Turn a 2.10m spruce wood beam into a personalised growth chart using pyrography. Moves easily with your own family or make one as a gift for a family you love.
In my childhood home, our growth was not recorded on a slat along a door, nor on the side of a bookcase. We had a wooden pole that rose from the floor up past the two-metre mark. Decorated with burnt-in drawings and symbols, our height post also bore an inscribed proverb: “How Tall I Am How Small I Was.”
I later learned that these burnt images are created through pyrography, using heat but not fire. Also called pokerwork, the creator’s designs are permanently etched into wood with a hot ‘pen’ similar to a soldering iron.
The Workshop
The workshop runs for four evening sessions, one session per week and 1.5 hours per session.
You’ll first have the chance to practice pokerwork on some wood-scraps, safely getting used to the feel of the tool. Once you are completely comfortable with your new art form, you will transfer your pre-chosen, pre-printed design templates to your height post.
Enjoy the creative process as a group whilst keeping yourself in flow, guaranteeing you finish your project! There is a (limited) possibility to come for just one evening if you want to finish your height post at home.
Costs*:
1 evening € 80 euro
4 evenings € 120 euro
*Includes wooden pole and pyrography pen for you to keep.
* 10 euro surcharge if made into a foldable, more travel-friendy, version. Total length then 105cm. incl. sawing and attaching hinges
Preparation: 10 printed line drawings of 10-16 cm high and 4-6 cm wide (explanation will follow)
Over the years, the light yellow of the spruce wood darkened to deep orange, almost brown. At the top, the wood was ornately carved, round and pointed like the roofs in a Persian fairy tale. I loved how our family heights decorated the sides, names and dates messily written in pen or pencil next to etched lines. Even more intriguing were the height marks and names of the close friends, young and old, who moved through our lives, their temporary or permanent importance forever etched on a family heirloom that will travel with generations.
When I moved to the Netherlands, I saw that the growth of children here is often measured on a doorpost. The doorpost commemorates a passing phase but it is always fated to be painted over by the next resident and that hurts my nostalgic heart.
After the birth of my first child, I made my own height post while the one from my childhood graces the home of my sister in Canada. I also made one for each of my two best friends when they had their first child and really enjoyed the time and love I spent making one which I felt fit their family. I am happy to pass on this tradition to my own children and also to you.