PYROGRAPHY IS THE ORIGIN OF ALL ART-cont'd

James William Fosdick was born in Charleston, Massachusetts in 1858, and was called the "father of wood etching". He was the first artist to achieve intaglio, or incised lines in his pyrographic art. Fosdick attained a three dimensional effect using a line-etch method. He initially had used a blunt metal poker, as did his pyrographic predecessors, but he soon developed pyrographic tools of his own design. His first wood burning tool was an instrument similar to what doctors used, at that time, to cauterize wounds in order to stop bleeding. This tool was a glass bottle that contained a flammable liquid, such as naphtha, in a saturated sponge.

In the late 1800's the predominant combustible liquid was benzene. A pyrographic system was a corked bottle with two rubber hoses extending out. One short hose was connected to a rubber bulb, and looked much like a perfume atomizer. The other rubber hose was longer and had an attached hollow needle made out of platinum. The round bulb was used as a bellows, forcing air into the bottle, mixing with the fumes of the benzene and out through the hose with the platinum tip. The mixture was lighted at the end of the tip and a small stream of fire was expelled. The heat was intensified by pumping the bellows faster. This was a great improvement over the metal "poker" since the artist could work longer periods with a constant flame emanating from the platinum tip. Some of Fosdick's work can still be seen at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.

With the advent of electricity, all the appliances changed from residual heat taken from a separate source to a constant electrical supplied heat. The pressing iron, the curling iron "and" the soldering iron all became electrically controlled. The innovative pyrographer saw the soldering iron as a possible burning pen. With few adjustments in tip shapes and lengths, he created a burning pen. This type of burning pen is still used by many pyrographers today since the retention of heat makes a good shading pen in pyrographic art. Unfortunately, there are a lot of pens made in Asia that have a heat maximum of only 600 degrees Fahrenheit. There are some soldering iron types of pens made in the U.S. that will go up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit. Unfortunately, the drawback to this system is that it takes a long time to heat up and an even longer time to cool down.

  The first patent I found for wire tipped pens was issued on July 11, 1916. It was patent number 1,190,447 and issued to R. W. Munger and A. E. McGinley. The name of the patent was "Hot-Point Pen". This was the earliest wire tipped pen patent I found in my research. There may have been earlier ones issued to "soldering iron" burning pens or other earlier patents issued in other countries, but I have not found any.

This wire tipped pen was controlled by using a home made rheostat to restrict the current before it could enter the pen. There were many other methods of restricting the current: one was an electric light bulb put in the circuit. Different wattage bulbs were exchanged to reduce the electrical current which controlled the heat to the pen. Later on, rheostats and potentiometers were used for the same purpose.

A new breed of pyrographers developed, who were carvers of realistic animals and birds. Most contemporary carvers of the twentieth century recognize Lemuel and Samuel Ward of Maryland as the fathers of realistic duck decoy art. They used wire tipped pens to create the barb grooves and feather shafts on the realistic carved ducks. The result was an amazing likeness to a mounted bird. From this beginning, bird and animal carvers created some amazing realistic sculptures.

William Fuller Curtis was born in Richmond, Maine, U.S.A. in 1875. He did some relief carvings that were highlighted, shaded and burned, creating many tones in his works of art. He achieved marvelous effects with the alabaster and sepia tones.

In the United Kingdom, Edward and Eva Pinto owned a collection of pyrographic art. This accumulation can be seen at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in Birmingham, England.

There are several carver's museums in several cities of the United States, the largest and most famous being: The Ward Foundation Museum in Salisbury, Maryland, USA Another is in San Simeon, California, USA, supported by the California Carver's Guild. There is another in the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, USA, sponsored by the South Suburban Chiselers. I am sure there are quite a lot more.

Modern artists have used pyrography on all kinds of unusual media. They have burned pictures on wood: they have created realistic feathers, fur and scales on carvings; they have burned three dimensional pictures on leather; they have burned pictures on plastic, tree fungus, wooden eggs, heavy paper, velvet, buckskin and any other pyrographically acceptable material. One of the fastest growing art forms of today is burning on gourds. This puts two primeval undertakings together: the origin of art (pyrography) and the first of nature's vessels and utensils (gourds). Unknowingly, this seems to be a subliminal primitive deja vu, functioning under the threshold of consciousness.

Pyrography has been enhanced by color. Many burned gourds have been painted and decorated with lacings, beads, stones and relief designs. The realistic wood carvings have had color added to the burnings. The ideas seem endless.

The largest wood carver's organizations in the United States is the National Wood Carver's Association, located at 7424 Miami Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA 45243. They produce a magazine called Chip Chats, six times a year, which is included with their membership fee. This magazine is very informative on all types of wood carving, burning, painting, etc. It's a real bargain! I have been writing articles on "Burning Techniques" in Chip Chats for over 18 years. My friend, Edward F. Gallenstein, is the editor and has done a yeoman's job over the years, mostly as a labor of love, producing this informative missive. I advise you to subscribe.

I strongly recommend you join a local burning or carving club. These organizations are full of people with like interests, and they can give you all kinds of help and information. Clubs are a good place to find out about shows, seminars, special classes and schools in your area. Happy burning!

*** Robert E. Boyer***

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