It's been a couple months now since I had any interest in doing anything artsy. October's challenge burnt me out so rather than fighting through it making myself do something, I decided to just take a break not worrying about it.
My sons gifted me with a really nice pyrography set for Christmas hoping it might inspire me. Something different with new challenges and techniques to focus on. Over 20 years ago I tried wood burning using a simple wood burning tool from Walnut Hollow. I managed to finish the piece I worked but didn't care for the tool. Main complaint was the heat holding the tool. I never messed with it after that.
This set is so different with variable temperature, wire tips instead of solid, and the pens do not get hot. I'm finding this set and type of tool is going to be a real joy to use. What is also amazing to me (only learning now while searching how to use this tool) that people burn on paper as well. This opens the door for me to explore new ways of practicing my drawing skills and combining techniques to include watercolor.
For my first attempt using this set, I used my miniature bear, Opal, as my model on a piece of wood. I lightly drew him onto the wood tile with a mechanical pencil and the chose two tips to work with.....one considered a universal tip for outlining and a shader tip for building up values and shading.
I was feeling a bit timid and conservative with heat so for most of the piece, I used the voltage setting 44 and then upped it just a tad to 47 for darker shading. It took me awhile considering the lower heat setting but I wasn't ready to jump in with it any number higher than I chose.
Photos taken using cell phone as I worked (not the greatest photos but something I can reference back to):
Scanned image:
Pyrography Set and Tips I used - TruArt Stage 2 Pyrography Set: Temperature Control Box (by voltage) and the two pens that came with the set. To the right is a carbon filter fan to help with the smoke and fumes (was not part of the set).
Tips referenced as Universal (left) and flat (some refer to as a shader - right)
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