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“This is something that has been worked on by the Eskimos,” Stothart said, pointing out the hole drilled at the top, to weigh the nets down out at sea used when the Eskimos would go fishing.

Stothart pulls another book off the shelf and opens to a picture of a native Eskimo holding a tool that looks like a piece of ivory.

“I imagine they used flint stones to carve before Western civilization,” Stothart said, pointing to a picture of a native carving with a screwdriver.

Stothart said a lot of people believe scrimshaw promotes the senseless killing of animals.

“I disagree with scrimshaw,” said Anna Brandt, the president of WARN, the Western Animal Rights Network. ”I am against any products that contain animals or that were tested on animals.”

“Selling the ivory that remains in stores could fuel the black market and poaching, which leads to senseless killing,” said Justin Campbell from Western’s Environmental Center.

Stothart said he doesn’t like working on elephant ivory since he’s against supporting the slaying of animals for their ivory.

“I try to stick with the old ivory,” Stothart said, “that’s been around longer than I have.”

Stothart said he uses special tools for the scrimshaw process.

“First I draw an outline of the image I want on the piece of ivory,” he said. “I begin by using a soft-leaded pencil.”

Stothart said once the patterns drawn, he uses a metal stylus with a rounded point. He holds up an object that looks like a calligraphy pen. He said he’ll use the light to see the scratches and then scratch the outline.

“It’s not very difficult if you already have drawing talent,” Stothart said. “It’s getting used to the medium.”

Stothart said ivory is fairly soft; if you were to compare it to engraving metal it would be comparable to scratching aluminum. He said ivory is a solid material; you can carve it three-dimensionally.

“It’s not delicate — you can drop it and it will hold up fine,” Stothart said. He picks up a small belt buckle that looks like a small painting of a wild black mustang standing in tall grass in front of snowcapped mountains. The horses skin looks glossy and smooth. Each wisp of hair in the horse’s mane flows wild and free.

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