from the pressures of my day job obtained a momentum of its own right: before I knew it, I was creating a website, booking tables at craft fairs, taking commissions online, and registering myself as a crafts business. I’d only been burning “professionally” for around a year when Fox Chapel Publishing made contact out of the blue, asking me to write a book on my “style” of pyrography and contributing immensely to where I stand today.
I still get the same thrill out of starting work on a new commission for a customer. The excitement of developing a design to satisfy the needs of that individual, to make real the intangible idea in their head of a piece that they are envisaging, is an honor and a pleasure. I always try to involve the client in my creative processes by showing them the ideas as they progress, as this helps to reinforce the belief that the design would not be complete without them. They’re not buying an anonymous mass-produced item from a generic store, they are a crucial part of creating something unique, something individual, something that will be cherished by the recipient for years to come. The item we create together is an original piece of inspired consequences, a project that has only come into fruition because of the personality, ideas, preferences, and history of both craftsperson and consumer.
My aim in this book, Yearn to Burn: A Pyrography Master Class, is to demonstrate ways to approach several projects through the use of woodburning, with my ideas and approaches only intended as a starting point for you, the avid reader and budding pyrographer. You can follow the guidance contained within these pages rigidly and recreate the designs that I’ve made, as these will help you to hone your pyrography skills and confidence if the craft is still new to you. As you become more comfortable and proficient, you can tinker with the suggested projects, adding your own take on them or adapting them into a style of your own choice. Ultimately, once you get to the point where your head is brimming with visions of your own invention, you can take elements from my work that you find useful or helpful as a starting point to enable you to develop your own design vocabulary.
I want you to appreciate that you are potentially in the same position as I was only a mere ten years ago. You’ve been bitten by the woodburning bug and are exploring what other makers have done before you, so that you can take your first tentative steps into the crafting world. You’ll learn the techniques, experiment with ideas, and develop your own style through personal trial and error. Before you know it, people will be looking at what you can make and declaring that they trust you to make something special and meaningful for them, whether they are a family member, a friend, or a potential paying customer. Enjoy and treasure those moments, as they are a measure of your own abilities demonstrated through the faith that these people place in you to create something magical from just a quantity of raw materials, your trusted pyrography machine, and a sprinkling of imagination.
Keep on burning!
Contents
Chapter 1: Tools, Hints, and Tips
Chapter 2: Pyrography Projects
Mirrored 3D Layer Picture Frame
Children’s Reward Bank with Tokens
Christmas Eve Platter for Santa
Reversi Game Board and Counters