Pyrographics: writing with fire
In the early nineties I began using a cheap wood-burning tool to draw images on pieces of bark and driftwood I found along the Hudson. The river and the elements transform what was once a tree into a smooth, weathered surface that doesn’t fight the blade of the burning tool and often takes on a beautiful patina from the heat, especially when the blade is drawn flatly across the surface.
At first I made Christmas tree ornaments with traditional subjects: angels, candles, Saint Nick, etc. Since these were gifts for family and friends, I began making ornaments with more personal themes to fit the person I was giving it to. Once I realized that when I combed the beaches, certain pieces seemed to speak to me, to reveal a glimpse of what they could be, I began a more serious exploration of the process for artistic purposes.
Continued, below...
In the early nineties I began using a cheap wood-burning tool to draw images on pieces of bark and driftwood I found along the Hudson. The river and the elements transform what was once a tree into a smooth, weathered surface that doesn’t fight the blade of the burning tool and often takes on a beautiful patina from the heat, especially when the blade is drawn flatly across the surface.
At first I made Christmas tree ornaments with traditional subjects: angels, candles, Saint Nick, etc. Since these were gifts for family and friends, I began making ornaments with more personal themes to fit the person I was giving it to. Once I realized that when I combed the beaches, certain pieces seemed to speak to me, to reveal a glimpse of what they could be, I began a more serious exploration of the process for artistic purposes.
Continued, below...
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All images are copyrighted © 2015 by Samuel DiTullo.
The use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission from the artist is obtained.
The use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission from the artist is obtained.
I had no idea that there was a name for what I was doing; I was happy to believe what I did was an original invention. I disliked the term “wood-burning” since it brought to mind wood shop and Boy Scouts. Fortunately, a more interesting word found me in 2014 while watching Antiques Roadshow. Someone brought in a piece of early American furniture that had been decorated by burning the wood with a red-hot piece of wire. The process was called pyrographics, the expert told the owner. After that I did a little research and found that there is a lot more pyrographics going on than I would have ever dreamed, ranging from dreadful to sublime.
Initially, I was disappointed to be merely one of many who made art this way (not to mention the fact that colonial Americans had beat me to it). Then I realized with the wood-burning tool, the bark, and the driftwood, I do what I do with everything in life that catches my eye or piques my curiosity: I incorporate it into my art. And while the process wasn’t unique, what I did with it was.
When I found myself with boxes full of finished pieces that I wasn’t sure how to display, I began to experiment. I mounted them on boards, placed them in shadow boxes, and even joined them together. My work started to become more dimensional, at first coming away from the wall and eventually standing freely on its own. This phase of my work became my Assemblages.
Initially, I was disappointed to be merely one of many who made art this way (not to mention the fact that colonial Americans had beat me to it). Then I realized with the wood-burning tool, the bark, and the driftwood, I do what I do with everything in life that catches my eye or piques my curiosity: I incorporate it into my art. And while the process wasn’t unique, what I did with it was.
When I found myself with boxes full of finished pieces that I wasn’t sure how to display, I began to experiment. I mounted them on boards, placed them in shadow boxes, and even joined them together. My work started to become more dimensional, at first coming away from the wall and eventually standing freely on its own. This phase of my work became my Assemblages.
