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Roosterick Designs Navajo spindle |
The word pyrography literally means “writing with fire” and derives from the Greek pur (fire) and graphos (writing). During my art school years I focused on pen and ink drawing and find working with my pyrography equipment to be similar. Rick bought me an Optima 1 Dual Burner a while back, which I love. The pens are wonderful to work with, the foam grips make holding the pen extremely comfortable, and the choice of tip style is quite extensive. I own seven different tips with which I can achieve a large range of tones and shades by varying the type of tip used, the temperature, or the way the iron is applied to the wood (or gourd). After many years of working as a layout editor and sitting behind a computer constantly, I’m enjoying my renaissance as a pyrographer (although one could argue that there is something sublime in creating beautiful layouts for publications, too).
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Navajo spindles by Rick with designs by Georgianne |
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Woodturning by Mike, Pyrography by Georgianne |
Rick's brother Mike is a woodturner from the San Diego area who specializes in hollow vessels, most of which are natural edge pieces made from unique burls, but he also turns bowls, including thin, natural edge open bowls, off balance asymmetrical pieces, hollow forms with “wings,” and sculptural forms. (For more about Mike, please read his bio.) We began collaborating about a year ago.
Our pieces have been in and/or sold through the DelMano Gallery, the Mingei International Museum's Collector's Gallery, and privately. Insanity, a piece that took me close to 60 hours to "burn," won fourth place at the Design In Wood competition.
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Insanity, 4th place, Design In Wood |