Tag: how to scrimshaw

Lighthouse Template from “Scrimspirations 2”

Lighthouse Template from “Scrimspirations 2”

Lighthouse with waves crashing to the left
CC-SA Dennis Jarvis

Below is the template from the October 2015 Newsletter.  I try to include at least one template or pattern per newsletter to either use or inspire you to create a piece of scrimshaw.  It’s fun and easy, and if you’re like me, you tend to get lost in the work for awhile. Best of all, you have something to show once you’ve finished!  Clicking on the link will open a .pdf you can print out as a reference or as a template.  Use color, black and white or just set it near your workplace and begin to sketch.  Special thanks to Dennis Jarvis for providing the image under the Creative Commons share alike license!

I just released the second “Scrimspirations” templates on Etsy.com (Scrimspirations 2: Tall Ships and Sea Life) – twenty seven templates you can use to create a piece of scrimshaw on mammoth ivory, alternative ivory, mother of pearl (see Anita’s work on facebook for a beautiful example), a lightswitch cover, drawer pull… the list goes on for things you can scrimshaw!

Louisbourg Lighthouse Scrimshaw Template:
Louisbourg Lighthouse – Dennis Jarvis – Share-Alike-pdf

Scrimshaw? But I Can’t Draw!

Scrimshaw? But I Can’t Draw!

Love scrimshaw? Can’t Draw? Many whale-men, the original scrimshaw artists couldn’t draw either. Using their ingenuity and the tools at hand, they were able to fashion memorable pieces of art and carvings that survive to this day. You can scrimshaw, even if you can’t draw! It only takes a little guidance, some basic tools and a touch of modern technology.Using ancient mammoth ivory, natural “vegetable ivory” or other materials, you can create beautiful works of art the way the sailors did, without needing to lean over the port bow! A great way to de-stress, scrimshaw will bring you into a world of art you may never have thought possible to achieve.
“Scrimshaw? But I Can’t Draw!!” has links and instructions to everything you need to learn how to scrimshaw:

  • sources for fossilized ivory
  • “vegetable” ivory
  • tools
  • pigments
  • how to prepare tools and materialsScrimshaw? But I Can't Draw! Book Cover
  • techniques for shading
  • polishes and preservatives, and more.

Great book for beginners and who can and cannot draw, “Scrimshaw? But I Can’t Draw!” will walk you through the simple steps that many of the top scrimshaw artists use today.

Available at Amazon