Much like the elements of our world must be in a state of balance, in order for us to survive the elements of our lives must be in balance as well.
Earth
We rely on the earth to provide us with so much. Food, for substance; Plants, for oxygen; raw materials to provide us with shelter and so much more. In much the same way I rely on the earth to provide me with the medium for which I do my work.
Every piece of wood that we use to fashion our creations is a symbol of the earth from which it grew. This can be an exotic piece of wood like spalted maple or zebrawood to locally sourced willow oak or sycamore. Often times it is the true beauty of the things around us that shine the brightest.
Water
As beautiful as the things are around us, and as rich the stories are that they speak, it is only through imagery that we can truly tell stories. This has been done over the course of our entire history as humans. From cave paintings to Ancient Greece to the Renaissance to the modern day we discovered how to use water and pigments to create materials we can use to tell those stories.
Fire
Ah, my favorite, fire. As a pyrographer, I like to “play with fire”. Fire can be destructive but it can also be creative. We use heat to create beautiful culinary dishes and mold metals to the shapes we want. We use fire to turn clay into pottery.
I use fire to make designs. By applying heat to wood I am able to draw lines, add shading, and create different effects that give depth to my pieces. One of the things that I love most about pyrography is that I can create something unique, imperfections and all, that adds to the overall piece.
Air
Although the air may seem to many as just empty space air is also what carries things, and conducts things. The smell of cedar being burned, the breeze that drys the paint as it soaks into the wood.
All of the elements come together to make the perfect piece and all I can hope for is that the right person can find the right piece. And that is exactly what happened this past weekend at a market in Charlotte. We had our collection of four pieces: Earth, Water, Fire, and Air on display and a young woman noticed it and it spoke to her. She went on to explain that she and her close friends had all gotten tattoos of the tarot symbols for Earth, Water, Fire, and Air.
Not every market to you finds someone who sees a piece you made and instantly connects with it. And it is even rarer that when they do it ties into something deeply rooted in their lives. But when you do it makes it all the more meaningful and true.
