Pyrography (The Art of Burning on Wood) - The Triquetra Celtic Knot

Trinity Celtic Knot.png

I have recently taken up a couple of new hobbies - wood turning (more to come) and wood burning.

My Pyrography work is mainly focused on Celtic (and Viking) knotwork designs, which I eventually plan to burn onto finished wood turning projects (wooden bowls, platters and vases) when I feel 100% competent in the craft to not risk ruining a turned wooden bowl which can take between 6-8 hours to complete as a new wood turner.

I thought I would share my ongoing pyrography work with the hive community as I practice this craft.

The design in this pyrography is a adaptation of the Trinity knot (or triquetra), comprising three interconnected loops all connected with a unbroken circle.

In Celtic culture, the triquetra can represent life, death, and rebirth, or earth, sea, and sky. During the decline of the Roman empire and the rise of Christianity, the church appropriated this symbol to represent the Holy Trinity – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

What is Pyrography?

Pyrography or pyrogravure is the free handed art of decorating wood or other materials with burn marks resulting from the controlled application of a heated object such as a poker. It is also known as pokerwork or wood burning.

The term means "writing with fire", from the Greek pyr (fire) and graphos (writing).[2] It can be practiced using specialized modern pyrography tools, or using a metal implement heated in a fire, or even sunlight concentrated with a magnifying lens. "Pyrography dates from the 17th century and reached its highest standard in the 19th century. In its crude form it is pokerwork.

_{source: Wikipedia}

_{My pyrography machine with a shading nib attached to the 1st pen at high temperature to illustrate how hot the nibs get!}

For me, Pyrography is a fantastic meditative aid to igniting creativity.

The process of transferring a design to wood using carbon paper along with the careful application of heat in the main burn, refines focus and sharpens your thought process.

In the final steps of shading and detailing I find a quiet place, where ideas for stories are born, and realization about characters in my writing work are often resolved.

When added to the final satisfaction of the finished piece of art, the whole process of pyrography can be a profoundly grounding experience.

Art Burned on Wood

_{Art burn with blank round next to it for perspective.}

_{A close-up.}

Thanks for reading.

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If you have enjoyed this post, please check out my homepage @raj808 for similar content.

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