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Scrimshaw Intensive for Jewelry
In this demo-focused virtual course students will learn to transform the surfaces of shell, bone, plastic, soft stone, and other materials through the line-based mark making technique known as scrimshaw. The workshop will investigate drawing practices through the techniques of scribed scrimshaw and engraved scrimshaw on sheet materials. Students will also learn safe material preparation and tool maintenance. We will frame these techniques in their rich history, while exploring their modern art jewelry context. Students can expect to finish at least two illustrated “jewels” that they can then introduce into a metal project via riveting or setting.
NOTE: While jewelry context and applications will be discussed, this specific workshop will primarily cover the scrimshaw scribing and engraving technique - jewelry making techniques will not be taught.
Meet the instructor
Margo Csipő is an emerging art jeweler, illustrator, and an educator at the Baltimore Jewelry Center and Maryland Institute College of Art. Csipő received a BFA in Industrial Design from the Massachusetts College of Art in 2017. Sourcing influences from narrative-based art forms like film, animation, and book illustration, her practice is a tool to tap into her lived experience as a queer artist and a child of a Hungarian immigrant. The resulting work is fabrication-heavy illustrative compositions with mother of pearl scrimshaw and silver repousse. Her work has been published in Metalsmith Magazine, exhibited internationally, including Schmuck 2024, and she was selected as a 2024 AJF Young Artist Award finalist.
Learn more about Margo at www.MargoCsipo.com.
Materials & Tools
The following supplies will be used for course demonstrations and objectives. A suggested item and/or vendor has been provided below for reference. Click the vendor name to be redirected to a page where you can view the item. The quantities needed for each item are listed first. If ordering, please be aware that some items may come in larger quantities than needed for this class. We recommend not opening an item's packaging until the day of the workshop. Student participation during or in-between class sessions is not required - observers are welcome.
Metal/raw materials (NOTE MOP blanks and discs should be polished on one of the sides):
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2 x 25x50x1.5mm MOP blanks - white (MOP Supplies)
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2 x 36x1.3mm MOP discs - white (MOP Supplies)
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10 x 100x30x2mm flat buffalo bone slice (Ebay)
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1 x 6"x12"x1/8" acrylic sheet - ivory opaque (Canal)
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1 x Higgins pigmented ink - black (Blick)
Scrimshaw tools:
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1 x leather sandbag - 5" diameter (Otto)
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1 x diamond hand saw blade - 100 mesh (Rio Grande)
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1 x diamond bur set (Rio Grande)
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1 x round graver - GRS pre-cut QC HSS #50 (Otto)
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1 x onglette graver - GRS pre-cut QC HSS #2/0 (Otto)
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1 x graver handle - GRS QC with 3 holders (Otto)
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1 x optivisor - DA 5 magnification (Otto)
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1 x india stone combo (Otto)
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1 x Toshi diamond stone - 6000 grit (Otto)
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1 x Norton Pike stoning oil (Otto)
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1 x Crocker graver sharpening jig (Otto)
Hand tools:
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1 x jewelers saw (Rio Grande)
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1 x pack saw blades - 2/0 (Rio Grande)
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1 x bench pin (Rio Grande)
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1 x half round hand file - #2 cut (Rio Grande)
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1 x rotary tool - flex shaft, micro motor, etc. (Rio Grande)
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1 x set of needle files - #2 cut (Rio Grande)
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1 x scribe (Rio Grande)
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1 x sheet of sand paper - 220 to 600 grits (Amazon)
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1 x sanding sticks (Rio Grande)
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1 x felt buffing wheel - 7/8" (Rio Grande)
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1 x ZAM buffing compound (Rio Grande)
Other/miscellaneous items:
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hard work surface
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fan and open window - or ventilation system
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safety glasses
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pencil, Sharpie, notebook
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rags/towels
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KN95 face mask
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mechanical pencil - 0.5mm lead
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masking tape