Jade F.

Conde Grade 12 STEM- A

Pyrography
CHARACTERISTICS:
Pyrography  or pyrogravure 
Is the 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 pur (fire) and graphos (writing).[1] 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."

After the design is burned in, wooden objects are often coloured. Light-coloured hardwoods such
as sycamore, basswood, beech and birch are most commonly used, as their fine grain is not
obtrusive. However, other woods, such as maple, pine or oak, are also used. Pyrography is also
applied to leather items, using the same hot-iron technique. Leather lends itself to bold designs,
and also allows very subtle shading to be achieved. Specialist vegetable-tanned leather must be
used for pyrography (as modern tanning methods leave chemicals in the leather which
are toxic when burned), typically in light colours for good contrast.

Pyrography is also popular among gourd crafters and artists, where designs are burned onto the
exterior of a dried hard-shell gourd.

HISTORY:
The history of pyrography is of an art that originated in pre-history.
Early man documented their life in pictures – as has man throughout the ages.

Drawing was the first method that man used to tell stories and communicate. And after the
important discovery of fire, the early form of “wood burning” was invented.

Follow us through the remarkable history and development of this art and the tools over the ages.
That this art form has stood the test of time is a testament to its durability and charm.

This ancient art form is very much alive today with beautiful and decorative products being
created at home and on a commercial scale worldwide.
In the early 20th century, the development of the electric pyrographic hot wire wood etching
machine further automated the pokerwork process, and Art Nouveau pyrographic glove boxes
and other works were popular in that era. Pyrography is a traditional folk art in many parts of
Europe, including Romania, Poland, Hungary, and Flanders, as well as Argentina and other areas
in South America.

The Pyrography Tool is Born

By the early 20th century the development of the electric pyrography tool or soldering iron,
created a small tool that allowed more control for the artist.

This development made it easy for the art form to be brought into the art studio of individuals
and home artists.

Even with man’s technological advancements through the ages, the basic artistic techniques and
methods have changed very little.

Burning with a hot tool is still the only possible way to create a wood burning.

The availability of different shaped nibs, finer honed tools and temperature controls have given
pyrography artists the ability to create detailed and beautifully intricate workmanship using
modern pyrography techniques.

This encompasses all styles and genres on many differing mediums.

PROPONENT ARTIST:
Davide Della Noce pyrography joined Fine Art America on July 28th, 2010.
I was born in Tradate (VA) Italy, and I live in the province of Udine, being an autodidact, I'm
experimenting using mainly wood and paper. I've developed both the pyrography and the
drawing with the most varied of techniques. I have never attended a course or a school of
painting. Carl Brenders is a Belgian artist who inspired me, while maintaining a personal
figurative language of painting, I find that each work is a study of manic nature. Since small I've
always loved drawing. My passion for animals combined with the design inspired me to seek
new forms of expression; the encounter with pyrography was a fusion of all these elements.
Animals are my passion, perhaps for that reason I feel transported to these subjects, especially
big cats. Animals are often portrayed in the foreground with the intention of giving shape to an
instinctive feeling of nature, through the intense gaze animal.
ARTWORKS:

African Elephant
Pyrography on poplar wood
pirografia su pioppo
30x40cm

The Tawny Eagle II

2013. 38.000 x 28.000 cm
 Hunting
Pyrography on poplar
cm30x50