Hey there, It has been awhile. Welcome back. I am just sitting down to the bench and trying to figure out what to do for the day. 

It has been kind of a whirlwind type of year so far, but a lot has happened since I last talked to you all. First was the loss of both my apprentices. Tina has moved and Krystal has a new baby, so I am here all by my lonesome.   ;-) ;-) 

( I like it that way), lol.

So I moved store sites. I am now over on ArtFire and loving it. Here are some of my latest pieces. Enjoy.

https://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/home/Mammoth_Ivory_Creations

Today we celebrate, why you ask?

Today we celebrate, why you ask?

PLEASE NOTE: "These actions will not affect ivory derived from other species such as walrus, warthog, hippopotamus, mammoth and mastodon." Today U.S Fish & Wildlife Services just passed the Elephant Ivory Ban. and this is what they had to say about out beloved Mammoth Ivory. This is going to make the price of Mammoth double if not triple real soon.

Please visit the new store of the old one at:

www.mammothivorycreations.com  or

http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations

thanks LeeC
 

A new website

     Well, I been away for a while working on the new website, and to tell you the truth it was a hell of a lot of work, but I think it was worth it.
    After doing everything humanly possible to promote my old store on Zibbet, I gave up. I will keep it as a free site but I will put all my efforts into the new webpage. 107 visitors in 3 days I really can't gripe.
   Stop in and visit and drop me a comment and enter for a chance to win a Mammoth Ivory Creation from the store. So far only one person has entered for the month of March.
www.MammothIvoryCreations.com

Part 2 of Mammoth Ivory 101

 Mammoth Ivory 101 part 2

There were six different species of Mammoths across the globe, which came into existence between 10,000 and 200,000 or more years ago and ranged until very recently in geographic time.

The Mastodon and forefathers of the Mammoths began its existence sometime after the dinosaurs reign and walked along side the mammoths up until about 200,000 years ago.

  Imperial Mammoth - 400,000 Stood 22’ at the shoulder with 20’ long tusks. These animals roamed the world when the age of gigaintism reined. It is not uncommon to find these remains with 300# beaver skulls or 500# wolverines.

European Mammoths – these are depicted in the French cave paintings from 70,000 years ago. This species stood about 16’ at the shoulder and sported tucks about the same length.
The Step Mammoths of western Europe were smaller at only 14’ with tusks that averaged about 10’. These animals grazed on the wide open savannahs left from the last glacial ice age. When they came into existence has been argued, but it is known that they went extinct about 10,000 years ago.

The Siberian Mammoths were one of the most recent species and one of the best preserved because of the mass die off and quick freezing of their remains in the Siberian arctic. These animals roamed in both the grass lands and the red clay forests, which makes the ivory a rare red color and very highly priced. It is suggested by local legend that this species might have not gone existent until well into the 1700’s.

The Wholly Mammoth is the most popular and it is estimated that the majority of ivory found belongs to this species as the remains have been preserved in the permafrost of the arctic regions. This species is believed to have existed from about 160,000 years ago until about 10,000 years ago.

The Mini Mammoths of Wrangle Island, Alaska, are the most recent of the species and are believed to be a subspecies of the Wholly Mammoths that were separated by the loss of the Bearing Sea land bridge after the last ice age, around 10,000 years ago. These animals adapted to there surroundings and downsized to be able to exist on the low lichens and moss of the barren island. Like their cousins the Siberian Mammoths they are believed to have existed until early modern man.
This set of Wholly Mammoth Tusks was found by my ex-husband. They are 10’ and 11.5’ and weigh 105# and 155#. They were found along with a full skull. It was noted that the right tusk was the predominately large of the two, which is typical in most cases.

A Conversation with William Sidmore, Alaskan Mammoth Ivory Hunter

William Sidmore, long time friend and fellow Ivory Carver and Hunter commented about an aspect of the jewelry making and working with Mammoth Ivory that I know well and have a tendency to take for granted.

William Sidmore You are doing a nice job polishing this fragile ivory, as it can discolor when overheated in the polish phase. Maintaining the color during sanding and polishing is a major aspect of this art. Love [the}orange color and {it}is one of my favorites. Any one may become a connoisseur in this wondrous ivory, as it comes in so many flavors, like this mango!

 Mammoth Ivory Creations I agree William, there are many aspects to working with Mammoth Ivory that run a very fine and fragile line between being dull or damaged. I start my sanding out at 80 grit sandpaper for the over all shaping of the piece, then I move to 220 grit paper for the the finer shaping and contouring of the item. Once I am happy with this, I move to 320, 400, 600 and sometimes even down to 1500 grit sand paper before polishing with Zam on a buffing machine that spins at 35,000 RPM.
   One of the aspect I love about working with Mammoth Ivory is how the wonderful colors come to light during the polishing faze. I tell my customers, "It is like Christmas every day in the studio, because I never know what I am going to end up with until the final polish." 
   If you are not into working with fast moving pieces of equipment or any of the finer aspects of lapidary work you can compare the experience to wetting a rock and watching to colors change.

  

Back Side

 



William Sidmore I use white Diamond (rough polish), and finish with Fabulustre from Rio Grande. Old system of polish, using a lot of polish to maintain a cool surface when in a production mode.

This all being said and done leads to a major problem that most people would never consider, that being the reflective properties of the ivory under the intense flash of the camera. Most of the Mammoth Ivory jewelry shown is not polished to perfection before photos are taken because of this exact issue. Therefor the true beauty of the jewelry is only realized when the new owner holds the warmth of the material in their own hands and sees their reflection in it's surface.

This is a prime example of the high polish and the problems it causes during the photo taking faze of the work. The camera focuses in on the reflective surface of the ivory and then blurred the chain details.

Oh the life of an Artist, lol.
LeeC
Mammoth Ivory Creations 

Mammoth Ivory Creations by MammothIvoryCreations on Zibbet

1st BIG SALE in the new store !!!!

   The weather is cold with a -35 below registering on the thermometer outside right now. I don't want to be out in it and most people wouldn't either. So for that reason I am dropping the prices on all the gold nugget jewelry thru out the entire store.

25% off  

ALL

ALASKAN GOLD NUGGET 

 &

FOSSIL MAMMOTH IVORY

 JEWELRY

Until Monday FEB 10th.

http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations/artwork?artworkId=2049974

http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations/artwork?artworkId=2049980

 

 

 

http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations/artwork?artworkId=2049984

http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations/artwork?artworkId=2049967

http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations/artwork?artworkId=2049979

Last week of January and all is still, well almost.

    Last week of January 2014 was kind of slow and low keyed, thank God. With the cold weather finally showing up, the crew off with Dr. appointments and new job prospects and a few other issues, not much happened this week other than-- I got to carve, Yaaah!!!!
    It doesn't happen often these days because I am busy posting items in the store, tweeting items from the store, photographing items for the store and setting items...You guessed it...For the store.
     So anyway, I was digging through my stash of Fossil Mammoth Ivory and came across a wonderful piece of 20-25,000 year old outer shell that caught my attention. I knew instantly what it wanted to be, and I guess I was right, because it all came together very nicely.

   It also sold to one of my collectors within 15 minutes of being added to "THE STORE" lol.

   If you would like the chance to own a piece of paleolithic history feel free to friend me on FaceBook under Lee True Hulcher and like the Mammoth Ivory Creations page I created where my friends get to have first chance at all of my fossil mammoth ivory jewelry pieces before they are listed in the store.

https://www.facebook.com/MammothIvoryCreations

http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations

https://twitter.com/Alaskan_Ivory