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

     Well, It has been one crazy week in the Mammoth Ivory Creations Studio. I have added not one, but two new artists to the works, neither of which have ever dealt with carving or mammoth ivory but have both worked out wonderfully.

   First was Tine Lockard-Turner who thank god is very mechanically inclined and seems to catch on with out much instruction. 

The second is her daughter Krystal Turner, who while intimidated by the equipment is still a great asset to the shop

  

Here are a few pieces the two have helped create.

http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations/artwork?artworkId=2144425

http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations/artwork?artworkId=2144425

http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations/artwork?artworkId=2142481

http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations/artwork?artworkId=2143708

Anyway, like I said, it has been a wild week and I can't say I got much carving done on my own work, but I did get one piece finished, and this is how it turned out.

30,000 year old Fossil Mammoth Ivory Framed with 10,000 year old Fossil Mammoth Ivory hung with Rare Orange Fossil Mammoth Ivory Beads and highlighted with Tibetan Gold beads.

http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations/artwork?artworkId=2141647

 

So that's it for this weeks post from the Studio Of Mammoth Ivory Creations, please stop in and visit up in the new store on Zibbet at http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations and if you like what you see please share us. You can also catch us on twitter at https://twitter.com/Alaskan_Ivory

Here is a wee bit of news from The Mammoth Ivory world. It would sure be cool if it works.

https://plus.google.com/109201681846030076792/posts/FafzJzWHoWh

http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/09/2012/mammoth-ivory-workshop-shows-production-line-principals

https://plus.google.com/112865942969293417981/posts/4C8SpW87EmD

Introduction to Mammoth Ivory 101 Part 1

Introduction to Mammoth Ivory 101 Part 1

    As I mentioned earlier the majority of what I do as an Ivory Carver is to educate people as the uniqueness of the mammoth ivory I use in my art. So I thought I would include this mini lecture that I teach as a guide to the products that I am showing.
     As you view the pieces you will notice that there is a large variance in the colors that the ivory comes in. All Ivory starts white and as it lies in or on the ground it absorbs the minerals in the soil. From laboratory studies we know that it takes a minimum of 10,000 years for this color process to start, so the longer the ivory lies in the soil the darker it will become.
     Another means to determine the age of the ivory is by it's hardness. Mammoth Ivory is not technically a fossil, because the core compounds have not yet been replaced by minerals petrified and turned to stone.   However, Mastodon Ivory (which is very rare), has had a portion of its makeup replaced by mineral compounds and is thus very solid, almost rock like in some instances.
    It has been determined by radio carbon dating that the last mammoth, known as the Mini Mammoths of Wrangle Island, Alaska, walked the earth about 4,000 years ago and that the extinction of the species was from over hunting by Clovis man.
   As you can see from the items below, the darker the ivory the older it is.

10,000 year old fossil mammoth ivory cufflinks http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations/artwork?artworkId=2049967

20,000 year old fossil mammoth ivory necklace http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations/artwork?artworkId=2050146

 

60,000 year old fossil mammoth ivory tie tack http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations/artwork?artworkId=2049984

Thanks for visiting and stay tuned for more on Mammoth 101.


LeeC
Mammoth Ivory Creations
http://www.zibbet.com/MammothIvoryCreations

My name is Lee Hulcher and I am The Ivory Carver.

  People ask me all the time about "Where I come up with my ideas for the pieces I make?" When I try to explain to them that the ivory was once an organic living structure and that it was grain and texture and purpose, they look at me like I have two heads.
   I go on to explain that every piece of ivory I work is different and I never know if a piece is going to "agree" to be what I think it should be. Some times the ivory splits into paper thin layers as I am working it, or twists like a curly-Q when it gets hot from the polisher.
   As far as the color goes, I tell people it's like Christmas every day, because I never know what the true color of the piece will be until after the final polish. It is like wetting a dull green rock and finding out it is a shiny piece of beautiful green jade.
    If you like what you see, please "SHARE" it with your friends, and if you have questions about any of the pieces, please, feel free to ask. I will be sharing more photo, actually many more photos and some of the highlights of the more loved pieces I have made over the last 30+ years. So stay tuned.
LeeC
Mammoth Ivory Creations
 
Mammoth Ivory Creations by MammothIvoryCreations on Zibbet

If you would like to see a partial gallery of my past work, please feel free to visit my web site on Facebook  at  Days of old-SOLD  We do except orders for piece of the past, but there is no promise that the color will be the same.

 

Mammoth Ivory Creations since 1987

Mammoth Ivory Creations by MammothIvoryCreations on Zibbet