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
No comments:
Post a Comment