These wood burning creations are entirely for the Horde

Just when it seems like we’ve seen everything the crafty fans of Blizzard games can do, we’re surprised by something new. This week we caught up with Marty, who’s done two wood-burned Horde-themed creations, to find out just how she made these detailed pieces.

What Blizzard games do you play, and as what?

I dabbled in StarCraft years back. And nowadays I have a Blood Elf Hunter and have fun with Hearthstone from time to time.

How did you learn wood burning?

I can’t really say I “learned” the art. I just came across a wood burning starters kit at a Michaels and thought it would be fun to use for a project I had when I was a culinary student. The theme I chose was Harry Potter, so I made a salt-dough sculpture of Big Ben with the Weasley’s flying car over head and burned a wood block with the Marauder’s map as a base. So maybe Harry Potter taught me??

How long have you been doing this kind of work?

I’ve only wood burned four pieces now. But drawing and painting is what I’ve done since forever. I taught art for seven years at a private art studio, so the wood burner was pretty easy to figure out.

What inspired you to make pieces about Warcraft? (Or, more specifically, about the Horde?)

My boyfriend is actually a huge Blizzard fan and a strong support of the Horde. Come one Halloween we decided to carve some pumpkins. I wasn’t working at the time so I finished my pumpkin but my boyfriend (who drew on his pumpkin with the Horde symbol and other emblems) never had the time to actually carve it due to his busy work schedule. I saw on a DYO page that you can decorate pumpkins by burning a design on it rather than just carving. I remembered that I had used a wood burner 10 years ago for my Harry Potter project. So I decided to tackle my boyfriend’s pumpkin and trace his outlines and enhance it. The flesh of the pumpkin was rather tricky to burn actually. But the project turned out fine. So then I decided to wood burn a watch box for my boyfriend as a Christmas present…with the Horde symbol of course.

Could you give us a step-by-step on what’s involved in making one of your pieces? 

For the watch box I googled the best image I could find and lightly drew the outline of what I wanted for size dimensions and just went for it. I used a fine tip for the burner. Although it took me longer to get the gradation that I wanted, I think it was worth the time and effort.

How long does one of these projects typically take, from start to finish?

Depends on the size and how much interest I have in the subject. But never more than a week.

What’s the most challenging part about making these?

Now that I’m working a lot, the challenge is finding time. I would love to do projects like these more often.

Have you made any other Blizzard-centric art? (If you don’t, what kind of other art have you made?)

Other than the pieces for my boyfriend, most of my artwork is variegated. I have several paintings that are still being worked on.

What are you working on next?

I plan on finishing the abstract painting I started on the ceiling. I was drinking wine and had a blank canvas on an easel in front of me, then had this impulse to start painting the ceiling of the entrance to our home. I texted my boyfriend and asked him if it would be okay. He was all for it! Still working on it…

That’s all for BlizzCrafts today — but check back next week for another selection of cool Blizzard-themed crafts! Have Blizzard arts and crafts of your own you’d like to see on Blizzard Watch? Send them our way– submissions and suggestions should be sent to liz at blizzardwatch dot com.