Writing With Fire

The first idea I had about wanting to do pyrography came from picking up the V-shaped stubs which fall from the palm trees here in Florida. I thought maybe I could recycle them and pyrograph them, hence I bought myself a pyrography kit.

To put it plainly, Pyrography is pen-like tool which you plug into an electrical outlet and when it heats up, you can burn shapes, lettering, portraits, etc into a piece of wood.

But as I quickly learned, these V-shaped stubs start to become brittle with time. You really can't do anything but let them break apart and mingle with the earth.

I was a little bummed out but it was around the holidays when I got the idea that I could make something for each of my friends with this kit. I always try to make at least one thing for each of my friends around the holidays and birthdays.

For my best friend I pyrographed a Celtic Knot symbol for "Friendship" in the top of a small wooden box. Then I painted the box a sea green around the knot and glued some felt into the bottom to provide some cushioning (these photos are provided by my account I have at Deviantart.com):

Celtic Friendship Box: Back by ~ange-etrange on deviantART

That was my "beginner" project.

Then I decided to pyrograph a James Dean Portrait into a wooden plaque for another friend of mine.


James Dean Portrait by ~ange-etrange on deviantART

That was my "intermediate" project.

I also took another wooden plaque and took a "Little Prince" illustration from the book and burned it along with her favorite passage from the book.




I call that gift my "advanced" project.

And I'm finishing up a fourth project for another friend of mine. I will post it as soon as I finish and take pictures of it.

All of the projects took about a month to finish. And I've received a few compliments on my work including the suggestion that I should make and sell some work. I'm making it one of my goals this month to finish a piece which I can sell on Etsy and see how it goes. I took to this craft faster than I ever had with any other craft. In short, I'm obsessed! hehe