Pyrography practice...

I got my pyrography pen through the post today and I'm desperate to try it out! I quickly painted up an illustration which I wanted to communicate this idea of a loss of identity or a gain of identity through the idea of the hair on everybodys head - particularly the 50's era. It looks to show how a 'style' is true of a certain time or fashion and so could be anybody.

I've taken this painting and used tracing paper to trace the image, then to use carbon paper which I bought, to transfer the image onto the wood, which was advised on a tutorial I watched.

This is how it turned out. It was very tricky to get the hang of and get a fluid motion of drawing as you have to hold it in a certain way and apply it to the wood a certain way. I've found that the wood you are using is important, as there are grooves in most woods and the pen slowly burns away and if you've got pressure on the pen nib, then it can get stuck for a second which just burns a hole and you have to quickly take the nib off. You can see examples of where this has happened below:

It was very fun and is nice as it's not just an image, but an image burnt into something with thats organic and unique, and the image also has a texture and smell to it! It was a good first attempt and got me used to the pen, although it's going to take lots more practice.

Pyrography for beginners...

It's important for me to be constantly practicing with my new pyrography pen, so I aim to be producing little pieces on wood to practice and get better the whole way through this project. I want to be able to be good at producing small images, to try and make brooches this way, instead of relying on a laser cutter. I've been watching youtube tutorials on how pyrography works and how to actually do it! See below - along with some little notes.

- Popular in the 17th century, used on furniture.

- Sycammore wood and Birch ply wood... Ideal Grain.

- Carbon paper....to tranfer illustration to the wood.

- Cross Hatching.

- Practice on paper first - low heat.

- Wood burning works in many different ways.

- Adding texture.

- Multi-media type work.

Pyrographers:

Whilst working at 'Art In Action' Event over summer, I met a lovely women who created beautiful works of art onto found pieces of wood with a pyrography pen. She worked with the pen on different heats to create lines which came together to make tree's, or images surrounding nature. I spoke to her for a bit and she told me how it worked and how the machine worked that she had to apply the image to the wood.

A pyrographer I particularly like, is the work of Mixo Sydenham. He frames his work in wood which is lovely, but it also made me think about the layers which lye within wood which could be used in work someway. As it almost looks as though he's cut out the middle part of the wood to illustrate inside and keep the image safe - the idea of security and feeling safe/reassuring women through my work is important. It's also nice that he puts colour on them, I particularly like the colours in the bird image.

Dumitru Muardian works with more realistic looking images within pyrography, I particularly like the image below of a portrait:

From all the pyrographers I have been looking at it seems very clear that it all looks very traditional and the images are produced to look 'nice' and some to look very realistic and almost painting onto the wood.

I think that the marks which you can make with the pyrography should be utilised/made more contemporary and I want to learn how to use it in my own style, creating interesting marks/patterns and producing the work onto the wood, with a final image which I can liken to the painting that I do (in the same style).

Pyrography Pens...

I had discussed whilst I was making jewellery last year, that I loved the outcome of my jewellery, but also that it didn't feel like it was all my own work because although the designs are my illustrations, the laser cutter applies it to the wood and my illustration is key part in my practice.

Whilst I was at an art fair a few months ago, I came across a woman that used a pyrography pen onto wood to create images of trees and the line it applied to the wood was beautiful.

I'm in the process of buying a pyrography pen , which I then hope to practice with and hopefully produce some jewellery and work on a bigger scale.

A pyrography pen is a process of using a heated metal tip to engrave materials such as wood cork or leather, you prepare the object by using fine sand paper to sand down the surface, then making a drawing in pencil if you want. You then hold the tool like a pencil to create your design, changing the tips with pilers to get different effects. You are basically 'drawing with heat or fire'.

The Pen I've found below looks a good price and it also has many different tips to fit the pen and play with:

Fun fun fun!

A History of Pyrography...

I'm intrigued to find out where this came from and how far it goes back, as the pyrography pen which is sold today is obviously modified and it was done differently years ago. Here are some things I found out:

'Writing With Fire'

Pyrography comes from the Greek words 'pur' (meaning fire) and 'graphos' (meaning writing). People have probably 'written with fire' since fire was discovered. In early times pyrography, as it is today, was used for embellishments and decorating artifacts - then classed as folk art rather than paintings and scuptures.

According to Kathleen Menendez of the E-Museum of Pyrographic Art, the earliest survivng example of pyrography is a 'container' decorated with flowers and humming birds found in Peru - which seems to be one of the main birth places of pyrography. The container has been dated before 700 AD. However Patricia Arnold claims that the earliest surviving example of pyrography was found as a Roman caudex that dates back to the occupation of Britain in the 1st to 4th centuries.

In Europe, Asia, Australia and America pyrography was used to decorate artifacts such as musical instruments and kitchenware. In Europe the use of pyrography is thought to have appeared in the medieval and renaissance periods. The Great Masters were though to have used pyrography to decorate skirting boards in houses. Although this is not seen nowadays.

Pyrography became more popular in the Victorian times, and was accepted widely as an art form called 'pokerwork'. It was named this because it would consist of using a charcoal stove with holes all the way round into which pokers of various sizes and shapes were heated. The temperature had to be maintained and the only way of controlling the heat was to let the poker cool down. You could take courses in pyrography- of which an advert is seen below. Looking at the work done at this time it is suprising how good it is considering the tools they were using.

In the later Victorian times, better tools were used, including the blow pipe 'Vulcan Wood Etching Machine (also below), and similar benzine fueled devices. It was directed at women, appearing in women's magazines.

In the early 20th Century soldering iron types of pyrography tool were developed, which we see today and I have just bought. However, later in the century low voltage devices were developed which enable the user to have a lot more heat control, with the solid point.

A Starting Point...

I have started to think of possible ways to apply my illustration throughout the final major projects and have begun to think about my jewllery and the subject of the 1950s woman and man on a much bigger scale. Possibly producing 1950s women in frames and prettyly, using the laser cutter, a pyrography pen, printing onto the wood, using foils and inks and painting onto them.

These are only ideas of media that I would like to be using though and developing skill around. All just initial ideas at the moment, but it gives me an idea of what I can experiment with to start me off on this project over the next few weeks! It's all very exciting.

At the moment it stands as:

-Using my dissertation topic of feminity/beauty ideologies, as a starting point.

- Creating some sort of narrative through my work.

- Through creating a narrative and an end piece, I want to keep developing pattern/wallpaper ideas/working with 'On The Wall'.

- As well as this new work, I will hopefully develop my jewellery brand throughout this project and create lots more new designs for customers - 'Brand Development'.

- Producing a new business card and catalogue for my work.

- Getting a website up and running for my illustration, my brand and a shop for my jewelery.

FMP - Inspiration.

So here we are, at the beginning of my last creative project at university!

Three things which are important for me to achieve throughout my FMP are:

- Showing real skill through my illustration and media I use.

- Communicating messages/morals and reality, which my audience can relate to and enjoy.

- A final exhibition piece which is professional and captures the true individualism of all my work.

Below are some images of things which excite me and are inspiration for 'ways in which things are put together', to the 'media creatives are using' and also 'the messages which are being communicated'.

Came across these when browsing wood vaneer. Paintings by Rob Milam, drawn with wood vaneer, pretty fantastic and very skilled, I particularly like the texture which is set my the wood and then the colours on wood. I really want to be exploring the things you can apply to wood throughout my FMP, such as screenprinting onto it using foils and pyrography, hopefully producing a big scale final piece.

I adore the messages and feelings which are provoked by Rob Ryan's cute and quaint paper cut illustrations. The way he communicates real feelings from one piece of paper is clever and also this idea of cutting away at one piece of paper makes it special - I want to take this and transform the 'special' and 'unique' element through to the wood I use and the ways I present and produce my work. Rob Ryan will always remain a key influence.

Visit his website here... http://www.misterrob.co.uk/ ....for a smile or two :)

I'm just at the beginning of my secret love affair with Leanne Shapton's amazing but simple creations. The way in which she applies ink to a surface with ease, humour and also great detail even through the paintings simplicity, amazes me and is something I want to. This skill she has is something I will try to learn from looking at her work and take it to mine. Also like the way in which she produces narratives through realist subjects, like her book which describes 'Ex-partners' in 'Was She Pretty?'. Another aspect of her work which is beautiful, is the hand-painted type which she produces, which I would like to practice and do.

Something else which resonates through my work and will always have an influence on me is the 50s woman and the fashions of this time. Have come across this website which holds the key to lots of reference material... http://www.doctormacro.com/index.html.

This is important, as well as lots of things that I will be collecting through out my whole project!