Art of Fire Pattern Packet
Sharon Bechtold©2011
Pattern size for 4x6 wood
Level 2 Beginner Pattern Chickadee
Art of Fire Pattern Packet
Sharon Bechtold©2011
Contour Map of Feather Directions
Chickadee - Pattern
Sharon Bechtold©2011
Chickadee - Burning Sample
Sharon Bechtold©2011
For more patterns of my original designs, online tutorials, and information on workshops, online classes, and DVDs, please visit my website at www.BurningwithSharon.com. (630)453-9520
Level 2 Beginner Pattern – Chickadee What you will need to make this project…. Ball Pen Skew Pen Shader Pen Burning Wood – project was designed to be burned on a 3 ½ x 5 piece of wood Transfer Paper (graphite or Chacopaper - a blue water-based transfer paper) Scrap wood to practice on – make sure it is the same kind of wood as your project
1. Resize (if necessary) your pattern and cut it out. It should be smaller than your work surface so that you can properly align it. 2. Tape it on one end so that you have a flap. Slide your transfer paper between the wood and the pattern, making sure that the graphite/transfer color is facing your wood. 3. Trace the pattern lines and be sure to check that the transfer is going on your wood. Correct any areas on your final transfer lightly with a pencil. Check the eye to be sure that it has a nice rounded shape. Practicing… 4. Use a scrap piece of wood to practice working with the skew pen. The skew is designed like a knife and should be used in the same manner. This means it is directional, just as you would not attempt to cut steak by dragging the knife blade sideways on the meat, you should not attempt to burn in this manner either. Pull the blade gently guiding it where you want to burn, let the heat do the work (like a hot knife through butter). Below are some general tips that may help… · Slice the Pen across the wood using very light pressure. This will help your lines to have a clean appearance. · Too much pressure will create trenches in the wood that will make the pen difficult to control. · Slow down, a smooth even flow will give your burns consistent coloring. · “Land” your pen like an airplane and” take off “like an airplane. This keeps your pen moving and lessens the possibility of inconsistent lines which result from hesitation. · Adjust your heat so that the speed is comfortable for you. ·
For curves, you may need to “Land” and “Take off” a number of times. Don’t be afraid to connect these line segments in order to create smooth curves. 5. Now take out your shader pen. This pen works like an iron and is meant to glide over the surface of the wood in smooth flat strokes. Below are some general tips that may help… · “Land” your pen like an airplane and” take off “like an airplane. · Go slower to get a darker color and faster for a lighter burn. · Keep the burner flat to avoid lines and streaks from the edges of the burner. 6. The last pen is the ball pen. Use this like a ball point pen. Below are some general tips that may help… · Too much pressure will burn holes into your wood (spotting). · Slow down, a smooth even flow will give your burns consistent coloring. · “Land” your pen like an airplane and” take off like an airplane”. This keeps your pen moving and lessens the possibility of spotting which results from hesitation marks. · Practice no more than 15 minutes, any longer than that and you are wasting your time… get to work! Design and Instructions are Copyrighted by Sharon Bechtold © 2011. www.BurningwithSharon.com 630-453-9520
Now on to the project…
1. Begin burning the eye with the skew. You will burn this tight circle with a “touch down technique” which will be a series of tiny dashes burned close together to form a clean tight line. -Set your skew on a low setting and touch your tip to the surface of the wood at the angle you wish to burn then immediately lift off. -The pen is perpendicular to the wood and will look like a sewing machine needle during this process. The pen should not move on the surface of the wood. -Use only whatever surface of the pen you need for the length of the line. For example, use the very tip for a short line or the body of the curved blade for a longer line. -Again… touch and lift. Then turn your wood and repeat the process until you come full circle. 2. Take out your shader and darken the pupil of the eye leaving the highlight unburned. Keep the burns smooth. 3. Using a skew outline the beak then shade in. 4. Change back to the skew and proceed to make short feathery or “comma” like strokes as shown on the burned sample. Follow the lines given on the contour map to give your woodburning a 3 dimensional appearance. 5. Relax and enjoy the process, you have a lot of feathers to burn. Use somewhat irregular strokes to give a natural appearance. And don’t be afraid to turn the board if you need to. 6. Continue burning the body of the bird adjusting your heat for lighter or darker areas. Go ahead and change to the shader to go over the black and shadowed areas if you need. 7. Use the skew and shader to complete the feet. 8. Outline the flower lightly with the ball pen. Switch to the shader to give the flower form as shown. 9. To burn the branch, turn the heat up on your shader and pull irregular lines along the length of the branch. You can tilt the burner slightly to achieve the effect of a harder edge. Make some marks darker than others to get the feel of bark. 10. To apply color you can mix a very light wash of Alizarin Crimson watercolor and dab lightly on the flower. 11. Burn lighter than you think you need to, you can always darken it up later. 12. Finish it up and sign your name!
Design and Instructions are Copyrighted by Sharon Bechtold © 2011. www.BurningwithSharon.com 630-453-9520
Pattern size for 4x6 wood
Level 2 Beginner Pattern Chickadee
Art of Fire Pattern Packet
Sharon Bechtold©2011
Contour Map of Feather Directions
Chickadee - Pattern
Sharon Bechtold©2011
Chickadee - Burning Sample
Sharon Bechtold©2011
For more patterns of my original designs, online tutorials, and information on workshops, online classes, and DVDs, please visit my website at www.BurningwithSharon.com. (630)453-9520
Level 2 Beginner Pattern – Chickadee What you will need to make this project…. Ball Pen Skew Pen Shader Pen Burning Wood – project was designed to be burned on a 3 ½ x 5 piece of wood Transfer Paper (graphite or Chacopaper - a blue water-based transfer paper) Scrap wood to practice on – make sure it is the same kind of wood as your project
1. Resize (if necessary) your pattern and cut it out. It should be smaller than your work surface so that you can properly align it. 2. Tape it on one end so that you have a flap. Slide your transfer paper between the wood and the pattern, making sure that the graphite/transfer color is facing your wood. 3. Trace the pattern lines and be sure to check that the transfer is going on your wood. Correct any areas on your final transfer lightly with a pencil. Check the eye to be sure that it has a nice rounded shape. Practicing… 4. Use a scrap piece of wood to practice working with the skew pen. The skew is designed like a knife and should be used in the same manner. This means it is directional, just as you would not attempt to cut steak by dragging the knife blade sideways on the meat, you should not attempt to burn in this manner either. Pull the blade gently guiding it where you want to burn, let the heat do the work (like a hot knife through butter). Below are some general tips that may help… · Slice the Pen across the wood using very light pressure. This will help your lines to have a clean appearance. · Too much pressure will create trenches in the wood that will make the pen difficult to control. · Slow down, a smooth even flow will give your burns consistent coloring. · “Land” your pen like an airplane and” take off “like an airplane. This keeps your pen moving and lessens the possibility of inconsistent lines which result from hesitation. · Adjust your heat so that the speed is comfortable for you. ·
For curves, you may need to “Land” and “Take off” a number of times. Don’t be afraid to connect these line segments in order to create smooth curves. 5. Now take out your shader pen. This pen works like an iron and is meant to glide over the surface of the wood in smooth flat strokes. Below are some general tips that may help… · “Land” your pen like an airplane and” take off “like an airplane. · Go slower to get a darker color and faster for a lighter burn. · Keep the burner flat to avoid lines and streaks from the edges of the burner. 6. The last pen is the ball pen. Use this like a ball point pen. Below are some general tips that may help… · Too much pressure will burn holes into your wood (spotting). · Slow down, a smooth even flow will give your burns consistent coloring. · “Land” your pen like an airplane and” take off like an airplane”. This keeps your pen moving and lessens the possibility of spotting which results from hesitation marks. · Practice no more than 15 minutes, any longer than that and you are wasting your time… get to work! Design and Instructions are Copyrighted by Sharon Bechtold © 2011. www.BurningwithSharon.com 630-453-9520
Now on to the project…
1. Begin burning the eye with the skew. You will burn this tight circle with a “touch down technique” which will be a series of tiny dashes burned close together to form a clean tight line. -Set your skew on a low setting and touch your tip to the surface of the wood at the angle you wish to burn then immediately lift off. -The pen is perpendicular to the wood and will look like a sewing machine needle during this process. The pen should not move on the surface of the wood. -Use only whatever surface of the pen you need for the length of the line. For example, use the very tip for a short line or the body of the curved blade for a longer line. -Again… touch and lift. Then turn your wood and repeat the process until you come full circle. 2. Take out your shader and darken the pupil of the eye leaving the highlight unburned. Keep the burns smooth. 3. Using a skew outline the beak then shade in. 4. Change back to the skew and proceed to make short feathery or “comma” like strokes as shown on the burned sample. Follow the lines given on the contour map to give your woodburning a 3 dimensional appearance. 5. Relax and enjoy the process, you have a lot of feathers to burn. Use somewhat irregular strokes to give a natural appearance. And don’t be afraid to turn the board if you need to. 6. Continue burning the body of the bird adjusting your heat for lighter or darker areas. Go ahead and change to the shader to go over the black and shadowed areas if you need. 7. Use the skew and shader to complete the feet. 8. Outline the flower lightly with the ball pen. Switch to the shader to give the flower form as shown. 9. To burn the branch, turn the heat up on your shader and pull irregular lines along the length of the branch. You can tilt the burner slightly to achieve the effect of a harder edge. Make some marks darker than others to get the feel of bark. 10. To apply color you can mix a very light wash of Alizarin Crimson watercolor and dab lightly on the flower. 11. Burn lighter than you think you need to, you can always darken it up later. 12. Finish it up and sign your name!
Design and Instructions are Copyrighted by Sharon Bechtold © 2011. www.BurningwithSharon.com 630-453-9520
