Pyrography.

Good afternoon all and thanks for popping in today..

Pull up a chair and I will put the kettle on...today I am going to talk you through some pyrography .

As many of you know this is a passion of mine and I have been making and selling my work for over ten years now...

It is a very old craft but it is making a resurgence at the moment and when used in conjunction with stamped images some fantastic results can be obtained...

This particular tutorial is specifically designed in order to answer an email that I received from Martin....( thanks Martin )

So here we go.....this is what we are going to make...hope you like it...

Pyrography is the art of wood Burning...there is quite a variety of pyrography machines on the market and they do vary in price.

I started off with an inexpensive solid point tool...now this is great for basic work and to see if you enjoy the craft...

But once I wanted to create more intricate designs I bought a hot wire tool....this has many advantages in that you can create more detail and depth in your work

It also has a dial so that the voltage can be varied thus giving different heat settings.

A good machine can cost just over £100 but I have to say that mine has lasted over ten years , has travelled very well to demonstrations and you don't need anything else to get started other than some wood...

Onto the wood...different woods do burn differently....you really need a good medium wood.such as beach or birch ..pine can be a bit too soft...and some can be to hard....

It is not advisable to use materials such as MDF as the glue in it can give off some harmful fumes when burning.

Other products such a natural leather are great to use too...

Once you have your chosen your piece of wood....you can trace , draw free hand or stamp your design.

I use a VersaFine ink pad as it is a permanent ink and gives fine lines and great detail..I find the Vintage Sepia a really good colour to use.

Here I have used one of my favourite Clarity stamps...The Matrix feather.

The machine once plugged in takes only a couple of minutes to heat up...

Now I always lean on a piece of kitchen towel so that I don't put any marks onto the wood. ( a good habit to get in to )

With a steady hand start and slowly burn in the outline of the design.

If you want a darker colour you can switch the voltage up....or hold the wire on the wood longer..

But remember if you make a mistake you can't rub it out...you can sand it back but to be honest it is better not to have too.

Next I added some detail using shorter strokes of the wire, almost like colouring in with a pencil

I hope you can see the detail

It is useful to have a wire brush as every so often you need to brush the wire to get rid of any wood residue.

I just carried on and worked my way around all the feathers on the lid.

I then decided that the sided looked a bit bare , so more stamping and burning...

This whole process took three hours...but I did make a cup of tea and put the Gammon and roast potatoes into the oven ( multitasking!!!! )

At this point we have choices...we can leave it or add some colour.

When I decorate items such as the chopping boards I don't add any colour so that they can be functional and they are safe to use.

But for this money box I felt it needed some colour....you can buy pens specific pens for adding colour to wood but I like to use Acrylic paint...depending on the depth of colour required depends weather you use it neat or water it down.

I decided to use a Translucent paint because I wanted the fine pyrography work to show through.

I added a little water and began painting the box one feather at a time...

I also added a small amount of watered down white paint

Until the box lid was finished

And all four sides done too

This is such a lovely hand crafted box and to open the lid you have to slide the front panel slightly first..

How clever is that....and yes it did take Karl and me an hour to work it out !!!!

Varnish is optional and once again there are many different products on the market , I find the spray varnish excellent , and it dries very quickly....plus you don't get brush marks....

Here are a couple of hand mirrors...

I do find this such a relaxing hobby and have taught it to groups of Cubs and Brownies so that shows you age isn't a barrier. ( they do need supervison though )

I do hope that you have found this interesting....and hope I didn't send you to sleep....

Thank for chatting....I need to go and get some more ironing done,,.Adam is off to Bali tomorrow with friends for a holiday....so he has found last minute clothes that needed washing and ironing,,.( bless him !!!)

Enjoy your weekend....and remember Barbara is on HOCHANDA tv tomorrow afternoon and then she has a one day special on Monday..

Pop back soon

Love and hugs

Jo. xxx

 

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