GEMLIFE BRIBIE ISLAND RESIDENT LESLEY GRIFFIN BURNS WITH ENTHUSIASM FOR THE ART OF PYROGRAPHY, CREATING BEAUTIFUL PIECES OF WORK.
Pyrography dates to prehistory when Cro-Magnons used charred remnants from their hearths to burn designs into wood.
Techniques have come a long way since primitive times, and Lesley has developed a real talent for this ancient artform over the past 15 years.
“I began pyrography in 2005 and didn’t know what it was at first. I saw it at the markets with my sister and fell in love, instantly making arrangements to start having classes. I haven’t looked back,” she said.
Her latest artworks are spectacular, yet she never keeps anything she makes, choosing to sell pieces at the local wood crafters market instead, where she has a stall called the Byrning Artz.
“I don’t keep anything that I burn because I make too many pieces. I’ve just finished an Avatar which I will sell at the Bribie District Woodcrafters Markets that’s held on the last Sunday of every month at the back of the Art Centre.”
She also runs classes that are held every Monday between 9am to 12pm in the GemLife Bribie Island residents’ workshop, and says there is nothing more rewarding than teaching.
“You get satisfaction out of teaching people how to make gorgeous pieces. When I see the girls that I teach picking it up, and see them achieving and they’re feeling it, you’re feeling it too, and it pleases you that you are teaching them something so beautiful.”