Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 August 1896 — DIFFICULTIES OF BURNT WORK. [ARTICLE]

DIFFICULTIES OF BURNT WORK.

Drawing* M a de by Hot Iron on a Surface of Wood. Many years ago the manual labor of the artist in color was reduced to a minimum: be no longer grinds his colors, or makes his canvas and brushes. But up to the present day the nrtist In burnt wood has toiled on with his rude forge and burning irons, with the devotion of an old-time alchemist. Singularly enough, relief from the discomforts of this crude mode of work has at last come through the avenue which brings relief from all physical ailments—that of medicine. The thermocautery, a surgical instrument invented for cauterizing, has been adapted to the use of tlie artist, so that he can work with comparative freedom. Formerly the fire-etcher employed copper tools, not unlike soldering irons, set into wooden or other non-conduct-ing handles. These tools cooled rapidly, and had to be constantly shifted, while the oxidation of the copper necessitated constant cleaning. What with feeding his fire and blowing it up with hand-bellows, it Ls a wonder that the wood burner produced anything at all artistic. To-day the hollow burning point is of platinum, a metal which does not oxidize. Once heated, a neverfailing current of naptha gas, burning within, enables the artist to work for hours, wholly independent of the forge, the bellows, and other paraphernalia. The electrode, another surgical cautery, Is likewise used in burnt wood, and electricity will in time supersede all other means of heating the burning point. W.th these facilities at hand, the fire etcher must still encounter difficulties not found in practicing the kindred arts. Clouds of smoke constantly rise in his face, while the incessant flashing of the fiery point is always trying to the eye. He must have a deep-rooted love of his art, and the patience of Job.—Century.