Sue Walters Pyrography

IN FOCUS

A FOCUS ON...

This page comes via many requests to see larger pictures. I am loath to reduce the load speed of the general galleries, so have created a 'focus' section where various selected pieces will be seen and discussed in more detail at the discretion of viewers. Copyright - Sue Walters

FOCUSING ON: 'Canada Geese Gourd'

approx 20 cm (8 inches) heigh ©Sue Walters 2003

'Canada Geese on a gourd' is a monochrome burning. This means no colour was used in making this piece. The wonderful thing about gourds is they often come with a leather colouring which compliments monochrome burning very nicely. They often come with a marked surface caused my mould staining, creating a challenge to incorporate the subject in relation to this. This piece was done for a friend of mine called Bronni Williams in return for all her wonderful help. Bronii is probably our foremost gourd worker in Australia. I will be interviewing Bronii for a future issue of the The Pyro Newsletter but in the mean time Bronii has a web site if you would like to look at her work, get some advice or join the newsletter. I chose Canada geese for Bronii for 3 reasons. 1) Bronii knows me as a burner and not a gourd artist, so I wanted to just burn and not embellish with colour or decorations...Canada Geese are perfect for this. They make a wonderful wildlife art subject in monochrome. 2)I think they are wonderful birds and never tire of looking at them. It's more fun to burn what we like looking at. 3) The natural shape of this gourd lent itself beautifully to the subject. Their fat little bellies lie nicely along the widest part without making them look out of proportion. It may seem a drag to think about what subject you are putting on what surface or shape, but it really can make or break a piece...so a little consideration is a worthwhile thing. As you can see, I didn't cut off the top to turn the gourd into a bowl or any functional item. I really liked the sculptural quality of the dried, twisted tendrils and the gnarled stem.As a valid part of the pyrographic world I'll be looking at gourd burning in more detail in the near future, so I'll leave further technical comments until then. Besides, it's nice to have a page where we can just look and not have to use the 'T' word too much.
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OTHER IN FOCUS PAGES: Brush Tail Possum In Focus
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