Pyrography

Pyrography is the art of burning designs into wood with a heated object (such as a hot poker or a solid-point burner like I use). The term "pyrography" translates to "writing with fire." If you know me well, you're most likely thinking, "Well, that's a super Katie thing to do." It really is. Pyrography dates all the way back to the 17th century and was very popular in the 19th century. 

My burner and assorted tips

I started dabbling in pyrography a few years ago but I wasn't really that into it. For some reason the Pinterest algorithm recently decided to give me a bunch of cute pyrography project ideas. I pinned a few, my mom saw them, suddenly I'm assigned to make a of bunch of spoons as Christmas gifts.

I had my mom buy some wooden spoons from the store and she got the bamboo kind. I was a bit concerned that it wouldn't burn well. Bamboo is actually a grass, and tends to hold more moisture than the typical pyrography preferred wood (such as beech, maple, pine, etc.).  I was pleasantly surprised and the bamboo burned quite nicely.

With two younger brothers and a dog constantly moving around me, I was a bit concerned about plugging in the burner. After me announcing MANY times the heat was gonna be on, I screwed in on of the new tips I had bought earlier in the day, I plugged it in and waited for it to heat up. I WILL say, I should have been wearing gloves at certain points (ow) and definitely some sort of eye protection. So if you decide to take a swing at pyrography, do some research first.

I did some sketches on what I wanted to do on one of the spoons (referencing Pinterest photos), then started burning. 

After a few minutes, I was immersed in pyrography and flying through my project. AFTER waiting for it to cool so I could switch the tips, wait for it to heat up again, burning, and waiting for the cool down again. 

I am SO happy with how these turned out! If you ever want to buy some, let me know, if you do, it'll really help me out. Every spoon I sell will help send me to a JAF Family Retreat. I can even burn names or short phrases if you want!  I'll be selling them $8 a piece! I'll probably open some kind of shop as soon as I make more! I'll keep you all updated!

• Which one is your favorite?
• What should I do for my next pyrography project?

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