Hi. My name is Jeanie Campbell Petersen, and I’m the person responsible for the pyrography (literally: writing with fire), and pretty much all the artwork you have been seeing on this website.
I grew up on the Eastern end of Long Island (south shore), just a short distance from the ocean. These days, I call upstate NY my home. This close proximity to nature had a profound effect on my art, and has served as an inspiration even to this day.

Many of my woodburned designs have nature as a theme, or at least natural elements, such as leaves and flowers. My love of art probably began to take shape under my high school art teacher, Fred Klotz, who taught me (among other techniques), pen and ink drawing. This certainly helped me develop the fine-line drawing skills needed in pyrography. I also attended Parson’s School of Design in NYC as part of my formal training. Everything else I have learned about my craft is self-taught.
I have studied calligraphy, concentrating mostly on Medieval manuscripts since they are, in my opinion, the epitome of the calligrapher’s art. This knowledge helped me in the past while I was creating signs for the New York Renaissance Faire (it was called a festival then), and now when called upon to create monograms for woodburning.

I have always had a love for the art of the early Renaissance period, especially the woodcuts and etchings(....want to see my etchings?) by artists such as Dürer. By no means the only artist I enjoy, but the first one that comes to mind.
Another influence on my artwork is the art of scrimshaw. This was the intricate artwork created by sailors on whaling ships. They would pass the long voyages by carving fine-lined designs on whale’s teeth and bones using sharp tools such as sail mending needles. They would then rub lamp black (soot from the oil lamps) into the lines to make them more visible. More modern artists would have used ink instead. Beautiful work from a bygone era.

Creating the Art

The process begins with a request from the customer. This has taken some pretty unusual forms in the past, such as a Godzilla crushing a store that the customer worked in. Nothing (so far) is impossible.
Once I have the basic request from the customer, if it’s something new, I’ll research the subject and create some rough sketches until I have a working design. Then I get the customer’s approval (making any requested changes). From there I transfer the rough outline and layout to the cup, and proceed to etch every line onto the surface one at a time, much like the scrimshanders (...it is TOO a word!)of old. Once the design is complete, color is added (if requested) to enhance the image using colorfast pigments (non-fading). After all this, a multiple-coat finish is applied to protect the artwork and the wood.

Tools of the Trade

To burn detail into wood, you use a tool that resembles a pen. It has a sharp tip that is heated (using electricity), and then pressed into the wood. If you can draw, with a little practice, you can probably burn too. All right...a LOT of practice.
When I first started woodburning, I bought an inexpensive tool. After all, they’re all alike, right? Wrong. The results were poor, to say it kindly. You get what you pay for, I guess. If a woodburner looks exactly like a soldering iron, guess what? It IS a soldering iron with a different label. After a short while, I decided to try a woodburning system that a professional might use. I did some research, and the name that kept coming up was the ’Detail Master’ from Leisure Time Products. (no longer has a web site that I could find) This tool is adjustable from very low heat to very high, and has an extremely good recovery rate. This means the tools tip heats back up to full temperature quickly, eliminating the need to re-draw because your tip was not hot enough. I would highly recommend getting one if you are going to try this fascinating art form. They aren’t cheap, but they are extremely versatile, and well made.

Final notes

A good part of the fun of creating these images involves adding elements like symbols, initials, dates, or names that are significant to the person who orders the item. We have hidden something in almost every design we have created for our customers, thereby making their purchase that much more personal, and special for them.
This makes what I do that much more unique, and I hope that you, our customers, feel the same way.