[Lindy]

Hi everyone, it sure is good to see this site up and running again - I certainly missed it.

I have 2 more purses to show you. The first is completed and was a total experiment. I did burn the flowers on - courtesy of Susan Irish pattern - then I tried to paint/stain around the flowers. That didn't work that well since my blocker didn't block! So I had to paint the flowers as well. This purse ended up with me sponging the colour on for the background. This one is for Mom and she's happy with it.

The second one is a work in progress and it's my first attempt at a Common Loon. This one will not be painted or stained, just left natural. I still need to line the purse and then stitch it together.

Thanks for letting me share and as always your comments and critiques are more than welcome!

Lindy

[Mottles]

Lindy, they both look great and I like the Loon nice purse style too. Are you using leather dyes?
Kathy

[Lindy]

Hi Kathy,

Thank you! So far I'm buying the actual purse kit from Tandy's and for the greenish one I bought the acrylic paints that are for leather from Tandy's as well. I'm going to try using wax to block the burning next time to see if I can keep from getting the paint or stain soaking into that area. I have a lot of experimenting yet to do with this, but so far I like what I'm seeing for results.

I haven't abandoned the other materials, I'm just playing and trying to develop something new - to me. The heat settings for leather are so low that if you tried to use those same setting on wood it would be really hard to see any burn at all! And yet paper is set so much higher than wood. It's kinda fun being in this discovery stage - almost like being a little kid seeing things for the first time. Okay so I'm just a big kid.

[stickman]

very nice , leather always facinated me I once had a nine week course in high school and it was a blast.About a year ago I seen a suit case with a bunch(it was totaly full ) of leather tools in for sale at a flea market . The guy wanted 75$ for it and I passed it up.I've been kicking myself ever since.

[Alice in Wonderland]

Lindy, your burnings are beautiful
I can see that you can burn very dark??? I am still looking for a method to darken hair so it looks dark,oily and stringy and it could just be that burning might do this. Do you think so?
Alice

[Lindy]

Hi Alice,

Thank you! Yes burning can allow you to get the depth you're looking for. You need to make sure that you're not burning too hot or you will scorch the wood. It is better to use a lower temperature and burn slower and in layers to get the depth you're looking for. Remember that you need to light to show as a highlight which will really make the darker tones stand out. You also need to make sure you're getting your mid-tones in as well. Take a look at a pencil drawing and look at the tones, if you look close enough you'll see many tonal values even though it is all in the same colour. That's what you're aiming for with your pyrography. Susan might be able to explain this better on the forum than I can, I'm better showing people how to do it that writing it out.

Stickman - thank you as well for your kind comments.

I've finished the Loon purse and I'll get a picture taken right away. I've also completed a card wallet in leather which I'll post at the same time.

Thanks for letting me share.

Lindy

[wood-whittler]

lindy,


the purses look great, how is the leg doing? really like your stuff you make useful stuff with your art and that is neat.


bart

[Alice in Wonderland]

Thanks Lindy ,even so at this point I am trying to make sense out of what you are trying to tell me:-)))))))) I am really a nit wit at this, I have been rereading and put everything in to my head ( to old ) my little burning tool is just that, will it work?
Thanks again Alice

[Lindy]

Hi Bart - the clots are getting better. I don't need daily injections any more, now we're just working at getting my blood levels stabilized using warfarin (yes rat poison - ). The clots themselves will take up to a year to dissolve, but at least its being treated and the pain levels are way down. Some of the side effects of the meds are a little annoying, but I can live with them and l think live is the key word. My doctors feels that prior to treatment the clots were doing a "cascade effect" which is where miniscule particles were breaking off and "cascading" into my heart and lungs. Fortunately I was able to get treatment before anything really large broke off. So I'm getting better and will continue to. Thank you for asking.

Hi Alice - I'm going to assume that you are using a single temperature burner. When you are using a burner that doesn't have the ability to set temperatures then what will be important to you is to learn how to move the burner quickly, barely touching the wood in order to obtain a light burn and by adjusting how quick your stroke is in combination with how much you are actually touching the wood will give you different tonal values. When I'm referring to tonal value the best way to explain it is again using a pencil. Take your pencil and lightly shade from white all the way to black in a long line. There are a lot of shades of grey before you get to the black or coming back from black before you get to white. By using the different shades of grey you are able to create depth and motion. When you want to show the darkest shade of black you would have white beside it and visa versa to show highlight. If you want it to have different depths, or texture you would use more shades of colour. Draw a fence post, decide where your light source is, let's say for now it's on the left. On the far right side of the post shade this absolutely black, as you move to the middle start shading it lighter with the left off-center left white. On the left side of the post shade it a medium grey and move to the white area lightening your tone as you move through. When you're done you will have created a cylindrical object that started out as simply 4 lines and flat as can be. Does that help you? If not let me know and I'll see what I can find that would be of more assistance to you. One of the things I suggest to my students is to buy a really basic book on "How to Draw" as it helps you discover where your shadows should be and how to shade. Once you understand that, then it really helps you with your pyrography.

Regards,
Lindy
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[Lindy]

Hi again Alice,

I made these really quick drawings to try and demonstrate what I mean on shading. I really hope they help you.

Lindy