CONTENTS
Page One:
Leah Comerford: Through Rose Colored Glasses
Page Two:
Jan Farrar: Pooch Portraits
Bob Boyer: New Internet Free Art School
Jim Widess: New Gadgets for Gourds
David Wickenden's 9/11 Proposal
Page Three:
Peter Drewett: Homage to Joan Kerr
Sharon H. Garvey: Calligraphy for a Crucifix
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Jake |
British pyrographic artist Jan Farrar resides in West Yorkshire. Jan was always a
dog lover but never had any dogs as a child; however, she certainly made
up for it once she had the chance. Up until recently when, because of
health problems, she has had to slow down, she was keeping five dogs of
various types. One of these is Jake, shown in the image above.
Jan was not available for a second interview but Sue Burne recounted the
following about her dear friend, whom she has gotten to know quite well
through the UKPyros chat room:
"Jan has lived on her own for some time but her beloved five dogs
were her 'children'. Before disability made it impossible for her to
work, she worked in an office, but she was also a qualified and
experienced dog trainer and judge.
One of her own dogs was trained as a helper dog. Robbie could pick
things up for Jan and do a lot of little things to help her. Her tiny
miniature poodle Dodi used to do his best to copy and used to rush to be
first to pick up dropped pencils, etc.!!!" Before her plans were
interrupted, Jan had started to train Jake as Robbie's eventual
replacement.
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Jan Farrar |
Jan had been working with dogs already for many years when in September
2001 she discovered a new passion in pyrographic art. Motivated by her
love for her many dogs, she started applying her newfound art form to
the creation of portraits of them.
Jan ultimately chose the Optima pyro tool to work with and notes that
the variable temperature control gives her 'a wider choice of depth of
the burn'. Although she enjoys combining her love for animals with her
pyrography, she points out that it does take patience. She says that an
average dog portrait of 8 inches by 10 inches can take her up to 20
hours to complete. Because she burns each hair individually, it takes
her longer to do some, depending on their type of coat. And the color
of their coats can determine whether she renders their portraits in
pyroengraving alone or adds color.
|
Huskey |
Jan has been one of the more active on-line participants at the IAPA
message board, and enjoys very much the exchange of information and the
sense of community she finds there and with another group, the lively
UKPyros where she and Sue Burne became friends. Jan's sweet nature and
sense of fairness, added to her enthusiasm for the topic, make her a
greatly valued member at IAPA. She can facilitate the group through the
inevitable rough spots and can gently steer the conversation back to
pyrography.
Jan particularly mentioned the inspiration, encouragement, and expert
advice she has received since the outset from two pyrographic artists
who, like her, love doing pyrographs of animals: Sue Walters of
Australia and Lynda Eaves of Canada.
|
Pug |
It has just been a little over two years since Jan Farrar started trying
out pyrography. In that short time, she not only learned the technique,
but showed a real talent for doing animal portraits. And not only does
she do portraits of her own dogs for her own pleasure, she does more to
sell at shows and on the internet. In addition, she has accepted
commissions, working from photographs of her clients' cherished pets.
In the short time that she has been doing pyrographic art and animal
portraits, Jan has established a significant internet presence for
herself as well. Her works can be viewed at the Janik site at www.pyrography.co.uk
and Pyro Pets at www.dogdom.freeserve.co.uk/pyropets
as well as her own on-line photo album.
In her portraits, Jan Farrar has achieved more than a likeness--she has
captured the soul of her subjects.
|
Bob Boyer |
Bob Boyer has recently inaugurated a new website Free Art
School. "In the first phase," he says, "we are
offering everything on pyrography."
The website www.freeartschool.com like his
well known and still popular book The Amazing Art of
Pyrography published some years ago, starts off with his History of
Pyrography, Pyrographic Equipment (with explanations of the pen
functions of the Detail Master pyro tool that he has been promoting for
many years), and Pyrographic Techniques. (The first lesson--on how to
detail bird feathers--is ready to view. He also shows a new pyrographic
art form he calls "ImaginArt." "This can be interesting
to the more inventive artist," Bob says. In addition, he shows how
he uses pyrographic pens to create scraper (scratch) art.) The Free Art
School website is still under construction, but it's all set up to offer
Creativity, Best of Email, and Other Art Forms in the near future.
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Gourd Drill™
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Gourd Saw™
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Transfer Tip
|
Gourds are indeed one of nature's wonders. Like wood, they offer
functionality and utility. Like wood, they are both beautiful unto
themselves and appealing as an inspiration and a naturally sculptural
substrate for artistic expression. Their ever growing popularity is not
hard to understand.
Tools especially for working on and with those unusual, unpredictable
curved surfaces were bound to come along with that popularity. And two
brand new ones--the Gourd Drill™ and the Gourd Saw™--have just
arrived for that purpose. Also shown above is a third item that looks
as though it might come in handy for some kinds of pattern
transferring--the Hot Tool Transfer Tip.
I had been wondering what sorts of things one might use to create some
of those curious effects artists have so much fun thinking up for this
little marvel of the vegetable world. When I learned of the two new
gadgets that Jim Widess is offering, I decided to go check out some of
the possibilities and was astonished to find how many gadgets and gizmos
were available at his website The
Caning Shop to help gourd artists work with this curious gift of
nature that is the gourd. Click on the link and see for yourself.
|
Model of the proposed 9/11
memorial |
As a Canadian firefighter, it is more than understandable why David
Wickenden would be moved to create a pyrographic memorial to the
firefighters, police, and victims who fell to the terrorist attacks of
what has come to be called 9/11. Nevertheless, it must have been an
enormously difficult decision. It was a huge commitment to do something
he'd
never tried before--to submit a formal proposal for a major monument
in a worldwide competition. He designed various components--The
Wall,
The Pentagon, The Tower Footprints, and The Final Resting Place--for the
Pentagon and the World Trade Center North and South Towers. The project
was designed with many interactive elements. He wrote, "The most
important component of this proposal is the Wall."
This project was a gargantuan undertaking. Keep in mind that David is a
family man and a firefighter, so all of this had to be done in his 'free
time'. Relive David's effort through his process, interspersed with his
comments, which are recorded in detail on his own website Northern
Illusions at www.northernillusions.com.
Here are some excerpts from it:
"As with anyone else who witnessed the tragic events surrounding
911 and the WTC, we can remember precisely what we were doing at the
moment we first heard about the attacks. For David, he was playing with
his three month old son, Daniel when instead of "Barney" on
television, he was greeted by the mind numbing images of September 11,
2001.
"Watching the towers fall, I knew instinctively that many of my
fire fighter brothers had perished under the rubble and the idea for a
memorial was sparked."
"Over the next year, David sent his proposal to business and
government officials trying to get some feedback and/or sponsorship. In
the Spring of 2003, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation
announced the world wide competition for the 911 Memorial and following
a strict set of rules and guidelines David began to put his ideas on
paper. During this time, his wife Gina would give birth to their son,
Ian David on May 6th and both Gina and the baby would be in a motor
vehicle accident which would see Gina in a leg cast. David would work
on his proposal in between feedings, taking care of Gina, Adam, Daniel
and Ian, house cleaning."
"It was the most exhausting and stressful time of my life, but was
I alive!"
"Although, he was unsuccessful with his proposal, David sees this
work as his most important to date. It has taught him the importance of
detail and of presentation detail. The pictures . . . cover
approximately 1/3 of a sheet of birch plywood. David plans to continue
with the project."
|
Merged Burnings |
Ironically, although David's 9/11 Proposal did not meet with success, he
has been offered a large commission to do 20 historic panels for two
churches that are merging. Look for that story in a future
Pyrograffiti.
As this article goes to press, another horrific terrorist attack has
just taken place--this time in Spain.
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Click here to go back to page one
2004, Kathleen M. Garvey Menéndez, all rights reserved.
