Pyro Notebook

Welcome to this week’s Pyrography Notebook Entry! What to use for coloring your pyrography piece is also a personal choice and my favorite is using oil pencils. Here are some additional options: Pencils: oil, watercolor, clay-based (softer shades than oil and blend easier), pastels – all can be easily blended. Blending can be done with finger, tissue, chamois, blending stump, or tortillon depending on the effect you want to create. You can also use a thinner such as turpenoid or turpenoid…

Welcome to this week’s Pyrography Notebook Entry! The use of color is a very personal decision. Not all of my projects get color and often when I start a new wood-burning piece, I don’t plan on using color and it just evolves during the journey of creating. There is a lot of back and forth that happens before I make a final decision on whether I add color or not. When I do use color I use either acrylic pens or oil pencils and I often use oil pencils more than acrylic. You may choose to only…

Welcome to this week’s Pyrography Notebook Entry! Here’s a troubleshooting guide to help you address common issues encountered during wood preparation: Rough Surface Texture: Issue: The wood surface remains rough even after sanding. Solution: Ensure you’re using the appropriate grit of sandpaper. Start with a coarse grit to remove rough spots, then progress to finer grits for a smoother finish. Check for any areas of the wood with grain direction changes or knots, which may require extra…

Welcome to this week’s Pyrography Notebook Entry! Safe Woods for Pyrography: Basswood is one of the most popular woods used by wood-burning artists. It is a solid choice because it’s easy to burn, has very little grain and it burns beautifully. You’ll get a nice contrast between the wood and the deep color of the burning. It is available in all shapes and sizes with and without bark. Italian poplar plywood is also very light in color and has a very even, smooth grain. Similar to basswood,…

Welcome to this week’s Pyrography Notebook Entry! One of the hazards is the fine dust when sanding the wood or in some cases the pitch/sap or resin that emits harmful fumes when burning. There is research out there that indicates long-term exposure to the dust and fumes from these woods can cause asthma or increase the risk of more serious illnesses, such as nasal cancer. Molds can also trigger allergic reactions, and you should take extra precautions when using spalted materials. Some woods…

Welcome to this week’s Pyrography Notebook Entry! Softwoods vs. Hardwoods: Wood species are broadly categorized into two main types: softwoods and hardwoods. Softwoods come from coniferous trees, such as pine, cedar, and spruce, while hardwoods are derived from deciduous trees like oak, maple, and cherry. Despite the names, hardwoods aren’t necessarily harder than softwoods; the distinction is based on botanical classification. Characteristics of Softwoods: Grain Patterns: Softwoods typically…

Welcome to this week’s Pyrography Notebook Entry! When you are interested in wood-burning, you might wonder if the tool you see at the craft store is the only option. Good news, it isn’t! When I first started wood-burning I quickly discovered the Colwood Detailer Wood-burning tool. What I love about it is that it is temperature controlled allowing me to be more in control of the heat. This is important because each wood burns differently and some materials like Tagua Nut require more heat….

Welcome to this week’s Pyrography Notebook Entry! A few months ago I was invited to be part of another local art store. It’s one of those places where your work gets juried and I kinda forgot about it. And then I received an email to bring in some of my art so they could see it in person, which was a bit nerve-wracking. The big part was making sure that I used a wood-burning pen and not a laser for my art. I was offered a contract and in about two weeks will be delivering my first pieces to…