Kev - in progress

Pyrography Projects – In Progress: July 13, 2021

Current Pyrography Projects

I pretty much always have several pyrography projects in progress at any given time. Unless these burnings are for a paying client, I take my time on pieces, working on each as the mood strikes me. For some, I might set them aside for weeks or months before I feel like getting back to them. Sometimes that’s because my schedule is just too full with other work to devote time to my personal “just for fun” projects. But other times the stall might be due to the fact that I’m not getting something just right in the piece, and I’m feeling frustrated with its progress. So, I set it aside until I can come back to it with a fresh perspective.

Today I thought I’d share a handful of projects I’m currently working on. This is by no means a complete list, lol! I have several others hiding in closets or the garage or other nooks and crannies that have been forgotten or almost permanently set aside. I do have a mental note to dig them out and finish them…at some point in time.

This First Piece

is my current top priority, from a personal project perspective. That’s because this is a birthday gift for my son-in-law. So, there is a time-limit for completion. I’m really loving how it’s coming along so far! Here’s the photo I’m working from –

Kevin is my daughter’s husband, and I’ve never burned a portrait of him before, so thought I’d give it a go!

This one has to be completed by next weekend (July 25th ish). I’ll post the finished piece over on my wood burning website: Lonestar Pyrography.

 

My Unfinished Projects Stack

Next, we have two pieces that fall into that “I’m dreading working on this” category. And they are both gifts. Long over-due. Ugh. I just need to knuckle down and finish them.

The wolves cutting board is a wedding gift for my little brother and his bride. I detest burning small lettering. It’s not so bad in small doses, such as names and dates on a plaque. But this whole page-full of text gives me grief. And the shading on this piece isn’t showing up so well because of the wood-grain. So, I’m not excited about working on it. I chose the cutting board as a gift because I thought it would serve two purposes: 1. Meaningful Art – They love the two wolves image and also this Navajo wedding blessing. And 2. The other side is utilitarian because it’s a bamboo cutting board with a groove around the edge. Their wedding was last month…and I’m feeling like a slacker big sister. So, I really need to get this done.

The other horizontal piece is also a late gift. For my daughter-in-law’s birthday, which was…in March. Omg. I did start working on this back then. And I loved the way it was coming along. Until I didn’t. This portrait piece is composed of her two favorite photos of her parents…who both passed away years ago. I have never burned a personalized piece for her, so wanted to do something really special. But I’m not feeling like I’ve captured her mother’s face they way I’d like to. So, I stalled work on it. And haven’t been able to bring myself around to finishing it. Also, her dad’s hat…it’s one of those woven grass-types…so, a LOT of detail, where the texture is concerned. Which feels laborious. I might be able to pull off just coming up with some sort of stippling texture. But it’s a challenge I just haven’t really wanted to take on. So, this pyrography project is sitting in my “unfinished projects” pile on my workbench.

And Lastly: My Self-Portrait

If you follow me, you may know about the story behind this self-portrait. I had never done one before, so I thought it would be a fun “down time” pyrography project to take on. I had a spare piece of wood hanging around my workshop. So, I used that. And hadn’t noticed, until the art transfer was complete and I was working burning the outline…that there was a long, thin knot in the surface of the wood. And it just happened to fall right under my bottom lip. So, basically, it looked like a long line of drool was dripping from my mouth and down my chin. NOT a good look! LOL!  I tried shading it out with the burning tool. And that didn’t work. So, I tried sanding it off. Again, no luck. As it turns out, I had to use acrylic paint and then add some color to the lips in order to camouflage that defect. I think my fix worked pretty well. I just haven’t taken the time to completely finish it. But I will.

If you enjoyed this post, you might like to read THIS ONE ABOUT DUMBLEDORE…another piece still waiting to be finished! 😉