-drew it in graphite (just traced over the printout), stuck a piece of scotch tape on there and peeled up the graphite tracing, and then put the tape on the tooth and dotted the outline with an etching needle. Did I lose you? It's hard to explain.

Anyway, it's a harder surface than elephant ivory and actually varied a little bit from one part of the tooth to the next, but I was able to get some really nice detail, just takes a while to build up the dark areas!



Bull elk on elk tooth
sterling silver bail, 18 inch black leather cord

Now I have to add here that I'm getting less inclined to do scrimshaw jewelry. I had to re-ink a piece that a client loved so much she wore it daily for six months and it was badly faded. Makes me think that my technique isn't going to handle that sort of wear and tear, and I'd prefer to do "fine art" or display pieces (knives and whatnot)... things that aren't going to be handled all the time.

Okay, back on topic, here's another one. I did this piece as a submission to a juried western/equine art show. And it got in! :whoo: My other submission to the show is a 19x27 inch graphite drawing of the same breed of horse, so they really get the whole gamut from me this year. I will frame it for display (a very small frame, of course, they look great framed!)



"Sunday Morning" (Percheron Horse)
7/8 inch x 1-7/8 inch
scrimshaw on pre-ban ivory piano key

And then was this little bear cub, which was done as a "sketch" of sorts for a larger piece because I was wondering about techniques (lines versus dots). While it has the aww cute factor, it's not my favorite piece and was definitely a learning experience (I'm sticking with dots for the next bear project).



black bear cub pendant
18x25mm pre-ban ivory cabochon

And last but not least, another nude. Because there seems to be a pretty ready market for them! Sold this one on ebay quite quickly.



"Nude #3"
30mm diameter pre-ban ivory

I'll try to stay caught up in the future, and you can expect bigger pieces...

-Katherine

[Mcahron]

Very nice work.I love the rearward facing horse the most.Is there any special coating to protect the scrimshaw from damage?

[Daniel Houwer]

Wauw Katherine,

That is really amazing! Good Idea to elevate to fine art. Some things are just not for daily use for they are just to delicate. The horse is just amazing and I am Not amazed why your nude sold so quickly. Sensuality and erotic elevated to fine art in style.
Really impressed.

Greetings,

Daniel

[KatherinePlumer]

Thanks Daniel and Mcahron. I've heard different opinions about trying to put some sort of coating on scrim and as far as I can tell most people don't put anything on there. I've tried Renaissance wax but had some problems with that actually removing the ink (eek!) and have heard that clear varnishes are not a good idea.

I think, considering my style, my best bet is to just keep it out of situations where it's going to be subjected to a lot of handling. I've seen some scrim with really deep cut lines that would surely hold up to anything, but that's not how I work.

-Katherine

[fish]

nice elk tooth!

as for the covering of scrim ,i have in the past used furniture wax spray polish ,spray and let dry them buff. mind you scrim is found that is thousands of years old here and its not faded or rubbed off!

[KatherinePlumer]

Fish, the problem I'd been having was that the ink and the wax I was using didn't go well together, the wax would actually remove the ink, as would any sort of oil. Switching to liquid ink (I'm using Higgins drawing ink on anything that's going to get "wear and tear") allows me to seal it with Renaissance Wax, and that seems to have solved the problem, yay!

-Katherine

[fish]

oh i see! :yesnod:

[diandwill]

I would love to see some of the things you put on ebay. What is your user name?
Will

[SVD]

This seems like a good place to note that eBay just announced it's going to ban all elephant ivory items. I just saw a blip so you'll have to research for the details (I can't get to eBay from here).

[KatherinePlumer]

Hmmm, Steve that is deeply disturbing news. I looked all over ebay and couldn't find anything about that. They do regulate the sales and I've seen a lot of auctions pulled if they don't get the right wording in there. Looks like ebay does not differentiate between different types of ivory.

Hmmmmm..... If you find where you saw that could you let me know? That would be a serious blow to a lot of scrimshanders.

-Katherine

[KatherinePlumer]

Oops meant to put this in the reply too:

Will, I haven't put anything on ebay for a couple months, but I'm "rosecomb24." Everything I've done is on my website (see link below).

-Katherine

[SVD]

Click Here to read the story off of Yahoo!

Here's the lead paragraph:

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - EBay Inc will institute a global ban on the sale of all ivory products via its online auction site by January 1, after a conservation group found over 4,000 illegal elephant ivory listings by sellers.

That's why I thought it worth mentioning - it seems like a near death knell for some folks. Just another push for an alternative service I suppose.

[handengraverdave]

Have you ever tried spraying hair spray over them. I to did alot of pencil drawings of automobiles, classic car show quality cars for people at the shows. I would bring my camera and take pics they would give me a deposite and i wouls draw them in pencil. Very realistic. to protect the graphite I used aqua net hair spray and that aussie stuff worksgood too. spray it on lightly let dry and repray. not fading and no smearing. It is pretty sticky stuff and it may stick to the ivory.

Your work is really beautiful and i like the nude as well. I started airbrushing pin up girls so I can enjoy the beauty of the female form.

David