Flame, Grain, and Luminous Depth

In Woodburn & Epoxy, fire meets wood — and sometimes liquid glass — to create pieces that feel both timeless and alive. Each work begins with the deliberate mark of the pyrography pen, burning fine lines, textures, and shading into sustainably sourced wood: sinker cypress salvaged from centuries-old submerged logs, oak, basswood, maple, magnolia, and more. The grain itself tells a story of seasons past; the burn adds emotion, shadow, and precision. From there, the direction diverges into two distinct paths, each honoring its own integrity and preserving the natural character of the medium.

Many pieces remain pure pyrography, enriched only by hand-applied pigments and paints — colored pencils, inks, acrylics, watercolors, and proprietary techniques — to bring vibrancy, depth, and life to the burned lines. These works preserve the tactile warmth of the exposed wood surface, letting every charred groove and natural knot remain visible and unencumbered. Subjects in this path often draw from nature around our pond and the Louisiana bayous—great blue herons mid-strike, wood ducks gliding among reeds, sandhill cranes in flight, raccoons along cypress knees, deer in twilight, irises in bloom—or from twenty-two years of service in the U.S. Navy, honoring destroyers, cruisers, aircraft carriers (vintage and modern), Coast Guard cutters, hydrofoils, and the enduring legacy of naval history. The result is intimate, painterly, and deeply personal, with the wood’s texture and warmth playing an equal role to the burned and colored imagery.

Other pieces embrace the transformative pour of crystal-clear epoxy: multiple layers that magnify every detail, seal the surface, and lend a luminous, almost three-dimensional depth that shifts with the light. This technique is reserved for river tables and select wall art, where epoxy rivers flow through sinker cypress or magnolia, embedding blue crabs, shells, netting, or abstract tide-pool scenes. Water elements in pure woodburn works are rendered solely with pigments — preserving the organic breathability of the wood.

This is not mass production. Every piece is handcrafted start to finish in our Louisiana studio — selecting the wood slab, burning the subject with surgical precision, layering pigments where chosen, or pouring and polishing epoxy where the design demands it. The process is meditative and unforgiving: one errant burn or bubble in the resin can change everything. Yet it is precisely this dialogue between control and chance that gives each work its unique soul.

Several pieces now reside in the Sandhill Crane Museum, at the Nebraska airport, and in private collections across the country.

Every Woodburn & Epoxy piece is one-of-a-kind. Limited similar versions may be available on request (4-6 weeks lead time), but each remains a unique original with natural variations in wood grain, burn intensity, pigment flow, or epoxy clarity.

Since launching pyrography in 2016, demand for these hand-burned and epoxy works has grown steadily, with early pieces finding homes quickly at introductory prices as the studio developed. Current commissions reflect the increased time, materials, refinement, and level of detail that have come with years of dedicated practice, collaboration with Sandra, and recognition from collectors and institutions.

Browse the collection below. If a piece speaks to you, reach out — we’d be honored to discuss how it might find its home with you.