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------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------- oe a 4 ME + ring iS i PG SE De PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, September 25, 1990 -- 15 A transplanted West Vir- She'll scrimshaw any de- Ivory etchings a unique form of folk art ginian who now makes her home in Port Perry has brought with her a uniquely American folk art. Kay Goldberg calls herself a scrimshandler and the art fromis scrimshaw. Scrimshaw essentially is etching on ivory, bone or antler. Kay who has an extensive art background in drawing and sculpting, learned scrimshaw about ten years ago while living in her native state of West Vir- ginia. And she has recently taken it up again, much to the delight of collectors in the Port Perry area who have been handing her enough orders to more than keep her busy in the small home workshop she jokingly calls "the cave." Though Kay has created all It's painstaking work that must be done under magnifica- tion. Once the image has been etched, numerous layers of paint are carefull brushed on. The paint adheres only to the etches, not the smooth surface of the ivory. The final result is a marvel- lously life-like full colour image. The origins of scrimshaw can be traced back to New Eng- land whalers of the 18th centu- ry. To help pass the time on board ship, they would scratch figures and images on whales teeth, and present them as gifts for wives and girlfriends. The word scrimshaw means "idle time." With the opening of the America west, settlers would use old antlers and bones to <kinds of etched designs on ivo- ry, antler and bone, her special- ty is dogs, cats and horses on - small, pendant-size pieces of old piano keys, then painted in striking life-like colours. Why old piano keys? Kay explains that they are a ready source of ivory, and being a con- servationist she would not feel scratch crude maps and dia- grams. Kay said scrimshaw as art enjoyed popularity for a while, then kind of died out around the turn of the century. } But by the early 1970's, it was gaining popularity among artists in the western US, espe- cially Washington State. Lilith Illustrations above and middle right show the fine detail of the etching. These graphics of the dogs and the ram have been photographed at almost three times their real size. comfortable working on "new ivory" from elephant tusks. She first cuts the piece of ivory, polishes it and sketches with pencil the image she wants. Then, using a homemade scrimshaw tool (a steel blade sharpened on three sides) she etches the image into the ivory. They began to colour the etchings, and Kay describes hs as the "Renaissance peri- od. Kay, who was trained as a sculpter and has worked in nu- merous art mediums, was at- tracted to scrimshaw almost by accident. A little over a decade ago, Kay Goldberg of Port Perry is a scrimshandier. That's somebody who does scrimshaw, etching designs on bone or ivory. she was making leather knife sheaths for a well known Ameri- can knife maker. "He asked me ifI can draw. I said 'yes, and then he asked if Icanscrimshaw," she recalls. "I had never heard of it," but she agreed to to etch a de- sign on the handle of a knife. The design was the state seal and flower of West Virgin- ia, and the knife was for the col- lection of thenn Governor Rockefeller. As far as she knows the knife is still in his collection. She soon began to get cus- tom orders for all kind of bright- ly coloured designs: dragons, buses, airplanes, even hot air balloons. Some of her creations are now in private collections all over the States and in Japan and the Middle East. Kay concedes that scrimshaw Is tedious work at times that must be done under mag- sign anybody wants on ivory, bone or antler, but enjoys most the dogs, cats and horses (peo- ples favourite pets) on the tiny pieces of piano key. On a "good day," she says she can finish four such pieces. She admits at times it is terribly tedious work, but adds quickly in her Virginian accent "Tloveit." "Anybody who is able to draw can do this, but not every- one would want to do it," she said. Kay and her husband first came to Canada five years ago, have lived in Port Perry for three years and are now in the process of taking out citizen- ship. She's devoting herself full time to scrimshaw (and graph- ite drawing) and has reached an agreement with Pete's Pet Pan- try in Port Perry to handle re- tail sales and custom orders for her. She describes scrimshaw as a "true American folk art," and says there are few scrim- shandlers working in Canada at this time. nification. But she enjoys this form of American folk art that traces its beginnings back to the whaling days in the 18th century. (see story for detalls)