Scrimshaw

A while back I discovered scrimshaw. And with an eight year old grandson I rediscovered it. Scrimshaw is a folk art that sailors engaged in when they went  to sea to hunt whales. The sailors would take the ivory teeth from the whale and use needles to cut images into the teeth. Usually they were images of sailing ships. Since my grandson is into pirates I stumbled onto this folkart tradition again. This is my first attempt. I used a #11 blade in an x-acto knife on a wooden button. It didn't work out too well. I cut the image into the button and wiped india ink over the button. The idea is to let the ink settle into the knife strokes and then wipe it off. What should remain is the ink that has settled into the strokes. It didn't work out that way. The ink soaked into the wooden button and stained the entire thing black. The entire image was black and could not be removed. So what I did was cut into the button where the image was and the wood grain was revealed. Kind of like scratchboard or I guess sgriffito. Anyway, I kind of like it. I don't know what it would be like to carve into ivory and probably never will know. It is prohibitively expensive and protected. Many artists use bone. Lately I have had the urge to try new things. There is nothing like coming back to an old friend after exploring something new. I am going to try scratchboard next. After carving into the button I had a flash of insight that pointed to scratchboard. It is very cheap and it is a great way to learn more about values and reversing images. Art is a wonderful taskmaster. It is always leading you to new opportunities for growth. I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's day.  We stayed home. Hope that the upcoming year is a wonderful one.  Few years were as blessed as 2012 was for me.  I know a lot of people who struggled and were not fortunate.  Praise God, it was a wonderful year for my family overall. A prayer for all those who are glad 2012 is over. May 2013 bring new hope for our world.

God bless you. Dale