LITMIR.BIZ

      Other popular surfaces for pyrography include:

      • Maple

      • Italian poplar

      • Watercolor paper

      • Gourds

      • Leather

       Birch

      Birch is quite light, and it has an overall uniform appearance with minimal grain. It’s often sold in panels of a variety of thicknesses that are glued to thicker panels for support. If you choose to burn on birch panels, be sure you don’t burn deeply into the lower layers of glue. (As a personal rule, I never burn solid black backgrounds on any plywood-based wood to avoid releasing potentially toxic fumes.)

       Pine

      Pine is usually inexpensive and easy to find at most craft stores and lumberyards. However, it can be challenging to burn on. The heavy grain can cause your point to zig and zag, which makes it difficult to burn straight lines. Some artists have good luck burning on “kiln-dried” pine, but most pieces of pine that are readily available haven’t gone through this process. Therefore, pine contains a lot of pitch and creates a lot of smoke when burned on.

      If you choose to burn on pine, I recommend using a respirator suited for particulates or work in a well-ventilated area.

       Cherry

      Cherry is a beautiful wood that is quite soft. Even though the grain is very visible, the lines don’t interfere with the point of the burner. This wood burns on the darker side very easily, and lighter shading produces a slightly reddish tint.

      Because cherry is darker than other woods, adding paint or colored pencils after burning can produce amazingly vivid results.

       Butternut

      Much like cherry, butternut is also a darker wood and is quite soft. I find that it is well suited to darker subjects and it combines nicely with paint or colored pencils. These butternut slices are quite large, with some interesting knots and irregularities. I purchased these from a private supplier, but you can find them online from specialty lumberyards.