Newsletter 20

G'day all,

I'm back in the saddle after an extended break from writing the newsletter. Truth be told I put too many irons in the fire...no pun intended...and burnt myself out...pun intended. Well...more so I lost my 'drive' so I took some time off to see what pyrographical direction I wanted to go next. To burn more pictures? To explore other pyrographical areas? To focus on pyrographical education? I could keep pushing the realism boundaries but to what end? Because of the fading issue that many of you know about, I'm always nervous about taking so much time to get the light tones right only for them to change over time. And besides, there are some amazing realism burners out there now...the quality has become outstanding!

What I've always enjoyed about burning is to push the boundaries. I'm one of those people who loves the challenge of mastering something. Once mastered I push further in other directions to see what possibilities there are. That's the fun for me. Once I've opened the lock I'm more than happy to share with others how I did it.

And that's the other gift for me...I'm a half decent writer and a half decent video maker. (Not my earlier video efforts, but my newer work is getting there.) I enjoy the process of breaking down the technique and teaching others....of getting them excited to have a go. So I've decided that, for now, teaching will be my primary focus in the pyrographic world. And there is a lot to teach! Pyrography is a rare medium....it can be applied to a myriad of subjects, materials, surfaces and applications. It's so vast! It's one of the few mediums that can be seen AND felt. It's time to rub my hands together and have some fun again. It's time to play and pass along....but this time in smaller bites than before. So I can stay motivated and excited and regularly offer you something.

 

Part of my mad experiments. 'Burning Carpet'. This was a plain turned platter when I started. The carpet, fringe, floor and stamps were all textured and carved by burning. I have yet to paint the stamps yet. Soon, I hope.

 

Skink on Ironbark. They bark is entirely burnt. The skink was relief carved out of the huon pine bowl with a pyrography skew and painted with acrylic paint.