ScrimshawMugs.com Home Page ~ ScrimshawMugs.com © ~ by Clifton Art you can feel! Boats, Ships, Lighthouses & Any Photos Now in 2 sizes! 8 oz (ebay offer) (3 3/4" tall) & 12 oz (4 1/2" tall with non-skid bottom) First 10 Introduced on eBay! Ordering & more info, click here...

I will personally hand-engrave unique custom scrimshaw mugs for you. This is an artform and craft that you can either keep for yourself, or give as a perfect personal gift. Each one is a unique piece of art! Clifton

~ The Inspiration! ~

- The Kiss - Wedding Day 2005 We got married early this spring aboard our sailboat with our guests watching from the dock. After the wedding I escorted the minister ashore then set sail with my bride, her two sons, and the flower girl, with the young ring bearer keeping watch on the foredeck. A friend captured the first kiss of our new life-long voyage in this photo. ~ The Cutwater Wedding ~

I engraved my first scrimshaw mug back in 1986. My early mugs I made only for personal use on our boat and for family & friends. This is the mug I engraved for my wife this year of that perfect wedding day aboard The Cutwater. (not for sale of course!) Engraved 2005 Introductory Offer! Actual size, 3 3/4" high, holding 8 oz. Also makes a great soda-can holder! See; "Note about Photography Scrimshaw"

~ This webpage displays example mugs I created as far back as 1986 ~

If you will provide a boat drawing or any other photo, nautical or otherwise, I will engrave it into a unique keepsake mug for you!

Choose from... - Category of Mugs - 1. The Basic Sailing Rig Collection (basic sailboats & ships) 2. Your Photo from any photograph you provide 3. State Quarters Maratime and other state quarters 4. Lighthouses from any lighthouse photo you provide ...Or scroll down for details and examples of mugs previous engraved...

~ 1. Choose from The Basic Sailing Rig Collection ~

You can choose to have the picture in your mug look like one of the previously engraved pictures below, or other sailing rig or ship that you specify.

Barque 8 oz. $12 (12 oz available, $17) The Elissa at Galveston, Texas (Engraved 1986)

Schooner 8 oz. $12 (12 oz available, $17) (Engraved 1986)

Ketch 8 oz. $12 (12 oz available, $17) (Engraved 1986)

Cutter 8 oz. $12 (12 oz available, $17) (Engraved 1986)

Sloop 8 oz. $12 (12 oz available, $17) (Engraved 1986)

Cat rig 8 oz. $12 (12 oz available, $17) (Engraved 1986)

Lateen 8 oz. $12 (12 oz available, $17) (Engraved 1986)

~ Any Model of Sailboat If You Provide Line-drawing ~

(Any model of sailboat if you provide a line-drawing of it.) Catalina 22 8 oz. $12 (12 oz available, $17) (Engraved 1986)

(Any model of sailboat if you provide a line-drawing of it.) Venture 17 8 oz. $12 (12 oz available, $17) (Engraved 1986)

Dolphin Sr. with clouds, birds & water 8 oz. $12 (12 oz available, $17) (Engraved 1986) (Or provide a line drawing of any model of sailboat)

To find lined drawings of many sailboats, click to pop-open a new browser window to Cruising World's 1998 Sailor's Sourcebook old.cruisingworld.com/ssbk/ssboandx.htm

~ 2. Your Photograph! ~

Scrimshaw made from any photograph you provide

Mom & Dad! Have that special photo permanently engraved onto your home or office mug to always have with you. To remind yourself what all your hard work is for!

For Home & Office...   - Boy With Ice Cream example -  A keepsake where you can actually feel the engraved picture under your fingertips. (Engraved 2005) (Clutter removed. Dogs head and unknown woman have been removed from scrimshaw picture.) Hand-engraved from your own photo. 8 oz. $22 or 12 oz. for $28 See; "Note about Photograph Scrimshaw"

Mom & Dad! With your help, your child got the trophy! You can have a mug on your desk showing the event! (With other people cropped out of the photo!)

For Home & Office...   - Girl With Trophy example -  A keepsake where you can actually feel the engraved picture under your fingertips. (Engraved 2005) (Clutter removed. Hand of other award winner has been removed from scrimshaw picture) Hand-engraved from your own photo. 8 oz. $22 or 12 oz. for $28 See; Note about Photograph Scrimshaw

~ WOW! ~

For Home & Office...   - Friend's Sailboat -  A keepsake where you can actually feel the engraved picture under your fingertips. (Engraved 2005) Hand-engraved from your own photo. 8 oz. $22 or 12 oz. for $28 See; "Note about Photograph Scrimshaw" below.

Click here for pop-open webpage of more custom sailboat mugs...

Note about Photography Scrimshaw: ScrimshawMugs.com is part art form and part craft. If you provide a photo, the central item in your photo will be hand engraved into the mug. Clutter images such as the other person's hand below or unknown people in the background can be removed! The background cut into the mug will be shading. Background details will not be included. See example comparisons above, "Boy with Ice cream", "Girl With Trophy" and "Friend's Sailboat".

~ 3. Maritime State Quarters ~

The Rhode Island quarter, the third quarter of the 2001 series, honors the "Ocean State."  Featuring a vintage sailboat gliding through Rhode Island's famous Narragansett Bay, and an image of the Pell Bridge in the background, with the design showcasing Rhode Island's most popular sport-sailing. With more than 400 miles of coastline, Rhode Island, the smallest state in the Union, has more than 100 fresh water and salt water beaches.  Known as the "sailing capital" of the world, Rhode Island was home to the America's Cup for more than 50 years.  Narragansett Bay is crucial to the architecture of Rhode Island.  An inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, extending into eastern Rhode Island, the Bay receives four major rivers, and has several islands. Selection of the design began when Governor Lincoln Almond issued an order authorizing the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts to organize a Coin Concept Advisory Panel.  More than 500 design concepts were submitted to the panel, and three finalists were chosen.  Rhode Island residents were invited to vote for their favorite design at area libraries, the Statehouse and via the Internet.  The sailboat design was declared the winner, earning 57 percent of the 34,566 votes cast.

- Rhode Island - 8 oz. $22 or 12 oz. for $28

Other state quarters with maritime themes can be engraved.

~ 4. Lighthouses ~

Provide any lighthouse photo and the image will be engraved into your mug!

• Provide a photo of your favorite collectable, or...
• Provide a snapshot of a lighthouse that you visited that will forever remind you of that wonderful vacation trip you had!

8 oz. $22 or 12 oz. for $27

~ Buy a set of four, each different! ~ Never again hear, "Is this my drink or yours??" Buy 3 of any from the Basic Sailing Rig collection, each 8 oz. $12 or 12 oz. for $17 Plus one custom mug engraved from a photograph of your own boat! 8 oz. $22 or 12 oz. for $28 (12 oz. mug has non-skid bottom) All mugs will be serialized & signed. - All include an attractive Certificate of Authenticity card, also dated and signed by the artist/craftsman. (See link to example cards below under Ordering Info.)  Art you can use! Art you can feel! Create a collection of mugs depicting the boats you have owned, or dreamed of owning! Each of the Basic Sailing Rig mugs are all hand-engraved scrimshaw.

~ Christmas is Coming! ~ Don't know what to get your family and friends? Buy hand-engraved mugs for all! (Or hint to your family to buy mugs for you from ScrimshawMugs.com !) Pick favorite photos reflecting them. Select photos of family or a photo of them at their favorite activity! You can't get a more personal present than a mug for them of their activity, with each line hand-engraved scrimshawed done here in the U.S. A one of a kind gift, just for them personally! Gift card included on request. (See Ordering details.) 8 oz. (shown) Or 12 oz. (with non-skid bottom)  Art you can use! Art you can feel!

Useful Mugs! The artificial ivory polymer mugs should not just sit on a shelf. They are completely usable. This is an artform that you can actually feel the picture! Do not hesitate to touch the engraved images! While dishwasher safe, it is suggested that you hand wash your mug to ensure long-lasting beauty. The mugs, including the scrimshaw image, are incredibly durable. Clifton has had the above 1986-engraved mugs aboard his sailboat, getting tossed and bumped about, drunk from and washed and rinsed ever since! As you can see in these photos above that were taken recently, any dings only added character to this artform that you can also use! Each of the mugs now have their own story to tell about the voyages that they've been on! As the saying goes, "A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are for!" Apply this metaphor to these mugs too!

These are the first of Clifton's works ever sold to the public! Clifton began scrimshawing mugs in 1986 as a hobby for personal use. At the recommendation of friends, he decided to share these with you! Each mug will be signed on the bottom by the artist with the date and a serial number that is recorded by the artist/craftsmen. Each mug will include a signed and dated certificate (If a photo is supplied to work from, a 4-in square copy of the photo will be part of the certificate.) The mug's title/description and thumbnail photo (and the original purchasers name if so desired) will be listed on this website on a "Catalog of Commissioned Mugs" page.

What is scrimshaw? Scrimshaw is an American artform. It was a century-old pastime of indigenous Americans along the Northwest Coast, then adopted and spread by world-traveling whaling seafarers of the 1700's & 1800's. With often long periods between chasing a whale and processing its oil for lamp fuel (in a time before refined petroleum fuels), whalers took the teeth, bones, jawbones, and baleen of the whale and scratched pictures into the surface. They used whatever sharp steel instrument was available for engraving such as their knives and sail needles. Various resources were used to color the lines including such things as rubbing in lamp black and whale oil, sepia (cuttlefish ink), and tobacco juice into the engraved lines to bring out the picture. Affordable scrimshaw- My goal is to follow the form of the original sailor-artist. This was the voyager who was trying to tell a story. I hope you'll let me help you tell your story. -Clifton

Click here for pop-open webpage of more custom sailboat mugs...

September 19, 2005 Introduced on eBay! Commissioned Scrimshaw Mugs Numbers 1 through 10!   Dear eBay Members, I began engraving scrimshaw mugs in 1986 for family and friends. Now for the first time I am offering commissioned scrimshaw mugs to the public. To introduce them I am offering the first 10 publicly available ones to eBay members! After this introduction, anyone will be able to purchase their own scrimshaw mug, commissioned with any photograph they select, engraved into the mug. Each mug will be dated, serialized and signed by the artist. Starting today, the FIRST 10 are being offered on eBay. Your investment will be threefold! 1. You will be purchasing a scrimshaw picture unique to you because you will supply a photo of what you want engraved. Because this is art, you can request the engraved image to be modified from the original photo. So if there is background clutter, it will not be part of the engraved scrimshaw picture (such as the other person in the trophy photo above has been removed). 2. Because these are the first 10 offered, the value of your investment will increase in time. 3. This artist is also an unpublished writer, working on two book projects, both of which will become famous in their own right. One book is a historical account about a very unusual stowaway. The other book project is a children's book series, realistic pint-sized animal and children's adventure stories with nature and nautical themes. Once these two book projects are recognized, you will be seeing this writer/artist on shows such as Oprah. Imagine that you had purchased artwork done by J. K. Rowling, before her Harry Potter books had been published! Here is your chance to own art by someone who will become more famous. Thank you for your bid and for supporting my work. -Clifton

How to order your mugs!....

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