Pyrography by Lauren Gray
Continuing January's look at art forms which centre around the tree, I am profiling three artists and their respective mediums: marquetry, woodworking and woodburning.
Alison Elizabeth Taylor is an American artist known for her renaissance-style marquetry and woodwork depicting contemporary subject matter. Her work has been featured at a number of notable galleries and covered in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Village Voice.
I think these pieces are exciting, surprisingly modern and fresh! Certainly not what springs to mind when one thinks 'woodworking' and 'veneer.'
A reminder to all you sky-watchers, that tomorrow Jan. 9, 2:30 am EST is the Full Wolf Moon. So named by Natives because wolf packs howled hungrily outside their villages during January's deep cold and snows. Thankfully, we are experiencing a very mild winter...! It's also known as the Old Moon or Moon after Yule :)
The piece above and next two are examples of marquetry by the artist Allashka. Strangely, I was unable to find any further information about this artist, except for various images in Google Images and a credit for the above piece in Wiki under Marquetry. Marquetry, (also spelled as marqueterie) is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures.
The next number of images showcase the art of Pyrography. Pyrography or woodburning is nearly a lost art states David Kreider, "...yet from my earliest encounters with it as a child I found it seductive. In the warm organic beauty of wood I find a deep spiritual connection with nature, an intriguing aesthetic that now adds mystery and meaning to my art."
Pyrogravure colorée on fir
(a mix of oil and pyrography)
I love how the wood grain is such an integral part of this piece.
(a mix of oil and pyrography)
I love how the wood grain is such an integral part of this piece.
Pyrography on poplar
Most of us had woodburning kits as children, but I don't believe we (or our parents, for that matter) could have envisioned such amazing works were possible.
The poor wolf, he sure gets a bad rap!
JANE - these pictures-images are breath taking and so strong in their design and presence. I love the subtle colors that ring of earth and nature. And the full wolf moon? I did not know. My husband is Blackfoot Indian and we are in tune with Native American custom - thank you for reminding us of this event
ReplyDeleteLove Gail
peace.....
Oh wow, artistic creativity at it's finest! Never would (pun intended)have guessed it.... And the trees live on:)
ReplyDeleteYes, my brother had a woodburning kit in the 60s. He made a handsome picture of a horse's head on a small piece of plywood. If only he had kept at the art form, he could have been a rich artist today, LOL!
ReplyDeleteMy woodburning works as a child would not equal a fraction of this kind of quality lol. But I did love that smell of hot iron on plywood. :)
ReplyDeleteThose are just beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Gail, I agree, they are very strong works. When I was researching out which artists and works to profile, these jumped out at me and held my interest.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting that your husband is Blackfoot Indian, I have a great interest in Native philosophy and art forms.
Vicki, I especially love that they are so modern and have a movement and life to them - they look like pieces you'd find in an art gallery.
Debra, Lol, Gee, that's a shame - his ship sailed out and he wasn't on it!
WebDebris, I had completely forgotten about the smell! We loved it too :) And because it was the 70's, we played with out set unsupervised... somehow we managed not to burn the house down or our fingers off!
Patty, I know - wish I could claim to be the artist!
I have never seen such wonderful forms of pyrography. At the antique mall we have had several pieces but nothing as nice as the ones you have shown us.
ReplyDeleteLisa
How lovely! I really like the woman with her children and a full moon in the background.
ReplyDeleteJane,
ReplyDeleteAll of this art is amazing. Thank you for sharing it. Perhaps you are more familar with this kind of art in Canada, I had never seen it.
It's beautiful.
Absolutely beautiful works. I find marquetry especially interesting--sometimes Antiques Roadshow will feature furniture that has it and I love those pieces. We are very fortunate to be able to see the Wolf Moon here--last night and this morning! I love the moon--but then look at my name!!
ReplyDeleteThese are brilliant but my favouriteis the pyrogravure, that is really beautiful. I have two pyrography pictures on the wall at the top of the stairs, they were given to me by one of my Canadian cousins when I was over there a few years ago and I love them.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Wolf Moon I hope to see it tonight - it's my favourite moon name out of all of them.
Those are all so incredible. I did not know such beauty existed. Thank you for sharing them!
ReplyDeleteShould I howl at the wolf moon tonight? Do you think the neighbours would mind? I love that name, WOlf Moon...
What a super beautiful blog..and gorgeous images and amazing art! Wishing you the magic of Wolf's moon..enjoy..and shine on!
ReplyDeleteLovely to meet you kindred!
Victoria
outjunking, I am going to keep my eyes open for these when I'm 'outjunking' as well :)
ReplyDeleteMartha, So do I, incredible realism.
Kay, Surprisingly enough, these are all American artists, but I can understand your not being familiar with these particular art forms, there's so much out there to catch our attention - no way to see it all!
Dianne, I haven't caught Antiques Roadshow for quite some time now - love it when I have though.
Hi Rowan, Thankfully we've been enjoying clear skies for the past few days - an extra bonus at full moon. I hope the same for you.
Lael, Lol, I highly encourage it :) Your neighbors are likely already expecting you to anyways, hehe.
Victoria, Thank you for your most kind words and lovely to have met you as well. Your blogs are a feast for the eyes :)
ReplyDeleteNiesamowita sztuka i piękne obrazy. A wilk jak chce, to niech sobie wyję do księżyca :-). Pozdrawiam.
ReplyDeleteAmazing art and beautiful images. And the wolf as he wants, let the card withdrawal to the moon :-). Yours.
Hi Jane,
ReplyDeleteSeems from reading your blog with have quite similar "likes"...not the least of which is Canada!
I'm your newest follower,
Peggy
Your artwork is very inspiring! Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteMy first reaction was "What a warm blog! Amazing how you can get a feeling from a computer screen! Looking forward to following!
ReplyDeleteGiga, Thank you :)
ReplyDeleteHi Peggy, Thanks for stopping by and following back. Funny, I felt the same way when I visited you!
amigo2be, I only wish it were my artwork, but I'm thrilled to profile it nonetheless :) Thanks for visiting!
Francie, Wow, I am so happy to hear it had that effect on you and pleased that you let me know :) Thanks for following back and I also look forward to following you.
icedgurl, Appreciate your encouraging words and Happy New Year to you!
Absolutely beautiful!!! And would look so nice in my dining room... :)
ReplyDeleteHi Jane, love your art work, and really like the pic of the wolf! Your header photo is one of the prettiest I've seen.
ReplyDelete~~Dorothy~~
Lorie, Mine too...!
ReplyDeleteDorothy, Thank you :) I recently changed it up for winter - I like that it looks kind of 'jewely.'
I care for each, would be hard to choose which is the best!
ReplyDeletewhiteangel, I agree - I'd happily take any one of them :)
DeleteThanks for sharing all these beautiful artworks. Didn't know the story about the Full Wolf Moon! Magnificent:DDD
ReplyDeleteElisabeth, Each full moon was named by the Native Americans, reflected the passing of the seasons and the nature that they were so in tune with. I find these stories fascinating!
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