Wood Canvases and Sources
For a woodburning artist, wood is a precious commodity. Selecting a wood canvas over another reveals an artistic inclination and style. Each wood canvas has its distinctive features that can influence your design: wood colour variations, grain patterns and knots.
There’s a story behind each wood canvas that you use for your woodburning art. Where and how the tree was harvested can become a source of inspiration for your design. Your woodburning story will be intertwined with the source of your wood canvas.
Hardwoods versus softwoods
Wood is often classified into two categories: hardwoods and softwoods. Most hardwoods come from deciduous trees that shed their leaves annually such as birch, maple, aspen and basswood. Softwoods come from evergreen trees such as pine, cedar, fir and spruce.
Some hardwoods are “softer” than others. It’s easier to woodburn on a “soft” hardwood such as basswood, aspen, willow and poplar than on a hardwood like oak, walnut, maple or beech. Although it took a higher heat setting to mark my maple wood canvas with my hot wire tip, I was attracted to its creamy colour and slight pinkish grain colour. Its wood grain is mostly straight and fine.
Your hot wire tip will glide more easily across a hardwood that is soft. You can refer to The Wood Database to compare the hardness of hardwoods. Softwoods can be just as “hard” as hardwoods. The terms “hardwood” and “softwood” are therefore misleading when it comes to wood that is appropriate for woodburning.
The wood grain reveals the tree’s growth rings. Grain patterns are unique to each wood canvas. Wood can have a pronounced or understated grain pattern. Poplar, for example, is a light-coloured wood with an indistinct grain pattern.
The first wood I woodburned on was pine (a softwood) that was left over from a woodworking project. I didn’t realize at the time that pine is not the best wood to woodburn on. Even when sanded, a pine wood canvas will have variations in the grain texture that can result in uneven woodburned marks. As I was woodburning on pine, my wire tip came across pockets of resin that bubbled up and dampened the wood. I now avoid pine and other softwoods because woodburning on tree resin can be toxic and damage your wire tips.
After I had used up all the scrap lumber on hand, I turned to my local lumber store where I bought maple and poplar lumber (both hardwoods), with poplar being softer than maple. My lumber store didn’t have all the wood species I was yearning to woodburn on such as basswood, a popular wood with pyrography artists because of its light colour and subtle grain pattern.
Kiln-dried wood and sustainability
I always purchase wood that has been kiln dried to prevent my pyrography art from cracking, splitting or warping over time. Kiln drying removes moisture from the wood and kills insects, larvae and mold.
I’m also interested in knowing about the sustainability philosophy of those companies that produce the wood that I use for my pyrography art.
Choosing your wood canvas
When choosing a wood canvas for your woodburning project, you’ll want to consider its colour variation, grain pattern and softness. Some wood species have pronounced knots or wood grains. These can be worked into your design and add character to your pyrography art. After all, your canvas is made by nature with all its beautiful imperfections. The aspen rounds that I woodburn on have interesting wood grain patterns, knots and colour variations.
There is a vast selection of unfinished and kiln-dried hardwood to choose from for any of your woodburning projects. Some types of wood are more popular with pyrography artists such as basswood because of its light colour and subtle grain pattern. Basswood is a “soft” hardwood and readily available.
Light-coloured wood will provide better contrast than a dark-coloured wood for your woodburned marks. Having said that, some pyrography artists prefer to woodburn on darker woods. The wood you choose for your woodburning art will depend on your artistic and woodburning style.
If you intend to frame your pyrography art, you may want to select a wood canvas without bark. If you prefer a more natural or rustic look, you may opt for a wood canvas with bark (often referred to as a “live-edge”). Visit my online boutique and virtual pyrography art gallery to view my live-edge woodburning products and pyrography art.
I’ve come across lists of the most “popular” types of wood among pyrography artists. The “top ten” varies from one list to another, from one artist to another. Your preferred wood to woodburn on may evolve as you experiment with different species of wood. The wood you choose will become part of your woodburning brand.
Where to find or buy your wood canvases
Every pyrography artist has their preferred wood sources. Where you find your wood canvases will depend on the wood that’s available locally or that can be shipped to your location.
My source for basswood is my local Lee Valley store, where I can select among the wood canvases that are available onsite. Each basswood plank or round has its own unique grain pattern. I’ve also purchased basswood online, such as a basswood clock face and basswood picture frames. All the basswood that I’ve purchased at Lee Valley or online is made by Walnut Hollow in Wisconsin, U.S.A.
Some woodburning artists have access to local lumber yards or sawmills. If you have the right tools, you can saw the lumber yourself to the wood canvas size of your choice.
I purchased my birch and aspen rounds from Spirit of the Woods, in Maine, U.S.A. Both Spirit of the Woods and Walnut Hollow produce kiln-dried wood, which prevents the wood from cracking, splitting or warping. Aspen is somewhat “softer” to woodburn on than birch.
Choose the wood canvas that resonates with your woodburning style and personal values.
What not to woodburn on
In my blog on woodburning safety, I briefly mentioned that it’s unsafe to woodburn on sealed or treated wood. You should avoid woodburning on pallet wood, varnished wood, medium-density fibreboard (MDF) or any manufactured wood such as plywood that contains glue. Woodburning on these surfaces can release toxic fumes. For the same reason, you’ll want to avoid woodburning on lumber that has been pressure-treated with chemicals. Driftwood is also unsafe to woodburn on especially if it was drifting in a body of salt water.
I avoid woodburning on evergreen trees, such as pine, spruce, fir or cedar, given they produce resin. Woodburning on tree resin can be toxic and damage your wire tips. Unlike evergreens, deciduous trees (trees that shed their leaves annually) don’t produce resin and most are safe to woodburn on. Tree resin is different from sap, which both evergreen and deciduous trees produce.
Just to be safe, I only woodburn on unfinished and kiln-dried hardwood that I’ve purchased from a reliable and reputable source. It goes without saying that I don’t woodburn over any colour or finish that I’ve added to my pyrography products. It’s worth repeating that woodburning over pigments or finishes can be toxic.
Woodburn on wood that inspires you
While I don’t have a “top ten” list of my favourite wood, I’ve enjoyed woodburning on basswood, birch, aspen, maple and poplar. Some woodburning artists have mentioned they enjoy woodburning on willow and cherry wood. White willow is somewhat softer to woodburn on than American cherry wood. White willow is light in colour and has a subtle wood grain. American cherry varies from a light pinkish to reddish brown hue and has a fine wood grain.
If I could find a reputable and reliable source, I would be inclined to woodburn on white willow and American cherry wood.
What wood do you yearn to woodburn on?
Let your artistic soul be inspired by the natural beauty of wood!
