Fisherman Sculpture Out of Cuttlefish Bone/Cuttlebone

In this Instructables, we will show you how to carve a simple rowboat out of a cuttlefish bone.

Cuttlefish bone, also known as cuttlebone, is mostly used to feed birds as a calcium supplement, but it can also be used as a raw material for sculptures, either a single art piece or a section of a larger sculpture. It can also be used as a casting material due to its heat resistance and malleability.

• Cuttlefish bone (The bigger, the better. You can usually get these from pet stores, as they're sold as bird food.)

Cuttlefish bones are shaped like a large sunflower seed. They have a hard shell on one side and brittle layers of material building up the other side, which creates an interesting layered texture (diagram B).

• Sculpturing tools
• Brown masking tape
• Thin metal wires

For the boat, don't remove the hard shell at the bottom of the cuttlefish bone.

Cut out the seats and the bottom of the boat. Cut out a notch on the sides of the boat for the oars.

Remove the hard shell of the cuttlefish bone carefully. Cut away large chunks of cuttlebone until the bone is slightly larger than the outline of the fisherman. Draft your cuts on the bone with a pencil for the precise cuts.

Wrap thin strips of brown masking tapes around metal wires. Bend into a fishing pole and two oars.

You can carve cuttlefish bones into small sculptures or carve small pieces and then assemble them into a larger art work.

The scale texture on this fish takes advantage of the layers of the cuttlebone.