Scrimshaw, the mariners art.
I loved learning about this traditional folk art! Many of you know that I tend to personally lean towards the traditional rural/peasant crafts– what would have been common practice by people living their daily lives. I love to learn about making things in general, but that is what really calls to me.
Scrimshaw seems to find that void between art and craft in my mind, it is hard to say it was anything but art — used to decorate other items– but it was done by the average seaman with very limited tools using what they had on hand. It just seems more of a commoners’ art form than something like painting.
This week I talk with Rich Williams about scrimshaw– everything from choosing material, prepping it, tools and techniques used to engrave it, filling it in, maintenance of pieces, and legal issues you need to be aware of in regards to sourcing material. We also talk about the origins of scrimshaw and its history as a craft up through the present day.
Overall, this was a fascinating conversation and I really enjoyed connecting with Rich. He has a love of history and working with his hands that I could relate to and learn from, hope you all do as well!
Resources Mentioned
scrimshawandmore.com — Rich’s website, check out the gallery pages to see some of his and his students’ work!
The Henry Ford Greenfield Villiage
William Holland School of Lapidary Arts
Advanced Scrimshaw Techniques by Jim Stevens
The Scrimshaw Connection by Bob Engnath
Tools
Micro Brushes
Craft Blades
Tripoli jewelry polish
Optivisor head magnifier
Ink — Doc Martins or FW india ink
Enjoyed the Rich Williams presentation, but got cutoff and couldn’t sign back on to hear it.
Not sure what happened there, did you get it to work? If not let me know and I’ll try to figure it out…. it seems to be working for me at the moment, but if you can’t listen I need to fix that! How far in did it cut you off?
Thanks for having Rich Williams speak on scrimshaw. Very informative podcast provided by Rich, who is an outstanding conversationalist.
Loved chatting with him! We had a great conversation and I feel like he was the perfect guest to introduce us to scrimshaw! Thanks for listening!