For beading, the tools from
D-Way are by far the the best. There are two sizes that I use, ⅛" and ³⁄
16" My first couple pieces were done with Sorby beading tools, but they really aren't well adapted to this purpose.
Originally, I used DetailMaster beading pens. They were a special order item and hard to get, but they were the best by a long shot. When DetailMaster went out of business, there weren't any good options. Fortunately, after several of us who did basket illusion pieces discussed this online, Harvey Meyer contacted
PJL Enterprises, the company that makes the Optima 1 burner and pens and they created a special pen that precisely matches the ⅛" D-Way beading tool profile. I think that their bead burning pen is even better than the old DetailMaster pen. Since then they have also created additional beading tools to match other sizes of D-Way beading tools. Here is a link to their
pens. The last two are the beading pens. You will also need an assortment of other pens. For the herringbone rim I use a medium size DetailMaster skew, but Optima has similar skews. If you haven't done any photography before, you really will need to take at least one class to learn the difference between scorching wood and drawing on wood. Years ago, I took a woodburning class from Andi Wolfe and more recently I took a class from Janice Levi. Plan on also investing a lot of time refining your skills in this area.
I use Copic Original (Classic) markers with super fine nibs for coloring the patterns and select colors that closely emulate original Native American materials used in weaving. For example, on the Navajo Wedding Basket design shown below I used Burnt Sienna for the red and Dark Bark for the black. There are many sources, but
Oozak.com has the best selection and prices by far. You will also need ink refills, nibs, and possibly other supplies like toners and fine line pens for detail work.
The wood that I use is maple, preferably hard maple. It seems to be hard to find in large sizes so you're on your own on that. The piece below is 14½" diameter about 3" deep and about ¼" thick at the top of the beads and scary thin between the beads.
The beading and patterns on the front and back need to match closely for realism. The thickness also needs to be realistic. For turning large thin piece like this, you also will need a thick leather glove to steady the wood while beading it.
There are basically two schools of thought on creating the beading and design. One is a design made popular by the late David Nittmann where the beads are divided into even rows and columns of tiles and colored with India ink or paints. If you search for Harvey Meyer, his work is an excellent example of that style. I pattern my work after the style of Jim Adkins which emphasizes realistic reproductions of Native American basket designs.
To lay out the pattern, I first draw it in a CAD program that I use,
DeltaCad. I then print it out full size on large format paper and transfer marks to the wood. That is a very tedious process, but the results are worth it. Trying to do it by eyeball just won't hack it.
The pyrography work is the slowest and most mind-numbing tedious part and by the end of the first piece you will have lost our marbles. That's a good thing because that means you will be good to go for producing more basket illusion pieces.
I'm sure that there's a zillion other things that I forgot to mention. Stick with it. The first few pieces may not look great, but each one is part of the learning process.
As far as lessons learned, I could probably write a book, but don't plan on it. Don't plan on instantly becoming an expert and you won't be disappointed. Despite all the tedious work, the end result is highly rewarding. Sanity isn't a requirement, but perseverance is.
