E-Museum of Pyrographic Art
Directory
Pyrography Tools and Techniques
Back to E-Museum Entrance
Welcome!
Today's Pyrographic Tools, A look at some of the tools used by pyrographers today with links wherever possible to sources.
Unlikely Pyrographic Tools, are tools of many kinds, such as nails, blowtorch, magnifying lens, matches, candles, and more, used by artists for various reasons and effects. They are described in the Special Hall of the E-Museum and link from there to those artists' respective salons.
 |
Les Arts du Feu: LA PYROGRAVURE
(The Arts of Fire: PYROGRAPHY)
The French term "les arts du feu" refers to any of the arts that rely on fire in one way or another, such as china painting and ceramics, glass work, and gold jewelry, as well as pyrography.
The picture above shows a woman in Victorian times using a standard pyrography enthusiast's benzene-fueled tool with a hand bellows.
Digital image from an antique postcard advertisement
|
Antique Tools, a comprehensive exhibit showing how pyrographers from the past used to work.
See what the Flemish Art Company's Factory
used to look like in the early 1900's and take an imaginary tour with the company's president, M. B. Baer.
J. William Fosdick's Thermo Pyrography Tool, is an exhibit featuring an 1894 article by this artist in Art Interchange magazine. In it is a photograph of the artist posing with his gigantic tool. He offers a detailed explanation of the tool's use and expresses a desire that in the not too distant future there will be electric tools and no more fumes from the naphtha associated with the use of the thermo-cautery tool adapted for pyrography.
Patty Prather Thum's Electric Pyrography Tool, is an exhibit featuring an 1894 letter to the editor of the Art Interchange magazine. It was written—and illustrated with two drawings— by this famous 19th Century painter, as a response to the article described above by J. Wm. Fosdick, in the previous issue that year. In her letter, Patty Thum talks about the merits of the electric pyrography tool, which, by her own account, she invented circa 1891— a quarter century before a tool of this type was patented for the first time.
NEWSFLASH! August 2008: An earlier, handwritten letter from Patty Thum has revealed new information about the circumstances of her invention of an ELECTRIC pyrography tool.
Lawrence Willmore Pennington's Electric Pyrography Tool, is an exhibit featuring a 1907 account of this artist stating that he invented an electric pyrography tool in 1894.
By J. Harry Adams is an excellent 2-page illustrated article entitled "PYROGRAPHY", page 716 and also page 717, which he wrote for youngsters in the 19th Century. Published in New York in May of 1897 for a magazine called Harper's Round Table, it offers an explanation of how to work on a pyrography project, including how to make and use basic hand tools. Noticeably lacking are today's concerns for safety and requirements for adult supervision for youngsters working with shop tools and over an open flame.
A 10-page chapter entitled Pyrography or Burnt-Wood Etching was published in 1893 in a book entitled Amateur Art by Henri Clarise. It offers a good overview of the history and uses of the art form followed by a thoughtful explanation of materials needed, woods recommeded, tools, and interesting techniques.
By Mrs. Maud Maude is an excellent 2-page illustrated article in The Delineator Magazine entitled The Art of Pyrography or Poker-Work—No. 1 published in 1892 in England. It does an excellent job introducing the technique and detailing the use of the benzine tool.
An excellent chapter on Pyrography by L. E. Kelley is in her book 300 Things A Bright Girl Can Do.
It explains the use of the early tools, and offers projects and designs.
By Fred Miller is an enjoyable, well illustrated chapter entitled "Poker Work on Wood and Leather", chapter XIII, pages 224–232 in his 248-page book Art Crafts for Amateurs, published by Truslove, Hanson & Comba, Ld., in 1901.
In his pyrography chapter, he discusses works at the Paris Salon of 1900. He also references a design for carving found elsewhere in his book that can be applied to poker work, Vine No. 7, p. 16. And in his chapter on "Bookbinding and Leather Work," he notes in the caption that the design for Wall Hangings, No. 78 on p. 115, can readily be applied to poker work, as well.
Tool. A curious note regarding Fred Miller's chapter is that he refers to the pyrography tool with the misnomer "pyrometer" which is a term that instead defines a machine for measuring the expansion of metals by heat.
You are leaving the
Pyrographic Tools and Techniques exhibit.
Continue your stay at the E-Museum
with a visit to:
More Pyrographic Art Exhibit Halls:
© 1998, 1999, 2007, 2008, 2009 Kathleen M. Garvey Menéndez
Last update 25 April 2009.
Back to E-Museum Entrance homepage
This page hosted by
Get your own Free Home Page
|
|
