Pinelands Carvers
Welcome Scrimshaw
Artist
Carvers Heather Swangler and Connie
O'Hara introduced a new form of carving
to our group a few months ago. They
boiled stout beef bones and removed all
the meat, gristle and fat. Their trusty
scroll saws reduced the bones to
thumbnail sized pieces which were further
carved and polished into jewelry that has
the look of ivory. A new version of a
very old art form caught our imaginations.
Bone, teeth and ivory and formed pretty
much from the same materials.
Traditionally, Ivory was considered the
material of elephant tusks and was more
easily carved and polished than bone.
They all contain colagin, calcium and
phosphorus but ivory contained no veins.
The art of scrimshaw, a venerable art
form, has become "Green" since adapting
itself to media other than ivory. Antlers as
well as bone were used during prehistoric
times for tools as well as ornamentation.
Now, carefully worked bone produces
fine scrimshaw.
Andrew Daniele, a scrimshaw artist,
visited the Pinelands Carvers to
demonstrate how a master turns a soup
bone into world class jewelry. He
discussed how and why properly
cleaning the bone the bone is as vital as
any other step in the production of a fine
product. Fine waterproof sandpaper and
hours of work go into the polishing of
the bone. The proper laying out of
artwork conserves time and space on
precious bone. Selection of waterproof
inks to add color to the fine lines and and
texturing of the design. Andrew
demonstrated each step in the production
of a single piece. While he went from
sketch to finished item in about twenty
minutes, he demonstrated forty plus years
of skill and experience.
Welcome Scrimshaw
Artist
Carvers Heather Swangler and Connie
O'Hara introduced a new form of carving
to our group a few months ago. They
boiled stout beef bones and removed all
the meat, gristle and fat. Their trusty
scroll saws reduced the bones to
thumbnail sized pieces which were further
carved and polished into jewelry that has
the look of ivory. A new version of a
very old art form caught our imaginations.
Bone, teeth and ivory and formed pretty
much from the same materials.
Traditionally, Ivory was considered the
material of elephant tusks and was more
easily carved and polished than bone.
They all contain colagin, calcium and
phosphorus but ivory contained no veins.
The art of scrimshaw, a venerable art
form, has become "Green" since adapting
itself to media other than ivory. Antlers as
well as bone were used during prehistoric
times for tools as well as ornamentation.
Now, carefully worked bone produces
fine scrimshaw.
Andrew Daniele, a scrimshaw artist,
visited the Pinelands Carvers to
demonstrate how a master turns a soup
bone into world class jewelry. He
discussed how and why properly
cleaning the bone the bone is as vital as
any other step in the production of a fine
product. Fine waterproof sandpaper and
hours of work go into the polishing of
the bone. The proper laying out of
artwork conserves time and space on
precious bone. Selection of waterproof
inks to add color to the fine lines and and
texturing of the design. Andrew
demonstrated each step in the production
of a single piece. While he went from
sketch to finished item in about twenty
minutes, he demonstrated forty plus years
of skill and experience.
Andrew Daniele at work on a piece of scrimshaw while several members of the Pinelands Carvers
look on. The artist, from Holmdel, NJ, lectures on the subject and gives group lessons. .
look on. The artist, from Holmdel, NJ, lectures on the subject and gives group lessons. .
| At left is the pattern that Andrew sketched for us before he applied it to the piece of polihsed beef bone, the medium for his scrimshaw work. It only took about twenty minutes from the time he began the sketch to the time the photo at the right was taken. Twenty minutes built on forty plus years of experience. |
| The two buckles below are a small representation of the work he displayed during his visit. |
| Click on photos for larger views |
