Each woodburning is beyond unique as the wood itself is the canvas. I can never fully replicate a piece as each slab or cookie has its own coloring, markings, and shape. With this in mind, please remember the wood was once a living organism and thus ages and reacts to its environment in different ways depending on the species. No one can control this, however I do my best to fight what I can.

I find and purchase my wood from sawmills that have kiln dried the wood so the moisture content is around 8%. All the cracking should be done and bowing shouldn’t exist as the wood is laid flat and restrained while the water is cooked out. Also at this time, some or most of the bark is intact or has completely fallen off. I understand the beauty of bark and love how it can potentially frame a piece when present, however I cannot promise that it will stay intact forever. I do my absolute best when sanding and prepping the wood to shave or break off all loose pieces. If most of it is attached and feels secure when I mess with it, I will leave it to be a part of the piece and use wood glue to adhere any loose ends. If you truly want the bark to stay, I would recommend epoxying the whole piece. I, however do not perform this service.

To seal the pieces, I use a water-based Satin Spar Urethane that has built-in UV Protection. Oil is lovely on wood and can bring out some amazing colors and deep grains and I have used Polyurethane in the past and loved it, but oil is known to yellow in time, therefore I have chosen a water-based product. The satin sheen is a personal preference and it allows the woodburning to be read more easily when under lighting.

The UV Protection in the sealer is the most important aspect. A woodburnings biggest threat is sunlight. The sun not only fades the burning itself, but also the wood. It is a piece of artwork, so just like a painting or drawing, your woodburning should be hung away from direct sunlight. Wood species such as Box Elder (in the picture above) can have powerful red markings and movement in it that I find gleefully inspiring and thus try to incorporate in my burnings. If the movements are vital to the “story” of the burning, I will apply a red stain on top of the markings to keep them bold through time. If they do not add to the story, I will simply apply the UV Protective sealer knowing it will help decrease the fading of the red color through the years.

If there any questions or hesitations, please reach out—my email is lauraaustinspencer@gmail.com.