Susan Lovatt Interview – Scrimshaw on Casien

Interviews

An email interview with Susan Lovatt:

What made you decide on scrimshaw for this installation?
I used scrimshaw as a medium because it is so relevant to the intentions behind the artwork. I could never hope to achieve the superb level of craftsmanship that real craftspeople attain – though I don’t think that I’ve made a bad fist of it for a first attempt. It was the preparation of the ivory that I found most difficult, a real slog, I had not realised that the surface had to be so mirror smooth.

Can you tell me about your inspiration for this work?
The ‘Deepwater Horizon’ disaster, was one of a long line of environmental disasters that have happened throughout my life. The oil tanker ‘Torrey Canyon’ was wrecked of the Cornish coast when I was a child in the 1960s. Other ones that spring to mind are the ‘Amoco Cadiz’ (Brittany 1978), ‘Exxon Valdes’ (Alaska 1989), ‘The Braer’ (Shetland 1993); and these are just the oil spills and just the ones that have hit the headlines. Every time I hear about such catastrophes I am shocked to the core, but my reaction is perverse and I continue to live a life that depends on the industries that create the pollution. I am not an innocent bystander. This is why the work developed the way it did, the scrimshaw panels tell the story of the disaster. The text and the Cornell style contents of the boxes consider my ambivalent reactions – which veer from horror at the waste and destruction to astonishment at our achievements and a whole bundle of emotions in between. I wanted to follow the 18th and 19th century idea of creating souvenirs of terrible or macabre events. I was looking for a maritime craft to use for a maritime disaster and scrimshaw was the obvious choice. I hope that traditional scrimshanders will appreciate the use I’ve put their beautiful craft to.

Timeline

The well blew in late April 2010 and I conceived the idea in May/June. Throughout the summer I researched the history of scrimshaw and how to do it, and faux ivory suppliers.

In June I tracked down a supplier who kindly sent me samples of their products which I experimented with through the summer.
At the same time I did my picture research and approached copyright holders for permission to use the images. I used five copyrighted images and got them through the Press Association as they were able to reduce the price for a bulk order, this was my largest expense. The rest of the images came through open source or were set up by myself.

I had started to work on the finished ivories in November/ December but was held up just before Christmas for 4-6 weeks as I slipped on some ice and broke my elbow. I reckon I did the whole set in about 8 weeks, working on them 2 days a week, for as long as I could keep up my concentration.

The boxes were made by a local carpenter at the end of February 2011 and I had been collecting material for the contents around November. They were filled and finished ready for exhibition in April

What did you use to create your scrimshaw?

It looks at first glance like mammoth ivory and either India ink or black oil paint.
I tried various inks and paints in the end I settled on Winsor and Newton’s Mars Black Artists’ Acrylic paint. The casein came from a firm in the UK, I understand that they manufacture it here. They make faux ivory and bone in both casein and acrylic. I found the acrylic easier to prepare, but I used casein.

Casien is difficult to find in the states as either sheets or rods – the best I’ve come up with is powder, and despite a very helpful salesperson, they were unable to tell me how I could transform it into what I desired, as it’s most often used in paint and cement!
The supplier was GPS Agencies- website, http://www.ivoryalternative.com/ email, info@ivoryalternative.com

(More on the Production of the Installation:)
The casein is very brittle and quite hard to saw accurately, but fortunately I didn’t need perfectly regular shapes.To prepare the casein I used a hand held power sander, using progressively finer sandpapers, followed by wire wool and then a cloth with cream kitchen cleaner (the best known brand is called ‘Cif’ here) to finish off.

I viewed the engraving through a craft magnifier/light on a floor stand.

I experimented with a range of tools but finally settled on a scribing tool that came in a craft knife kit. The steel point is not flexible, which I prefer, and inserts into a metal handle which is fairly comfortable to hold. I constantly sharpened it on a carborundum stone.

I traced a keyline of the images onto tracing paper which I transferred onto the panels, securing the paper with masking [drafting] tape.

When I’d transferred the keyline I touched it up with a soft pencil and then I pricked the keyline into the panel, which I then inked and cleaned. I worked the images up, first with pencil then with the scribing tool, probably doing about 3 more inkings before they were ready. The text I wrote directly onto the casein with a soft pencil after planning it out on paper.

I have a master’s degree in printmaking and those skills were directly transferable. I’m very impressed with the photographic stipple technique that some scrimshanders use. I tried, but it defeated me so I used a range of hatching and cross-hatching techniques.

Thank you for sharing your insights and the process you went through to achieve the scrimshaw on your installation. If anyone wishes to contact you, how should they go about it?

They can contact me through http://www.oneforthecrow.com/contact.html

More Pictures below: