Lynn Bolken​

Lynn built a 65’ sailboat near Oregon City and sailed her down to Mexico at the Sea of Cortez. He lived on the boat in Mexico for 35 years. Lynn brings lost crafts from the past into the present. Scrimshaw, since the 1700’s has been a craft of big oil riggers making their way to places where the whale habitation is fished from the ocean to bring whale oil to the buyers. When times were slow, the fisherman would create beautiful decorations on ivory Walrus, “Mastadon”, scraping to outline the picture, putting ink on it and wiping the ink off leaving a sketch of whatever the person was scratching on the surface. This method is called “Scrimshaw”.

Lynn lives with his wife in Chiloquin. Lynn says he has lots of time at home to continue carrying on this lost art. Lynn tells us that he is self-taught so he also makes his own tools. Some of his art pieces are inlayed with fine opal on pre-historic ivory for jewelry. His displays are mounted on exotic wood. He uses pre-historic ivory because it’s pretty and it is the only media that works well to scrimshaw.

His black coral display pieces are polished and mounted on the wood. The black coral is found on the bottom of the sea around 130 feet down and in the deepest parts of the sea. When a hurricane hit in Mexico in 1982, it brought many of these black corals up on to the beach. Lynn was able to gather quite a few so he could display and sell many of these since they are such a rare find.

Lynn choose Two Rivers Art Gallery & Gift Shop because “we are local and we have a good reputation”. Thanks Lynn! We are open Monday – Saturday and on Sunday when there are events going on it Chiloquin. You can see more of the artwork of the Gallery and Gift Shop when you come in and look at Lynn’s new art.