Читать книгу Woodburning with Style - Simon Easton - Страница 17

A piece of wood was once alive, perhaps part of a sturdy oak or an elegant willow tree. It is easy for people to look at a knot or similar mark as an unsightly blemish or fault, but this is mainly due to the smooth perfection of other manmade materials we are surrounded with on a day-to-day basis, such as plastics or metal. The tree existed and, therefore, has a history of its life. Each mark may be the result of a hard winter, a lightning strike during a bad storm, the loss of a branch, or an insect habitation. If you think of knots as unique design features instead of blemishes, a world of possibilities opens up. Many other common and uncommon “blemishes” of wood can be used in your designs. Splits, cracks, the swirling grain of a burl, small holes created by burrowing insects, and the dark irregular marks of spalting (showing the progress of a fungus inside the log) can all become useful and desirable design elements.

Knots are a natural feature of wood. Some people see them as an imperfection on a working surface but their appearance can be used to your advantage at times.

Spalting, caused by fungus, can create beautiful and interesting black lines in wood.

There is a massive range of wooden craft blanks available to buy for pyrography use. Visit your local arts and crafts store, or look for online retailers that will ship directly to your address.