SISP Spotlight: Lily Pattison

Senior Lily Pattison is learning the art of scrimshaw for her Senior Independent Study Project. As Lily described, “scrimshaw is the art of engraving on ivory, traditionally whale teeth or bones.” 

“The sperm whales were the ones hunted because they have an organ that produces spermaceti, a very valuable substance that was used to make candles and other things. The spermaceti is actually found in an organ in the head of the whale and it's used for echolocation,” Lily explained. The teeth and bones were a byproduct of whaling and not special at the time. The sailors on the whaling voyages were out there for up to five years at a time and the days became monotonous. As Lily put it, “They learned how to engrave them [whale teeth and bones] to pass the time. They weren’t artists, they were sailors. The pieces had a lot of things they knew, like the boat they were on and scenes of whaling.”

The tracking of whale ivory became far stricter in the 1970s. However, Lily’s great-grandfather started scrimshawing long before the laws were in place. He used to go to the New Bedford Whaling Museum and buy whale teeth. The first one was just $3.50. Her great-grandfather even had a small business, selling pieces of jewelry and art made from scrimshawed whale ivory. Lily said, “He didn’t just do scrimshaw. He did calligraphy and woodworking. He carved ducks and birds.” 

When ivory became much more closely monitored, her great-grandfather couldn't buy or sell it. He had so many unscrimshawed pieces of ivory and didn't know what to do with it. The only legal way to give ivory now is within a will, so it has to stay in the family. Lily was lucky enough to have some pieces of ivory willed to her. 

As for Lily’s learning process, her great aunt — one of only two living family members  with the skill — has become her mentor. Lily said, “She is  very excited to help mentor me. She is an artist and went to art school and is excited that I might be able to pass it on to younger members of the family or even my descendants.”

Lily uses the more modern scrimshaw technique — which her great-grandfather did as well. She starts with an unfinished piece of ivory, which has a grain-like texture. As such, a big part of the process is sanding it down. Lily said, “You want it to be smooth and shiny, but you still want to leave some of the warm, yellow look so it doesn’t look like plastic.” 

After sanding, she paints over the whole piece in black ink and uses carving tools to engrave the ivory. She said, “At first, all of the carving tools looked the same, but now I know what each tool does differently.” Next, she uses brown paper to wipe away the ink and uses a new coat of black ink to fill in the carved cracks. As a final step, she buffs the piece to add a beautiful finish.