Shades of Grain
Renee Ellis’s background lies in marketing and advertising, and she has been a professional graphic designer for the past 18 years. Her passion for wood burning, however, began even earlier than that. Her first wood burner was given to her by her parents when she was in high school, and she began using it to make Christmas presents for friends and family. One of the first things she experimented with was cork coasters. Her burner worked great for the soft cork material, but when her friends began asking her to make more items, including wood, she knew she needed a more heavy duty machine. She decided to upgrade her burner, and everything began to spiral from then on.
Wood burning was initially just something fun for Renee to do, but in 2016, she decided to turn her passion into an official business, and Burned by Renee was born. Renee’s initial thought behind her business was, how can she translate her work as a graphic designer on the computer to wood? She began researching. She learned how to use a laser printer to print out her designs, and then transfer the pattern to wood using heat. After the pattern is transferred, she does all the wood burning by hand. She loves that even though she can use the same pattern, everything is still different and unique because she’s burning by hand.
Another aspect of wood burning that Renee cherishes is the calming and therapeutic side of her art. She says that wood burning is essentially her version of coloring. After she traces the lines, she’s able to use different heat settings on her burner to create shading, and go darker or lighter.
Renee had previously showcased some of her work in a coffee shop in York, and when she found out about The York Merchant opening last winter, she considered it an opportunity for her to expand. She’s been a resident of York her whole life and says that she was waiting for something like this to come to the area for awhile. She’s a big supporter of Downtown York, and loves seeing the area grow. She considers herself a true “Yorker,” so she’s genuinely excited for the continued expansion of the community. She loves meeting other merchants at the marketplace, and taking advantage of the opportunities to collaborate and network among like-minded creatives.
As a designer, Renee finds inspiration from creativity in others all around her. She follows other artists on social media, and says she has over 30 Pinterest boards full of ideas! One of the things that motivates her the most is finding new and different things to work with. She’s learned over the years to go with her gut, and says that “sometimes, you just need to make something that you think is pretty, and hope somebody else does too.”
To learn more about Renee and view more of her work, please visit her website at https://burnedbyrenee.square.site/