Friday, January 31, 2014

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

Sunday, January 26, 2014

     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

Friday, January 17, 2014

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

Thursday, January 16, 2014

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