Make Your Own Scrimshaw

Scrimshaw are engravings and carvings done in bone or ivory. The artwork was typically created by whalers, engraved on the byproducts of whales, such as bone. The Wampanoag people of Cape Cod also created scrimshaw for thousands of years prior to the whaling industry. The artwork commonly was done on long whaling voyages in their free time at night. Pictures and lettering done on the materials would be highlighted using a pigment. Missing home, loved ones, or simply escaping the realities of their voyage, scrimshaw gives us a hint at life as a whaler. For more information, and to make your own scrimshaw, check the video below!

 

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Transcript

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Hey guys, it's Olivia here at Cape Cod National Seashore, we're at the museum

at Salt Pond Visitor Center, I've got many display cases behind me lit up really brightly.

Today we're going to be learning about a form of art

that doesn't use paint, canvases, or any kind of colored pencils.

We're going to be learning about scrimshaw today. Scrimshaw is a form of artwork that was done on

whale bone during the height of the whaling industry.

Provincetown on Cape Cod, was an incredibly busy port and one of the most profitable

in the world in the 1800s. Originally on Cape Cod,

whaling was done on shore, they would drive the whales to shore and beach them there.

As time went on they began to do smaller excursions out to Cape Cod Bay, where they

would hunt for whales there, however as those whale population numbers began to decline they

had to go further and further out into the ocean. They went to the Atlantic ocean, Pacific,

and even the Arctic ocean to find whales. The main purpose of these voyages was to get

oil that they would process from a whale blubber, this oil would burn brightly and efficiently,

however parts of the whales were not used such as the ivory in the teeth and bones of these whales.

These whaling voyages would often times last three to five years in length and the mariners would get

bored in between whale sightings so to keep busy they used what was readily available to them,

whale ivory to carve into. Sailors would carve into the

ivory scenes that reminded them of home, such as a loved one or sometimes they would carve

the ship that they were sailing on. Oftentimes they would use the ivory

to carve different items such, as clothes pins, sewing needles, and pie crimpers.

They would use candle set or carbon to fill in the carvings that they made on the ivory

and then wipe it clean, leaving a thin outline of where they had carved.

The whaling industry, as well as scrimshaw making, reached a peak from the 1840s to the 1860s.

With the civil war there was a decline and it picked up again after the war,

however by the early 1900s electricity replaced the need for whale oil

as a light source. Scrimshaw is a beautiful

form of art that helps us reflect on a very different time, from many many years ago.

My name is Olivia, and thanks for joining, stick with me and let's go

design our own scrimshaw, come on. We're going to be designing our own

scrimshaw today and here are some designs I have made in the past.

Let's get started, first we're going to need some scissors, some paper, specifically a high

gloss photo paper or any type of paper with a matte finish, then we'll need some sharp

objects to carve into the paper, such as this push pin. We'll also need a black pastel crayon,

and then some wet wipes, such as this alcohol wipe here any type of hand wipe that you have.

Let's get started First step, we're going to cut out of

the paper, any shape we want. So you can make it in the shape of a whale's tooth like I have here,

or you can cut out any other shape you would like. So the first step is to figure out what

you want to be on your Scrimshaw, it's best to first outline it with a pencil.

And as you can see here, I'm starting to etch into the paper with the thumbtack that I have.

Please get an adult to help, if you need it with these sharp objects.

And so as I'm etching out my design, I'm just being very careful to know

exactly where I've been etching, and again please be careful with it.

Next we're going to take the black pastel and go over all of the lines where you have etched into.

It looks a little silly right now but I promise in a second it'll look really cool.

So again make sure you're going over all of your lines with that pastel.

The final step take your wet wipe or alcohol wipe and wipe off the excess pastel and it's going to

leave the design you had etched into the paper. If your design isn't coming out very clear go

back over with your sharp object to make sure those lines are very clearly drawn in there.

Wipe off all the excess and now it's going to actually start to resemble a piece of Scrimshaw

that we can see in our museum, from the whaling industry back in the 1800s.

I'm sure your scrimshaw looks awesome, thank you again for joining me I'll see you next time.

Duration:

4 minutes, 55 seconds

Join ranger Olivia to learn about Scrimshaw, and create your own at home!

 

Materials needed:
Scissors
Paper (matte finish)
Push pin
Black pastel crayon
Wet-wipe or alcohol wipe


For information about life as a whaling captain from Cape Cod National Seashore
For more activities at home