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.
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