Leslie Griffin & Kay Stark
Leslie Griffin & Kay Stark
Pyrography started at Woodcrafters in 1996 and has been an active working-together-group ever since. Lesley Griffin is the current teacher at the Woodcrafters. Both Lesley and Kay are award winning pyrographers and Lesley regularly demonstrates at the Art Centre’s monthly Art and Craft Market.
Hundreds of years ago Pyrography as we know it was vastly different from the simple art form that it is now. The basic method was to get a metal poker and nestle it into the hot coals of a roaring fire. The poker would heat up to a glowing red. When the correct temperature had been reached the artist would then take the poker carefully out of the fire and apply it to the timber of their choice.
Though effective, this method would have proven to be rather laborious as the poker would cool down very quickly at which point they would have to put it back into the fire. During the Victorian era (1837 – 1901) Pyrography became a very popular art form. No longer did people use their fireplace for heating the poker as a better heating method had been developed. The new method involved heating a glass jar and using a particularly small bellow to push the hot air from the jar through a tube and onto the tip of the poker. The tool had a wooden handle to stop the heat from travelling up the metal and burning the artist’s hand. This method got the tip of the poker hot enough to burn designs into the timber. It was a lot easier and more practical than using a fire.
The art of pyrography went beyond merely being a hobby. In fact, it was quite popular in the late 1800’s for companies to use pyrography on their furniture. The designs would be carefully burnt into the furniture and, as you can imagine had a magnificent effect. To find an antique item of furniture with pyrography on it today is a real treasure.
Over the years the method of pyrography has changed dramatically but the basic technique and method has changed little. Now there are very easy to use electric tools that quickly heat to specific temperatures for different types of timbers and effects. There are wires that are particularly good for conducting heat and so are very conducive to this kind of work. Pyrography is an incredibly valuable art form because of its attractive finished product. The artist is able to decorate specific timber items with simple, easy to execute designs and yet the end product is very professional.
The term Pyrography was originally coined by the Victorians from the Greek words “pur”, meaning fire, and “graphos” meaning writing.
Leslie & Kay will be holding two workshops during the festival.
Intro To Pyrography (Code LG2) All Levels
Intro To Pyrography (Code LG3) All Levels
DESCRIPTION
LG2. In this Pyrography / Poker Work workshop you will be delighted at how quickly you can learn the techniques of this intriguing art form.
LG3. In this Pyrography / Poker Work workshop you will be delighted at how quickly you can learn the techniques of this intriguing art form.
TIME AND PLACE:
July 17 to July 18 (2 days), 8.30am to 4pm,
July 24 to July 25 (2 days), 8.30am to 4pm,
Studio W9, Community Arts Centre.
WORKSHOP FEE:
$150.00
ART MATERIALS LIST:
