Blogging for jewelers and metalsmiths made easy! (and for those interested in jewelry and gemstones)

Amy Asks: Can you give me a history about the bone you use in your artwork.

Dear Amy,
   First let me explain the difference between Mammoth Ivory and Mammoth Bone and the fact that I do not use any fossil bone in any of my ivory jewelry.  The reason behind this is that all bone is soft and full of mirco-small holes designed for producing blood for the animal.  This makes the pieces found soft and entirely to brittle to work with.  The bone is used to form the skeleton of the animal.
 
The Ivory Tusks (2) that are set out to either side of the Mammoths trunk are actual concidered a pair of external teeth, and therefore much harder then bone and less likely to break down and decompose like bone.  These 2 tusks, have very much the same make up as your teeth, but a little bigger, and alot harder.

  Every piece of Mammoth Ivory I use has been found by myself or a family member either in one of the family mining operations in the interior of Alaska or along the many rivers that flow threw the area.

   The ivory is legal to possess and ranges in age from 10,000 years old to 250,000 years old.  Once in a great while we will find a very old piece of Mastidon Ivory which is even older.   This Mastidon Ivory is almost rock hard and has a horrible odor (while it is being worked), so I try not to work with it that much.

 Thanks for the question Amy, if you have any more feel free to ask.

MammothIvoryCreations.com or Mammothivorycreation.etsy.com 

{ 0 comments }

Carolyn Detjen  Asks:

    I recently bought a small piece of mammoth ivory at a lapidary sale and plan to use it for jewelry. What tools are used to saw and grind?

 The Ivory Carvers Answer: 

   My style of Carving is rather unorthodox, as my main tool is a drill with a solid sanding surface with 80 grit sand paper.  With my Intaglia work, the most important aspect is that every piece is 100% flat.  So I use a multitude of sanding surfaces to flatten and shape.  From 7″ carbide steel cutting wheels to 3/4″ Micro Sanding disks that are 1200 -1800 grit.

  My second most important tool is a pair of dremel flex shafts with over 100 different bits.  From 1/2″ hogging bits to burs and diamond bits, to Diamond cut off wheels.

  My third tool, although not real necessary, but very handy is my Micro BandSaw with the smallest blade available.

 Last but not least is my 35,000 RPM Buffer and the Zam Polish I use. 
I hope this helps. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask. 

LeeC

MammothIvoryCreation.com   or Mammothivorycreation.Etsy.com

{ 0 comments }

 My name is LeeC, I have been a Mammoth Ivory Carver for about 25 years.  I was born and raised in Alaska in the small settlement near Mantasta. I spent my younger years in Tok and my formidable years in Nenana, an Athabascan Indian village of about 250 people.

    As a young girl growing up in Nenana, I became a dog musher and made friends with the Carson family.  I would latter become apprentice to Mike Carson, a Master Ivory Carver and Knife Maker.  I spent 17 years working and learning from the master, before branching off on my own.

  Part of my apprenticeship would be finding and recording the conditions, of all the bones and ivory found, basically Laymen Paleontology work.  In doing so I was able to meet and visit with scientist from the largest museums in the country.  I learned a lot about the animals of the Paleolithic Period and the world they lived in.

  All of this has taught me to greatly respect the resources I use in my jewelry making.  I use only Ivory that is naturally colored, and so as not to disrespect that animal that gave me the ivory, I use only the finest gemstones and other exotic goodies I can acquire.

   Another aspect of my jewelry making is that nothing is ever wasted.  Nothing is ever duplicated and I let the Ivory become what it wishes to become.
  I work in the lost art of Intaglia, kin to Intarsia, but using a backing piece of Ivory and steel pins instead of glues.  A basic 3 dimensional art form of sculpture where ever single piece must fit with such precision that there are no gaps on any surface.  This is done by hand with no magnification.
  I feel that my main job as a Master Mammoth Ivory Carver is to educate people as to what the ivory truly is and to let them know that it is not illegal,  but a natural resourse that is truly beautiful.

Thanks for visiting.  If you have questions please ask as it gives me something to write about.  LeeC

www/MammothIvoryCreations.com

{ 2 comments }

 

Could you explain of the terms Intaglia and Intarsia.

 I think it will help people understand what you are
 talking about better, when you describe your work.

 

Hi Keith,

  I will do my best to explain this. 

 

 I am going to start with Intarsia;  General refers to the joining of many pieces of wood in a puzzle-piece fashion, but with seams that are so close there are NO Gaps. There is also no backing to stabilize the wood, just glue.

  In the last couple of decades, with the invent of powerful stone cutting saws and larger stone flattening lap,( a large super flat diamond covered disk) Intarsia has come into the scene in the lapidary field. However only in geometric form.

 

  Intaglia; the word is not found in the English language.  It stems from China somewhere around the 13th century, when the country started it’s trade routes.

 

  Ivory, Gold, Jade were used strictly by the upper ruling class in there jewelry design.  The original Intaglia was set on a backing of Jade or Gold, as both were worn next to the body for there healing properties.  The ivory the Chinese used was Elephant and due to it’s age, was much more stable then the Mammoth Ivory I use today.

  

  I don’t have the tools to work with Jade or the funds to work with plate Gold, therefore I use Mammoth Ivory to back my pieces of Intaglia work, and thus I am the only carver, other then Mike Carson, the master carver I learned from, who used this style.  World wide.

  Intaglia is hard to explain, as it is a 3 dimensional art form. F

 

 * First a solid, very thin, 100% Flat backing plate of mammoth ivory is formed into a desired shape IE: A Song Bird.

 * Then several different colors of mammoth ivory are selected for the varies parts of the bird. IE: the Beak, The Head, The breast, The wing.

  * Each piece must be 100% flat and 100% square on all sides. If this is not done correctly then gaps will show and ruin the piece.  This is done by hand with no magnification.

  * Each piece is then set onto the backing piece and pinned threw the backing piece, ensuring that no pieces ever move.

  * If a piece such as the beak is to small and close to the edge to be pinned threw the back, then it is pinned threw the piece adjoining it, in a horizontal fashion.

  * When all pieces have been pinned, and are checked to be 100% secure, the piece is them formed into the desired 3 dimensional shape.

  * It is then sanded, and polished to a high shine, and set with only the finest Gold or Sterling Silver findings available.

I hope this helps. You can see both forms of this work made in Ivory Jewelry on my 2 sites listed below.

http://mammothivorycreation.etsy.com

http://www.artworkbid.com/MammothIvoryCreations

I am also working on a Past Work Gallery Site at:

http://www.MammothIvoryCreations.com

{ 0 comments }

The Ivory Carver

 

A Blog by

LeeC

Owner/Artist

Mammoth Ivory Creations

Est. 1987

 

As a Fossil Ivory Carver, more specifically, a Fossil  Mammoth Ivory Carver, I feel that there are a lot of subjects that I could write about, but, after a great deal of thought, I have come to the conclusion that an education about Fossil Ivory is the best place to start this blog.

 

As an artist, I sometimes participate in the show circuit, and I have come to understand that 98% of American’s have no clue, as to what Mammoth Ivory actually is.

 

No, Mammoths are not an aquatic marine mammal.

No, they are not on the endangered species list, either.

No, deer do not have Ivory antlers. 

No, they don’t live in California, at least not that I am aware of….

 

And the questions go on and on.

 

  I have figured out, that my main job, as an Ivory Carver/Artist, at a show, is educating the public.

 

  It is sad to say is, but the only thing most American’s know about Mammoth Ivory, is that it’s illegal to own. There could be nothing further from the truth.

 

  The bad part about this misinformation is, that if we don’t find it, preserve it, and use it,  we may loose it for ever.

 

 Why? You ask…

 

  Well, it’s like this;

  

            Fossil  Mammoth and Mastodon Ivory is preserved in the permafrost layers of soil that it lays in.  When exposed to the air in moist areas, for any length of time, it decomposes.

 

  A tusk’s outer area is called the “Bark”.  This layer is made up of dentin layers which I believe is closely related to the enamel on our teeth.  Enabling it to withstand (for a period of time) the freezing and thawing and exposure in arctic conditions.

 

  However the interior of the tusk has no dentin layer and when exposed to severe climate changes, quickly turns into a chalk like substance and becomes part of the soil.

 

  Lost forever.

 

I have lived in the arctic region most of my life, and have seen first hand what global warming is all about.

 

  I have seen buildings sink as the permafrost melts out from underneath them.

  I have seen winters in the arctic, that are milder then any in recorded history.

  I have seen coastal lands swallowed by rising seas,  and lose of massive ice shelves along the coast.

 

 I believe, that within my life time, there may no longer be any permafrost to preserve the Mammoth and Mastodon Ivory, and I  feel that it is my job, as a Fossil Ivory Carver, to educate people and make them aware, that this Ivory is an abundant natural resource, that we may be loosing,

 

 and no it not illegal,…  It’s Beautiful.

 

 

Next issue:   Mini Mammoth’s….Really ?????

 

For More info on Mammoth Ivory Creations follow the links to our store.  Head to this site click on Stores in the browser area.

 

   

Mammoth Ivory Creations 

 

 

 

{ 0 comments }