When Isabella Robbins creates pyrographic art, pieces of wood are her canvas.
The Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School student has spent the last year and a half experimenting with pyrography. Using a wood-burning kit, she enjoys burning designs of animals, landscapes and flowers into wood and bone. Robbins said it’s just the natural next step from drawing with a pencil and piece of paper.
“I’ve always been a drawer ever since I was a little kid, that was all I did with my time, fitness stuff and drawing. Drawing is just calming and it’s a nice hobby to do. I would rather be sitting around drawing than on my phone,” Robbins, 16, said. “Sometimes, when I’m tired, I can’t sleep so I just sit there and draw.”
Over the years Robbins has experimented with many forms of art including painting and tattoo designing. Several of her friends and family, including her grandmother, have gotten designs she’s drawn inked onto their bodies. It wasn’t until she tried wood burning, however, that she found her true artistic passion.
Robbins first got into pyrography because of her grandfather. An avid woodworker, she said he lives near a factory in Saskatchewan that makes the Razertip Wood Burner. For her 2021 Christmas present Robbins said he chose to buy her a Razertip so she could give the art form a try.
“I started using it and I was really slow at first. I slowly got into more detailed stuff and I was like ‘wow, I like this,” Robbins said. “At first it said don’t go past a certain temperature but now I use past that temperature and it works way better for me.”
After getting over her initial skepticism, Robbins quickly began to appreciate her new tool. Rather than switch out her pen’s tip she prefers to use the basic one for everything, noting that so long as the heat is right she can sketch fine details into the wood.
Robbins said that she also had to learn which kinds of wood were the best to burn. She has found that hardwoods like walnut are the best, providing her Razertip the right level of resistance softer woods can’t provide.
Each piece she does starts out as a sketch in pencil firs, Robbins noting she’s not quite confident enough yet to free hand.
“I love the start when I’m starting to draw the piece out. Everything looks so bad and I love to see how far it goes. I’ll go from a deer looking like some sort of messed up dog-horse to actually looking like a deer,” Robbins said.
As she began to produce more and more pyrographic pieces Robbins said she decided to start sharing them with the world. To that end, she launched her own website Smokin’ Designs and has been posting pictures of her art at isabellarobbins030.wixsite.com/smokindesigns.
“Pyrography is getting bigger but it’s not as big as other art forms so I know people think it’s interesting and like to see it.”
At PSO she said several of her teachers and fellow students have asked her to teach them how to wood burn. In the broader community, she has done several commissions and charges based on the time it takes her and if her client donates some wood.
Robbins said she intends to keep wood burning for years to come. That being said, she doesn’t intend to turn it into a full-time career, noting that could make her lose her passion for it. She encourages others to give wood burning a try if they have a passion for drawing or woodworking.
“People should always try new things. Even if (you’re like me) and at the start you’re like ‘I don’t know about this, this is not quite for me’ keep going and maybe you’ll find it’s something you’re interested in.”
Anyone looking to get in contact with Robbins is encouraged to email her at bella_robbins0308@outlook.com.
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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