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Pyrography
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<p>Pyrography or pyrogravure is the free handed art of decorating wood or other materials with burn marks resulting from the controlled application of a heated object such as a <a href="/facts/Fireplace_poker/Q3RVdFbB">poker</a>. It is also known as pokerwork or wood burning. </p><p>The term means "writing with fire", from the Greek <i>pyr</i> (fire) and <i>graphos</i> (writing). It can be practiced using specialized modern pyrography tools, or using a metal implement heated in a fire, or even sunlight concentrated with a magnifying <a href="/facts/Lens_(optics)/ejlH6n5c">lens</a>. "Pyrography dates from the 17th century and reached its highest standard in the 19th century. In its crude form it is pokerwork." </p><p>Pyrography is also popular among <a href="/facts/Gourd/4LqTkG2R">gourd</a> crafters and artists, where designs are burned onto the exterior of a dried hard-shell gourd. </p>