Results of the 2008 Wood burning Celebration

[Dangee's Pyrography]

Hello Everyone!

Well, here is the report of the 2008 Wood Burning Celebration at Cook Forest in Cooksburg, PA.

There were no plans as of last year to have another Celebration so it came as a surprise when The Sawmill Art Center said they planned on hosting another Wood burning Show. Brian Brubaker is the Programs
Coordinator at the Sawmill and was the Host and person in charge of the show.

I cannot take any credit for running the show other than coordinating the classes and instructors and advertising on the internet announcing the show. That being said, here is what went on during the show...

The artwork was awesome! I think it was a higher caliber of work this year. So many talented artists were there.

Best of Show winner was Stephen Caruana from Snyder, NY. His picture was a burning of a farmer...and I saw it in Chip Chats in the May issue on page 76. He also took Third Best of Show. Alex Yawor took Second Best of Show and Peoples Choice award doing a collage of different wildlife portraits.

Then there was the Lucia Pagniello Memorial Award. She frequented the Sawmill of the Arts Center where the show was held. Everyone knew her as "Doc" and she was not only a very good pyrographer but a carver as well. Dr. Nancy Rung was the judge for awarding this great honor upon an artist and she chose me (Danette Smith) for my rendering of "Ghost Riders in the Sky". I was very honored to accept the award.

The event attracted some of the best Pyrographers from the all over States and Canada. The attendance was smaller than last year, but with gas prices and travel, I expected as much. I spent four days there, which allowed me to enter the competition part of the show and see the awards, and do a bit of visiting with friends new and old.

The instructors were Don Worden, Sharon Bechtold, Cheryl Dow, Crystal Snook and myself.

I've got to say that I learned new ways of doing things in each seminar that I took. All were very informative!

Here is a highlight of the instructors that taught the seminars....
Don Worden : He demonstrated how to use the solid point burner and tips
and tricks that he uses. He showed how he burned a beautiful rose,
also fur and feathers, etc. Don also demonstrated outside of the classroom his technique for burning without electricity. Check out Don's website http://www.woodburningsbydon.com/


Sharon Bechtold : Pyrography Instructor ....
Her teaching approach is highly personalized encouraging her students not only to learn the methods but to find their own "voice" so that their art reflects their unique personality. She was a very interactive instructor. We all burned a portrait of a wolf in her class and when it was done Sharon let us pick out a frame for it. Check out Sharon's website-The Art of Fire

Cheryl Dow : She is a Featured Writer for the National Woodcarvers Magazine, Chip Chats. She taught a class burning on leather and had everyone do the head of an eagle. She then demonstrated how to add color on leather using oil pencils and liquin. Her students were then able to add color to their works. Check out Cheryl's website- http://www.cherylddow.com/

Crystal Snook- has been a Gourd Artisan since 2001.
She is the President of the PA Gourd Society which is the Chi Chapter of the American Gourd Society. In her class we learned how to measure a gourd using a flexible string and measuring tape... We did a basket-weave on the bottom half of the gourd and then added leaf patterns to the top half. Crystal also demonstrated coloring the gourds using leather dyes.

Danette Smith - I'm basically a self-taught pyrographer with 5 years experience. I am teaching classes in my workshop now. I attended the first Celebration last year and returned this year as an instructor.
In class I taught how to burn a carousel horse head on watercolor paper. We used several techniques for shading including pointillism. I used Strathmore Watercolor paper, 400 series, 140#weight, cold press.
Check out Danette's website-
http://www.dangeespyrography.com

Photos of the show can be seen in my Webshots Album...You will find the link to that at the end of my signature at the bottom of this letter.
Hugs, Danette (Dannie)
"Keep burning and learning © ™"

Danette Smith
Pyrographic Artist and Instructor

[Laura Redfern]

Dangee's Pyrography,
Thanks for all the info. I have never been to any kind of show like that. There has never been one close enough for me to be able to go.
Thanks,
Laura Redfern