Western Roots by Marsha Wilson
January 4 – February 20, 2019
RECEPTION: Friday, January 4, 2019
Pyrography, from the Latin fire and writing, is the technique of making art on a surface with heated metal. I use mainly photographs to create my art on wood, paper, and leather. I use the woodburning pen much like a pencil or stick of charcoal to draw with heat. Images with strong lines, dramatic shadows, or intense texture work well with this toasting medium. Variations in color are achieved by keeping the heated tip longer in one place for darker tones and moving it faster for lighter shades.
I started experimenting with this technique in 2008. At the time, I only did solid silhouettes and Typography. Through much experience and finding instruction on YouTube, I learned to shade. Then I discovered it worked well on Bristol Board and the amount of variation that could be achieved increased.
Using such a simple tool to reproduce almost life like images has been a journey of self-discovery. As a self taught artist at 50, I am discovering an artist inside me that I did not think existed. In the past my art career had to take a back seat to being a missionaries wife, raising and schooling five daughters.
To have my art shown in galleries and get positive comments from artists whose work is astounding both humbles and emboldens me to produce more.
-Marsha Wilson