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About the Artist
Rendezvous speaks to me. There is something about slipping into old familiar buckskins, feeling mother earth beneath your moccasins, sleeping under canvas, and the smell of wood smoke and blackpowder that calls to my soul. I have found that most people in the living history community pick up an art or craft and over time, some become quite good at it. For me, that creative outlet became hornwork and scrimshaw. Hello, my name is Mark Preston. I was inspired to try my hand at hornworking by the work of a master horner and scrimshander I saw at my first rendezvous. Over the years I have been fortunate enough to meet and watch some true masters at the craft and to learn at their elbows everything that I know. I am indebted to these men and I strive to produce works that would honor them. My work reflects the relentless pursuit of excellence. I am a member of the Honourable Company of Horners as well as a contributing artisan in the Contemporary Longrifle Association. I make the horns one at a time and I always have a waiting list. If you would like to discuss the possibility of having a horn made for you or for a loved one, please feel free to contact me.
You Should Know:
I will do reproductions of historic horns.
I will do scrimshaw on already existing horns.
My architecture is my architecture. I don't change it from horn to horn.
I do not dye my horns. I don't think that dyed horns look old, they look dyed. I am creating objects which will be antiques 100 years from now.
You may decide whether you want a turned butt plug or a flat butt plug.
Turned butt plugs can have a turned button or a staple, or a brass finial; you get to decide.
Silver wire inlay is available as an option on the butt plug.
I use fiddle peg stoppers. They're tapered; they're made of hardwood, usually ebony. They are strong and resist breaking and best of all they are readily replaceable if they are lost or broken.
I typically do not use colored inks but exceptions may be entertained.
You get to decide what you want on the horn but ultimate placement of the elements to be scrimshawed onto the horn will be at my discretion.
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