Medieval Norse Nalbinding Needle

Here's another new addition to our Grizzly Mountain Arts Etsy shop!

Dave has carved this 3 1/2 inch nalbinding needle from fossil mammoth ivory and has hand polished it to a high gloss. These are truly little gems and feel so nice in your hand.

Figured Maple Dragonfly Bobbin Tatting Shuttle

Dave made this 2 ¼ inch lightweight bobbin shuttle out of Figured Maple and then burn etched the dragonfly design by hand. The end of this shuttle is inlayed with dark brown ancient woolly mammoth ivory. The bobbin is a common plastic singer available at any Wal-Mart and comes in a 4 pak. It has a #14 steel crochet hook inset in the nose. This shuttle has been initialed and dated by Dave, the maker.

Fossil Ivory Rings

Dave has been busy turning some beautiful pieces of fossil ivory! We had purchased some vintage raw brass adjustable rings a while back, and knew what we wanted to use them for--we just had to find the right pieces of ivory.

We currently have four fossil ivory rings for sale in our Etsy shop, one of which is a gorgeous blue fossil ivory.

Tatting Shuttle Fob

Dave just completed this commissioned piece which features a working tatting shuttle carved from fossil mammoth ivory. This miniature 1 1/4" scrimshawed tatting shuttle hangs from a fob beaded with Swarovski crystals. The fob can be removed from the lobster claw clasp on one end, and the other end also has a clasp which can be attached to a picot hook.

Fossil Ivory Cabochons for Tatting Projects

Dave just finished up a custom order for some fossil ivory cabochons for a tatting artist. The photo is of the finished pieces, which turned out to be quite spectacular. As we are not tatting artists, we are continually learning about this fascinating art form and how it is utilized. After looking around the internet, we've found several talented tatters who are combining various cabochons in with their tatting and thought there may be others out there that would like to try using fossil ivory as a medium in their jewelry.

In the near future, we will be offering fossil ivory cabochons in our Etsy supply shop, Grizzly Mountain Cache. Please give us a bookmark if this sounds like an item you would like to incorporate into your tatting :)

Be sure and click this photo to view it full size!

Mammoth Ivory Bodkin Nalbinding Needle with Case

This larger ivory nalbinding needle is 4 inches long and comes with a Rosewood case. Larger needles are used for projects using heavier materials such as for nalbinding rugs. Dave hand carved this out of a shard of ancient woolly mammoth ivory from Siberia Russia. He used a new pen case he had on hand and fashioned a engraved brass needle to mount on the top of the case, making it a neat presentation gift or treat for yourself. The ivory is at least 10,000 years old. It is initialed by Dave, the maker.

You can find this Mammoth Ivory Nalbinding Needle currently up for auction on Ebay.

Fossil Walrus Ivory Oghams

We've just added some new fossil walrus ivory Ogham pendants to our Etsy shop! The Ogham design on each fossil walrus ivory shard was carved by Dave. The shape of each Ogham was made by the Earth.

This photo is of a "Protection" Ogham which measures about 2 1/4" in length.

The Celtic Ogham alphabet dates from the fourth century. The alphabet is named for Ogmos, the Celtic god of knowledge and communication. The alphabet consists of twenty letters, each named for a different tree believed sacred to the Druids.

Thumbelina Matchbox Tatting Shuttle

This is for that shuttle collector who does not have EVERYTHING yet! This miniature ivory shuttle is nearly the size of a thumbnail and fits nicely in the accompanying matchbox which we decoupage’ with the tiny THUMBELINA theme. The shuttle is approx 1 ¼ inch long and I color scrimshawed THUMBELINA hugging a rose that is larger than she is. The ivory is ancient wooly mammoth from Russia. Mammoth have been extinct for 10,000 years. This shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay.

The Watched Clock

Dave has been wanting to try his hand at creating a Steampunk design using fossil ivory, and this mammoth ivory grandfather clock is the result!

This piece measures nearly 2 1/2" in length and 2" at it's widest point. The main body of the grandfather clock has been carved from fossil mammoth ivory, as has the inlayed round clock face. The clock's face has been scrimshawed by Dave. Vintage watch gears adorn the front of this unique, one of a kind piece. This piece has been signed and dated by Dave, the artist and can be found in our Etsy shop.

Hand Crafted Fossil Ivory Sewing Buttons

Dave was playing around with several small pieces of Alaskan fossil ivory and turned out these buttons on his mini lathe. They came out looking like gem stones! The photos really don't do these little beauties justice. One is 7/8 inch diameter, and two are ¾ inch. These would be perfect for a handmade purse project or some other needlework piece that needs a unique button.

You can find these three buttons currently up for auction on Ebay!

New Fossil Ivory Necklace

I've been busy making some new pieces for our upcoming "Pathways to Transformation" show in Yachats, Oregon. I have previously posted some photos of my earthenware clay pendants, so I thought I'd post a photo of one of the fossil ivory pieces I just completed.

This piece features three stunning shards of fossil ivory, carved bone beads and turquoise.

This medieval Norse inspired nalbinding needle was carved from a piece of "blue" fossil mammoth ivory. The arrow design has been inlaced (also called inlay) with brass.

What is "blue" ivory?

Blue mammoth ivory is usually the outer bark ivory of the tusk and gets its color from leaching elements in the soil and ice where it has beed buried for thousands of years. The different patterns makes each needle a one-of-a- kind. Blue mammoth ivory is the most prized in jewelry making and for making expensive knife handles and pistol grips.

New Nalbinding Needles!

Somebody's been making up for lost time in the studio!

These three newest nalbinding needles were just added to our Etsy shop. All of our nalbinding needles are hand carved from ancient ivory and have been hand polished to a high gloss. Each nalbinding needle has been initialed by Dave and comes in it's own velour drawstring bag.

Fossil Ivory with Silver Inlacing

This primitive inspired piece was created from a shard of fossil ivory. Dave has used silver powder and resin to inlace (also sometimes referred to as inlay) a ancient spiral design into the pendant. This pendant hangs from an 18" silver plate ball chain.

This fossil ivory pendant can be found in our Etsy.com shop.

The Seven Feathers

"The Seven Feathers" tribally inspired necklace designed by Jo, represents the style of fossil ivory jewelry we sell at our art shows. We haven't had many pieces here in our Etsy shop, so we thought it was time for another one!

The seven feathers of this piece, were hand carved from fossil ivory by Dave. Both sides of each feather has been meticulously carved which makes this necklace reversible. The feathers hang from a gorgeous hammered Karen Hill Tribe silver tube which Jo has accented with carved wood beads, more Karen Hill Tribe silver beads and matte glass crow beads.

The cord is a wonderful faux suede material that doesn't shed all over your clothes like real suede does. This material ties very easily making this necklace adjustable for nearly every neckline.

The Lighthouse at Yaquina Head

This stunning example of Dave's scrimshaw is a scene of the Yaquina Head Lighthouse in Newport, Oregon. Dave has scrim'd this scene on a piece of fossil mammoth ivory that measures about 2 3/4" in height and about 1" in width at it's widest point.

This one of a kind piece sits atop a base which was also made by Dave from pecan flour and resin.

The Yaquina Head Lighthouse is currently available in our Etsy shop.

She Swims Towards the Sun

By now, everyone knows the various mediums Dave works in, but most of what you've seen from me has been jewelry. I had mentioned to Clyde, that I had several projects that I had been working on for years, not because they are necessarily complex, but rather due to my short attention span problem :) I thought if I posted one of them on the blog, that might prompt me to finish it.....we'll see.

This piece is called "She Swims Towards the Sun". The female walrus is represented in fossil walrus ivory shards and the rest of the rocks are treasures I found while living on Nye Beach, with the exception of the blue rocks which are chrysicolla from Arizona. The mosaic portion of this piece is complete, but the wooden tray it is on, is not. I wanted this piece to be functional, but now I can't decide how I want to finish the wood. To be perfectly honest, I think I'm just stalling because I'm afraid once it's completed and I put it out for the public to buy, they'll just look at it and think, "Why in the hell did she glue all those rocks on a tray?" :)

Blue Mammoth Ivory Sewing Needle Minder

Ancient Blue Mammoth Ivory is so prized it is often described as gem quality and sought after for use in many jewelry items. Dave carved this cabochon from blue mammoth ivory and put it in a setting which he then made into a 2 piece magnet needle holder, with walnut used in the back piece. Each piece has a small but powerful rare-earth magnet to hold this minder and needle to your sewing work piece or you can use each piece as a refrigerator magnet.

Mammoth ivory is at least 10,000 years old and this piece comes from Russia. Ancient ivory (also called fossil ivory) is legal to ship internationally. We declare to your Customs Service the type of ivory we are exporting from the USA. If any of our ancient ivory artworks are seized by your Customs Service and you provide confirmation of that to us, we will refund your entire payment.

This one of a kind Blue Mammoth Ivory Sewing Needle Minder is currently up for auction on Ebay. To see other fiber art tools we have up for auction, please click here to view our current auction items.

Celtic Ogham Jewelry

We've just added some new Celtic Ogham Pendants to our Grizzly Mountain Arts Etsy shop! Fossil ivory and earthenware clay have been used to create our Ogham pendants as has Tibetan Bodhi seeds, inlayed Tibetan Yak bone and African Krobo beads.

Ogham, is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to represent the "Old Irish" language. Ogham is sometimes referred to as the "Celtic Tree Alphabet".

Latest Additions to the Cache

Thanks to all of our wonderful patrons, we've had to add more fossil ivory and beads to our "Grizzly Mountain Cache" Etsy shop!

One of the fossil ivory items added, is a beautiful ingot of mammoth ivory. Dave shaped and finished this piece so it can be worn as is, or it is ready for you to try your hand at scrimshaw. Other fossil ivory lots recently added, are eleven lots of fossil shards that would be ideal for wire wrappers or carvers.

When I make my tribally inspired jewelry, I tend to use the more imperfect looking supplies as I feel that in their imperfection, they are perfect. The newly added Terra Cotta blue beads are a fine example of this. When you look through our galleries of sold items on our website, you can quickly identify what I (Jo) make, and what Dave makes, as his work is precise and polished and mine is....not so much :)

If you'd like to take a look at our newest Cache items, please click the link below.

Grizzly Mountain Cache--Primitive Supplies and Other Unusual Findings