A new exhibition by local artists Fotini Konstandellos, Katerina Konstantinidis, Tina Sideris, Margaret Millar and Madeleine McCabe have seen them venture in the field of pyrography.
This group of artists – who meet on a regular basis to explore and indulge in their individual love of art – abandon themselves in the mystical and fulfilling art form. Pyrography is the ancient Greek word ‘to write with fire’. This practice has been in use since ancient times, and is an eternal and everlasting art form. Their journey through this technique has led them to explore, experiment and evolve.
“It started off as icons but now we’ve expanded the possibilities of this medium – it’s unlimited what you can do with it,” Tina Sideris tells Neos Kosmos.
Tina herself has adapted the media to screens – to developed fold out screens.
“For me personally, it is the aesthetics of the icons,” says Tina. “I always go back to them, I deviate from them but return to icons in art.”
Through this technique an extraordinary quest of light and shadow begins as the design evolves through the natural knots and veins of the wood. Here begins the transformation of the wood into a unique work of art. The image continuously evolves and takes on an existence of its own as it emerges from matter and remains permanently set in the wood grains. The natural and warm colours of the material interplay with the medium to produce the perfect unity between drawing and matter.
“That’s the beauty of this [art work] – you start off with a blank piece of wood, and before you know it, it transforms before you eyes,” says Tina.
The practice of wood burning requires precision and accuracy. The designs are initially burnt into wood. The artist than proceeds with the composition by adding other media and the work takes on its own expression. This combined with the distinctive style of the individual has led to an array of possibilities. The interaction between these artists and the culmination of ideas has extended even further the possibilities of this art form. Inspiration for these artists has come from everywhere, including holy images, the ancient Japanese art of the woodblock print, the sinuous line of the art nouveau period, the gracefulness of the Renaissance, the love of animals or simply the female nude. The works are an essay in visual delight, capturing the eye with graceful lines, sensual colour and a strong sense of design.
Burnt Offerings is on at the Kingston Arts Centre, Nepean Highway, Moorabbin, VIC until Tuesday 22 October.