Wood burning art became flourishing business

After finding a video about the art of wood burning, Alyssa Ramirez was hooked.

Ramirez, who lives near Buttonwillow and attended Shafter schools, was fascinated by the video of a man using a wood burning instrument to create works or art. She bought her first kit containing basic tools and she got to work.

"I really took to it, and soon afterward I bought a more advanced tool to do more things with and it just took off from there," she said.

She soon figured out she could establish a business selling her pieces of art and she opened Alyssa Pyrography during the pandemic.

Ramirez starts with a piece of wood, be it the size of a plaque, or things as small as key chains, to burn her designs into. She can make all kinds of pictures and recently showed off one of her dog at a pop-up event.

"That one took me about eight hours." Ramirez said of the plaque with the Pomeranian on it, an identical image to one in a photograph of the dog. Projects can take a few hours for a key chain or a photo-sized plaque or over 12 hours for very detailed designs.

Ramirez said that she is very lucky to be able to make money doing something that she really enjoys.

"It is especially great because of the way things are going now with the virus and stuff, it gives people a chance to support themselves," she said.

Ramirez can be found at a number of pop-up events throughout the county or she can be found on Instagram at Alyssa Pyrography.