First Steps In Pyrography a 'Fire Art' 10

Hello friends this is...

FIRST STEPS IN PYROGRAPHY OR FIRE ART

I’m going to talk about ideas for themes of work in pyrography and why you should think about having a themed design for your work.

1. Our eyes are often drawn to look more closely to a display that carries similarities of pattern, form, colour and shape because it is easier on the eye to look at things that flow or have a connection. If a display has a mixture of too many different things and is splashed with an array of colours, then it is difficult to know what to look at first and sometimes we may just move on to the next exhibit or presentation.

2. If you are aiming to sell your work and you have rented a stall or are advertising your wares via a shop or over the Internet, then perhaps one of the best ways to attract attention to your work is to display articles that are connected by virtue of their design and colour.

3.You may have decided to produce pieces of pure art in pyrography and so you could choose to display works which cover a similar subject matter. I have seen numerous professional works of art successfully presented as a group of one theme.

4. The number of themes that you can choose from is limitless and includes patterns and designs from nature for example:- plants, flowers, leaves, animals to quirky fun designs and personalised items that you could produce to order. Are you interested in traditional design? Celtic designs offer a range of patterns as do many other cultural heritages. If you are working on decorating toys for children you could have some fun with nursery rhymes or use your designs as learning aids e.g. the alphabet or numbers up to ten.

5. An alternative to choosing subject themed designs, is to display your work as one or two different groups of colour. You will notice in stores how shop displays are often themed around one or two different colour schemes and they look very effective.

6. If the aim is to sell your work then it is important to try and make it stand out from the rest of the crowd. For instance you may have three or four objects that are totally different in design but are all decorated in varying shades of blue. You can produce a striking show of your work if you exhibit them in a single colour setting.

7. If the objects you are to sell have a secondary purpose such as a decorated picture frame or a candle holder then don’t forget to do the obvious and display your items with a picture in and a candle in the holder to illustrate their usefulness.

As promised another old time extract from Burnt Wood Etchings.

Flowers and foliage will doubtless have a special attraction for ladies, and may be used with charming effect on many articles, useful and ornamental.
Large, bold subjects, such as Lilies, Irises, Sunflowers, Daffodils and Marguerites are the best to choose from in the floral world, while for foliage only, Oak sprays, Blackberry, Laurel, Vine and Virginia creeper are very adaptable; in fact, the work of reproducing in Pyrography is much simplified when such subjects are chosen, as have very distinctive shapes and outlines.
In all flower drawing it is advisable that the artist first gets the outline correctly in pencil, before commencing with the point, as a mistake in the burning would be fatal in anything so fine and delicate as the petal of a flower, where the utmost softness and purity are required.

Source A Handbook of Pyrography or Burnt Wood Etching by Mrs. Maud Maude

We have talked about displaying objects with a colour theme but as yet I have not mentioned anything about the different ways that you can introduce colour into your work, so I will talk about this in my next blog.

First Steps In Pyrography a 'Fire Art' 9.

Hello fellow burners, I want to tell you about some exotic materials for scorching into in

FIRST STEPS IN PYROGRAPHY OR FIRE ART

What do I mean by exotic materials? These are resources that may offer you an interesting alternative to the norm however, they are not so readily available but with a touch of detective work, you'll soon find them .

1.They include Tagua slices (taken from a tree that has a nut which that helps maintain the forest as the nut is regularly harvested). I have not used these myself but after some research on the Internet you can find suppliers that deal with plain slices of Tagua or half nuts and even coloured Tagua pieces. Alternatively investigate you nearest natural craft supplier.

2.Gourds come in all shapes and sizes and can be made to look very attractive indeed especially if you plan your own range of original designs. They can also be obtained from natural craft suppliers or you can go direct and order over the Internet. I would be cautious in the beginning and only order a small amount if you have not had the chance to see or work with these materials before.

3.Most suppliers also offer alternatives to wood for burning, these may not be quite as exotic as the ones listed above but offer you a chance to extend your expertise into a range of different materials. They include papier mache and leather or you may like to try burning on a textile such as felt. The extract in my last blog from the old book of Burnt Wood Etching suggests burning on velvet, why not give this a try?

4. To some people the chance to use an exotic and rare wood may be appealing, but these woods are often under threat and therefore it is in the best interest of our natural world not to consider buying them please!

If you are unsure of the types of wood that are under threat then check them out on the Internet by looking them up on the Friends Of The Earth - Good Wood Guide. I burned a picture of an owl into a piece of Mahogany which is now a wood that is at risk of being endangered, but my portion of Mahogany was cut from an old item of furniture.

5. Old furniture sometimes exotic, offers you another way of obtaining rarer woods at a reasonable price but you should be prepared to remove any lacquer or finish from the wood. You will also need to be able to either cut down the wood to a workable size or find someone who can do this for you.

6. Consider the use of re-decorating old furniture. If you find an item you’d like to work with, then this could be a very stimulating little project. It offers you the exciting prospect to re-vamp and refresh it with your own individual decorative wood burning design. You might choose to decorate the backs of a set of dining chairs for instance - just think of how unique your work would be and the chairs would may look much finer than they did originally!

I promised you another burning secret from that old book of Wood Burning or Poker Work as it was often called because of the equipment that was used. Apparently that same equipment was used to etch into glass. Nowadays you can buy purpose made machines and materials for glass etching.

I am very wary of trying to etch glass with my own machine as the old pyrography machines reached a much higher temperature those of today, which are purpose built for wood burning. You never know, glass etching could turn out to be an interesting development and extension to your hobby of pyrography!

Woods for Burning.
Perhaps the most pleasant and fascinating of all forms of Poker work is burning upon glass. Here we have no smell, no smoke, and a delightful result for our labours.

It is easily understood that a much greater heat is required than for burning ordinary surfaces, and for the purpose a special point may be obtained, which can be brought by the bellows to an almost white heat.

The glass should be quite clean, and free from flaws, and rather larger than the design, as burning on the extreme edge of the glass sometimes causes it to split. It can be cut to size when finished. The pattern can be placed under the glass and traced over with a smooth firm pressure. When finished, it may be left with the little frost work of burnt glass on the edge of the lines, or it can be scraped clean with a sharp tool. The lines may be filled in with gold paint or enamel, when the work will appear to stand out in relief on the wrong side. A little ingenuity will suggest endless devices for varying the work and in nearly all cases the effect will be good. The special glass point should on no account be used on any other material which would be liable to injure it, and render it unfit for its own particular purpose.

Source - A Handbook of Pyrography or Burnt Wood Etching by Mrs. Maud Maude

Does this wet your appetite for trying to etch on glass?

If so, do get advice on machines made for this purpose rather than damage your wood pyrography machine trying to create a glass etching, though I must admit to being tempted to experiment myself.

Next time:- Themes for burning also another old time wood burning secret.

First Steps In Pyrography a 'Fire Art'. 8

A warm welcome back to

FIRST STEPS IN PYROGRAPHY OR FIRE ART

1. For choice of material to burn upon, the safest and easiest option for wood burning is to purchase your wooden blanks from a pyrographic supplier and then you can be absolutely certain of their quality and suitability for wood burning. A pyrographic supplier will offer you woods such as beech, sycamore, lime and good quality plywood.

2. Another alternative is to buy wood from a dealer that supplies raw timber to furniture makers or wood turners. I was lucky to discover a local woodturning centre where I could purchase woods from a wide selection of timbers. Some of these woods offered a choice of surfaces to burn on, with graining of different densities and widths. Beware of problems that can arise with uneven burning, as the graining changes the strength and rate that your tool burns the surface of the wood. If you are aiming for an even effect it is better to use a close grained and hard wood.

3. Part of the aesthetic appeal of a finished piece of work for me is to see the wood presented in a partially raw state. By this I mean that I have a preference for putting my Fire Art on pieces of wood where the bark is still on the outer edge of the slice or by using wood that has been cut in such a way as to allow by nature of it’s shape, a design to develop from it.

One piece of work that I found very satisfying to do was a bookend. I burned into a piece of Burr Oak with a design from the poem ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’. I took my piece of work into the local Primary School as one of the aids to try and help inspire the children to write their own poetry!

The children were fascinated by the piece of wood itself. So if you are in education of any kind and can use wood as a stimulus for a scientific project or in any other area of the curriculum, please bear in mind how the chance to explore wood as a topic offers a large diversity of learning possibilities.

You might use wood to look at forest sustainability and its importance to wildlife and the surrounding environment. Aspects of science, mathematics and particularly design and technology can be linked to wood and its properties can be used to further children’s knowledge and understanding of the world around them. If you have the resources to be able to fund one or two basic machines for children of perhaps 10 years and above then how about setting up a pyrography section within your arts and crafts club? Of course this must be well supervised and a full risk assessment must be carried out.

4. When we look at wood and its by products, then amazingly and very easily obtainable ordinary paper is a cheap material that can be burned. When I say ordinary I mean that you can burn upon a smooth simple white paper or have a great time experimenting with different thicknesses and types of papers. You might even get interested in making your own paper on which to burn images and patterns.

5.I have experimented burning mainly onto white paper and it is surprising the level of heat required to get subtle sepia tones for a design. When I first put my pyrographic tool upon the paper I was very hesitant thinking that it would go straight up in flames! Why don’t you try it out, start by using your machine at it’s lowest temperature and make sure you paper is laying on a flame resistant surface.

As I have said before the opportunities with pyrography are limitless in more ways than one!

Here are a couple of interesting little excerpts from the bygone book on Burnt Wood Etching that I found. The first refers to the problems of working with unseasoned wood and the second to working with velvet and leather as a material.

Extracted from - Woods For Burning.

1 It is absolutely necessary that the wood be sound, free from knots and well seasoned, particularly the latter, for if it be at all green, the heat of the point will cause its contraction on one side, thus giving the picture a boat shaped appearance, with the chance of its splitting down the centre if an attempt be made to straighten it. If a board should begin to curve from unequal drying, the best remedy is to put it at an early stage into a narrow grooved frame, which will keep it flat, and in course of time it will dry all through.

2. Velvet also is a most satisfactory material to work upon, burning away the pile, but of course exercising judgment in the amount of heat used, it being necessary to leave the groundwork of the material unscorched. The velvet should be fastened by the edges to a board so that it will not “ruck” during the work and the pattern traced through ordinary transfer paper, which can be obtained in several colours, blue, orange, white or black. The hand must be held over not on the velvet while marking the outline, as pressure would cause the colour to come off in the wrong place and ruin the entire surface. Some good effects can also be obtained on leather, but many people object to the very unpleasant odour which arises when heat is applied to the surface.

Source - A Handbook of Pyrography or Burnt Wood Etching by Mrs. Maud Maude

Next Time:- Looking at more exotic materials to burn.
Plus A Burning Secret?

First Steps In Pyrography a 'Fire Art' 7

Welcome to how to create a different textures from

FIRST STEPS IN PYROGRAPHY OR FIRE ART

Also learn about the bygone writings I found in a re-discovered book on burnt wood etching.

1. When using a pyrography tool you cannot apply it in the same way as you would use a drawing pencil, having said this, you do need to grip the tool as you would hold a pencil as this allows better control but beware of touching any metal part.

2. You will definitely gain in experience from practising on scraps of wood and indeed build up your own test woods. It is easy and economical to get hold of reasonable quality plywood from a hardware store for this purpose, however, you do need to be careful not to burn into it too deeply and hit the glue layer which will cause noxious fumes to be given off.

3. Using a pencil draw yourself a grid on the plywood, allowing enough space in each section to practise a texture.

4. You already know that the colour and depth of mark, depends upon the temperature you have your machine set at and the length of time you hold the point on the wood. I would start at the lowest temperature and try out different nibs on the first row of your grid to create a selection of patterns such as :-

a) Hashing - small sections of lines that cross, straight or wavy with a selection of nibs.

b) Dots - made to different depths creating a stipple effect with nibs such as a Janik Ball Point or Spoon Point in a Wire Nib Burner such as that of a Peter Child's machine.

c) Use lines to create a variety of small brick patterns and build up to give the effect of shading. Burn a grid of parallel lines to different degrees, do some in a diagonal pattern and others in a more random way.

Note:- Important. On a piece of plain paper the same size as your test wood draw a replica grid.
Within this paper grid, notate the nibs and temperatures used to create each particular effect. (This is a handy resource to keep and is rather like a trade painters colour chart that will tell you straight away the information required, in this case how to recreate the same textures. Remember to file it somewhere safe). At a later stage you may build up more of these test woods with intricate and superior designs that come with experience.

Returning to our original test wood - On your second row of the grid turn the temperature up slightly and continue making patterns in a similar way. As you begin each new row turn up your temperature to the next level and finally when the highest temperatures have been selected begin to burn deeper gradients into the wood.

You should now have completed a grid test wood that illustrates the selection of grades and assortment of patterns and shapes that can be achieved by using your machine and nibs. After practising regularly you will become more accustomed to your machine and be able to produce a larger variety of imaginative patterns.

I'd like to end this blog with a snippet from the bygone writings found in a rediscovered book about Burnt Wood Etching.

An extract from the section entitled - Woods for Burning.

This is a subject to which a really serious student of Pyrography cannot devote too much attention, if he contemplates a piece of work that is likely to be of some value when completed. The reader will see the truth of this when he remembers that it is absolutely the ground upon which his work will appear, and quite a different matter to the stretched canvas for oil painting, in which the poor quality will in a measure be hidden by the successive coatings of paint. In Pyrographic work, if the wood be unsuitable for the purpose, every stroke will be a failure, and if it be the right kind of wood but unsound, the artists’ labour will be so much waste of time.

Source- A Handbook of Pyrography or Burnt Wood Etching by Mrs. Maud Maude

So after taking those words to heart, my next blog will be looking at some suitable woods for burning and also other materials to add to your range, plus another snippet from this fascinating manual about Pyrography.

First Steps In Pyrography a 'Fire Art' 6

Hi there! How’s it going with your own

FIRST STEPS IN PYROGRAPHY OR FIRE ART ?

When I began wood burning I selected many patterns and pictures that were simplistic but realised that of course these would not be looked upon as pieces of art work in themselves. So I decided that I would begin to develop my work in a more artistic way because this would be more enjoyable to me as a hobby. Don’t panic if this is not for you!

There are so many different opportunities that you can develop for yourself when you have mastered the basics in pyrography. You can make gifts for your friends or create small pieces of work to sell on a stall to raise funds for charity etc. Pyrography also offers anyone a chance to set themselves up in their own little business if they so wish.

It is easy to buy a range of basic wooden household items such as boxes, spoons, picture frames etc that you can burn patterns onto, from wood burning supply catalogues. The more simple the design the more effective the image will look as a decoration upon a household item of your choice.

If you make up your mind to practise as much as possible and get your pyrography up to a consistent standard, then you can begin to generate products that could be sold at craft fairs etc. What a brilliant way this is to make extra cash and also make some new friends! I am a single mum so perhaps I should act upon my own advice!

With this kind of hobby you can work at home in the darker winter months producing items to sell, then during the warmer months, market your products at craft fairs, village fetes and even car boots! If you are really productive then you could work and sell all year round, as the Christmas period also offers many venues where you can put up your items for sale!

The range of items you can produce is open ended because there are so many ideas to choose from. You might like to specialise in a particular area such as creating a collection for children of wooden toys that have been burned with images/personalised with a child’s name.

Perhaps you might like to set yourself up with a series of kitchen wares which you could theme:- for example around the seasons. Or you might produce general household goods with a series of designs that are original to you.

If you have children you can create smaller items to sell at school fetes to raise money if you wish or for any other charitable cause. If you get really good at pyrography you could even teach others the skill.

As I mentioned before there are so many possibilities with wood burning. Not only does it give you the chance to be creative, it is also therapeutic as it cannot be rushed and allows you to express your emotion in an imaginative way.

What could be better than to turn this rewarding hobby into an enjoyable and rewarding little business?

In my blogs so far, I have given a short outline of what wood burning or pyrography offers to the newcomer. I hope that my remarks have given you a brief introduction and helped you to decide if you would like to become more involved in Fire Art.

Next time:- How to create different textures.
Plus Re-discovered burnt etching secrets from a long lost book.

First Steps In Pyrography or 'Fire Art' 5

Hello again, this blog is about ...

FIRST STEPS IN PYROGRAPHY OR FIRE ART

To produce a good piece of pyrography you really need to have the capacity to use your powers of observation.

Observation is a skill in itself that comes from learning the art of concentration and being able to observe and replicate information accurately.

So take the time to truly look at the image that you want to use in your design. Carefully study the light and darks in the picture and the areas of grey to help you determine what kind of shading is required and pay particular attention to pattern.

Practise on a piece of spare wood the kind of marks you may use, trying different nibs/points to create the effects that you want. After putting in some concentrated effort you will realise that the lightness of your touch upon your pyrography tool and the length of time you hold the point upon the wood will determine the colour of wood burn.

Remember to go easy on yourself if your first piece of work does not meet your own exacting standards.

When you buy an item of quality, it will not have been be produced quickly but clearly will have been produced by someone with great expertise.This hard earned experience comes from a history of applied thought and also from continued patience and experimentation.

Don't be put off by this because pyrography is a skill that with some practise your knowledge of wood and also pyrography equipment (in particular nib/points that you use), will quickly become second nature. You will also remember the strength of touch required on the types of wood you have chosen and how to create levels of shading.

I have to admit that I have always enjoyed drawing and I guess I’m okay at it. Pastels pictures that I have created are just one step onwards from pencil drawing but I usually end up making a mess of my watercolours because I don’t know when to stop adding colour, I just can’t judge when to leave the picture alone.

So pyrography has given me the opportunity to express my art with an easier kind of progression.

First of all by burning sepia tones and then later on I have learned to add different forms of colour (watercolours, inks etc), sparingly at first, one simple shade a time. Eventually I learned how to allow artists colours to enhance my pyrographic work.

My first attempt of pyrography was a simplistic etching of the face of my cat whilst he was asleep. I drew a basic outline of the shape of his face and used a selection of different nibs to create his eyes/nose/mouth and the pattern of his fur. I was really impressed that I had been able to create his image quite easily and his face looked reasonably good, giving me the confidence to try more difficult projects.

One of the good aspects of pyrography and wood burning is the ease by which you can create a simple design and it can be made to look very professional once you have learned how to add colour and to finish off your piece of wood with a laquer or varnish.

Enjoy yourself experimenting with shading, pattern and getting used to different nibs to make a your first pyrographic marks upon wood!

First Steps In Pyrography or 'Fire Art' 4

Hello again and welcome back to...

FIRST STEPS IN PYROGRAPHY OR FIRE ART

You will probably have practised shading and applying different marks upon several kinds of wood and so you can begin to think about producing a design of your own.

What should you do first?

Develop your own patterns and designs with the use of tracing paper and templates if you wish, you do not have to be able to draw. Visit a few craft supply shops and take your time to look at what they sell. Make a note of what may be useful to buy at a later stage.

For a first attempt at wood burning, I would choose to keep your design uncomplicated, then the end result will be more effective. Try to find something that has a simple and easily identifiable outline such as tracing around a drinks coaster or an upturned glass with a soft pencil or drawing a simple flower shape.

Next have a go at burning it onto a piece of wood using a ball type nib which will slide more easily to create the curve of your shape. One step onwards from this might be to select a slightly more complicated shape - for instance try a shape with corners.

Your next progression could be to choose a flower picture in 3D. Look at it carefully and decide which areas will be lighter and those that will be darker in colour. For instance - if you outline a flower with a dark line then you could use slightly lighter lines for the veins on the petals. You can illustrate the colour of your flower by applying a hint of soft sepia shading to the petals or you may choose to burn the background around the flower in a darker colour leaving the flower's relief looking lighter in tone. You can apply different levels of shading to give depth.

If you are feeling more adventurous you might select a copy of a simple black and white picture. Don’t choose anything too big or ambitious as the end result may be quite difficult to achieve for a first timer and this could put you off pyrography altogether. When you have selected a good image, copy or trace the strong outlines onto your wood. Take your time to decide what shapes in the picture need to be burned into more deeply to produce the different levels of shading.

TIP Try starting with the lighter shading and then gradually build up the temperature of your machine to burn on the darker areas. It is far easier to cover up a mistake if only lightly burned but once you burn into your wood deeply then the dark tones will be permanent.

First Steps In Pyrography or 'Fire Art' 3

Welcome back to...

-
FIRST STEPS IN PYROGRAPHY OR FIRE ART

When you are practising a new skill then you need a supply of materials that you can practise on that won’t cost you a fortune! This is assuming that you like me, need to be balanced about what you spend on a new hobby.

Before I discovered my local supply of wood, I went down to the hardware store and bought myself a collection of pine pieces upon which to practise my new skill as they were cheap. - (see elephant picture).

At first I thought nothing about wood toxicity and the fumes given off from burning it. It was only after my first few trials of wood burning that I went back to the hardware store and bought a paper mask to wear.

In the beginning I didn’t realise that woods such as pine that contain a resin when burnt, can give off toxic fumes. The acrid smell actually caught the back of my throat making me cough. After reading information about wood toxicity I realised that the use of a mask is very important when burning those woods that have a resin or are coated and sealed with lacquers, also woods that have been treated with chemicals. Always work in a well ventilated room!

Sometimes when burning woods to a darker colour, soot deposits build up on your pyrographic tool and it may cause more smoke which you might breath in. The best option of all is to use a wire brush and keep brushing off any residue that may be left after deep burning and wear your mask.

Health and safety are top of the agenda in public places including work and learning establishments, so make sure that you keep this in the forefront of your mind whenever you practise wood burning.

Pyrography is a 'Fire Art' and fire must be kept under control, your safety is as important as any other persons, please don‘t be careless or take unsafe shortcuts, it’s not worth it! Always switch off your machine when not in use, never leave a machine unattended if switched on, much better to be safe than sorry! If you leave other materials too near a machine that is switched on and they catch alight it will be seconds before the fire spreads, so take great care!

If you have young children keep them out of your working area but if they are older and would like to learn how to use a pyrography machine, then you must keep them under very close supervision. Pyrography machines reach temperatures of 550degrees or more it doesn’t take much imagination to see what would happen if a child accidentally touched the point or nib of a machine.

If you choose to work with materials other than a pure wood make sure that you check that the material does not give off any noxious or poisonous fumes when burnt.

When in doubt always check the material is suitable for burning, then you can relax and enjoy your new hobby!

First Steps In Pyrography a 'Fire Art' 2

Hello again and thanks for returning to...

First Steps In Pyrography or Fire Art

One of the things I enjoy most about pyrography is selecting the pieces of wood that I am going to work with.

In the past I have usually bought from a local woodturning centre that sells a range of seasoned woods that are from reliable sources, (they are timbers taken from managed forests).

Most of my work is etched onto unfinished pieces of wood, by this I mean wood in it’s raw state and not already turned into a useable item such as the plate decorated with a dragonfly - pictured in my blog.

If you do not have access to a wood turning centre, then you can obtain your wood supplies and ready made blanks from a pyrographic suppliers.

I have worked with a variety of different woods such as Sycamore, Ash, Lime, Oak, Beech and Pine. I am still learning as my education in wood burning and fire art is an open ended process.

Treat the material that you work on with care and take your time to burn your designs in a methodical way, this will help you to create an item that has quality.

So what should your next step into learning pyrography or the art of wood burning be?

Familiarise yourself with the subject of burnt wood etching by reading books borrowed through your local library or from research on the internet. Look at the kinds of work that can be produced by pyrographers.

There are different styles of machine that you can buy and so it is sensible to check these out before you decide to make a purchase. Look at the effects that are achievable with each type of machine and choose one that you think that you could work with. When you are researching manufacturers that sell pyrographic equipment have a look at the range of ready made objects that you can buy to create your own products.

I use a Janik pyrography machine. Janik manufacture several different kinds of machine, some of them have a facility that allows you to select from a variety of nibs/points. These can be easily fitted onto the machine and can help you to create a combination of results. Peter Child also produces pyrography machines that offer different types of tool heads to those of Janik’s.

In both types of machine it would be a mistake to assume that the points/nibs work as a pen nib would work. It takes practise and time to build up your knowledge and judgement of the length of time required to hold a nib/point upon the wood to create the mark and colour to your material.

IDEA When I first began wood burning, I found it extremely useful to keep a record for reference of the effects that can be achieved on particular types of wood. I made up a few test pieces on scraps of woods with an example mark from each point/nib that I had used for burning. I kept a note of the temperature setting of the machine.

TIP Beware of burning your fingers by touching the metal part of the nib and also the lower part of the tool that your nib is screwed into as this usually becomes very warm. I found at first that when I held the tool for burning, I would be concentrating so hard on my design that my fingers would move down perilously close to the hot metal nib. I eventually learned to relax and kept changing my grip a little, this stopped me from getting over heated and cramped fingers!

First Steps In Pyrography a 'Fire Art' 1

Welcome to

First Steps In Pyrography A Fire Art

This blog is about the Art of Pyrography - (burning images onto wood and also other materials). Pyrography is an old craft that could be developed from being an interest and pastime into a more profitable hobby.

Why not read on and learn a little more about the traditional craft of Pyrography ( burnt wood etching). It is a skill which offers a free range of limitless possibilities and also gives you the chance to keep a long established skill alive and to encourage others to try it out!

You really don’t need to be good at art and drawing to be able to produce a piece of work that looks great but you do need to be willing to learn step by step. It's best to take things slowly at the start as this will enable you eventually to achieve a good finish and end result to your pieces of pyrography.

I am not a professional pyrographer though I am happy to say I have sold some of my work. I find pyrography both theraputic and enjoyable, so bearing this in mind I thought it would be useful to write about what I have learned so far.

I would encourage anyone to try out this very old craft because by it’s nature it allows you to be able to produce a good piece of ‘Fire Art’ work with very little drawing skill. It is a very satisfying way to spend a few spare hours in the week and you never know it may develop into more than just a little hobby!

What I really like about pyrography is, the instant connection that it has with our natural world, this is because one of the most favoured materials used to burn upon is wood. Pyrographers also burn into materials such as leather, paper, cork and sometimes textiles such as felt. During the early part of the last century pryography was also used to etch images into glass.

I will write mainly about working on wood as I find working with wood very rewarding as there are such a variety of different timbers to choose from and the end product design and visual effects can be so diverse..

Each piece of wood has it’s own fascinating pattern of grain with swirls which remind me of the contours that you encounter on maps.

Sometimes you may find areas of concentric circles within wood which translated on a map define the ‘three D’ image of our landscape. When they are found in a piece of wood, their patterns can help you to create a design.

At the beginning you should find out about the type of wood and the degree of burning required to create a particular level of colour, it isn't difficult!

The idea is similar to the way you might use a soft drawing pencil to produce different levels of light and dark with the use of shading, only you will find out about heat, burning and depth of colour that can be produced from using your machine at a selection of temperatures.

At first you need to spend some time experimenting, this can be fun! You will learn about the effects that different nibs create upon your wood.

Don’t let the thought of learning these techniques put you off because although the idea may seem to have some similarities to drawing, wood burning isn’t difficult and you will be amazed at the images that you can create with very little practise!

At the moment I am in the middle of some research about the history of pyrography and I have come across a very old pyrography book which I hope to tell you about in later blogs.

Recommended Reading

I have read a number of books on the topic of Pyrography and would particularly like to recommend that you read Sue Walters book especially if you are interested as I am in a more artistic approach to Pyrography. It is called Pyrography Workbook (A Complete Guide to the Art of Woodburning).

This is a beautifully presented book which looks at the basics of wood burning and the choices of different types of machines/nibs, also materials that you can use. It offers the reader a selection of projects for themselves including a first step easy project and more advanced projects to try out.

Bye4now Sam