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!
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