Fine art part of Whangarei Garden n Art Ramble

It was 32 years ago when American expat Sue Daumiller first fell in love with the art of scrimshawing.

She was finding her path in life when the opportunity arose to work for a company in Lahaina on the Hawaiian Island of Maui to produce hoards of scrimshaw pieces. "They got any artist that wanted to learn scrimshaw, they didn't care if you went to art school," she said.

Equipped with a love of drawing Sue seized the opportunity and began her long-term relationship with scrimshaw.

And decades on in a new country Sue said she still feels the same. She works with fossilised walrus, unearthed by Eskimos and up to 2000 years old, from Alaska, extinct mammoth, New Zealand wild pig, deer antler and boar's tusks.

Each piece of raw material is polished before scenes of sailing ships caught in gusts of wind are brought to life with black ink, one line at a time. The lines are so fine they can only be felt by brushing a fingernail lightly over the design.

"I love to do ships, whales, dolphins and native birds. I sailed all around the South Pacific so that's where my love of the sea comes from.

"No two pieces are alike. Everything is different, you're never going to do the same thing or the same design," she said.

While she works mostly with lines Sue does use dots, or stippling, to give the piece an almost photographic appearance.

The hardest bit isn't getting the minute details right on the fossils, some of which can be no bigger than a thumbnail, but the polishing and sanding. "It takes 11 different grits of sandpaper and two polishes to get it right," Sue said.

Alongside her scrimshaw she will exhibit her other artistic venture - Akeake. Small wooden pendants with coloured pictures inked on.

Akeake are between $15 to $20 and scrimshaws vary dramatically in price. Little pieces can cost around $25 but items like the mammoth can have a $150 price tag.

# The Whangarei Garden n Art Ramble kicks off on November 20 at 10am to 4pm. The event is the Whangarei Hatea Lions Club fundraiser for Hospice and Salvation Army Foodbank.Tickets are $20 and includeDevonshire tea or $15 for groups of 5 or more.

Each week the Report talks to one of the artists exhibiting their works in gardens around the district. For more information email gardenandart@hotmail.co.nz or phone Robyn (09) 435 1631.