There is a duality that exists within the process of woodburning between the aggressive nature of burning and the meditative qualities of using intense focus. When talking about woodburning, it is important to address the big scary dangerous elephant in the room that is the importance of safety and rapport. I think that with the right amount of safety precautions, (gloves, education, trust), woodburning could be an interesting medium to explore with closer supervision in individual work. There is an inherent give and take that exists in wood-burning; using soft touches on the wood, being cognizant of the amount of time the tool is kept on the wood and the permanency of the medium. This process when comfortable with the medium can be meditative and sensory, paying attention to our breathing during the process, how our hands may be experiencing the heat or taking in the smell of the wood.
One of the unique properties of this material is how unforgiving it is in nature, the attention and focus needed to be precise, and the almost inevitable lack of control of how the wood might unexpectedly burn. As I think of these elements for this media, I made connections with goals associated with adolescence with eating disorders. Rabin, (2003) writes about the distortion of self, body image, and self-esteem that exists for those struggling with eating disorders. There is a common theme of control that exists beyond the control of food or dietary restrictions but rather a yearning to control life in some capacity that can manifest in how individuals with eating disorders restrict or feel out of control in the cyclical nature of binging and purging. Where does wood burning come into play? Wood burning is a dangerous and focus oriented task that involves the tug and pull of precision and lock of control. This material can feel powerful and strong and to use a material like this can often feel empowered to the creator. This material can promote a sense of empowerment and autonomy while challenging perceptions of control.
Rabin, R. (2003). Art Therapy and Eating Disorders: The Self as Significant Form. In Art
Therapy and Eating Disorders. Columbia University Press.
https://doi.org/10.7312/rabi12768