Pyrography is a form of art which involves applying extreme heat to a wood surface, thus creating images. A  heated metal tip can create varied tones just by adjusting the heat. Though different in many ways, pyropgaphy is not unlike graphite pencil work in that you can use shadowing and highlighting effects to give your art an almost 3 dimensional look. This is still a very new medium for me and I hope to be doing this on a commission basis soon. I have worked with both maple and basswood, both with completely different hardness and texture, but with their own unique advantages. I'd like to explore other wood types in the future.