Hye Sea a.k.a MagnifytheSun
Q: What got you interested in wood-burning?
A: What started out as a love for playing with fire throughout my childhood evolved into a love for wood burning in 2016, when I was gifted with a piece of art that was solar engraved. As soon as I held the piece of art in my hands, it felt like I was holding gold and from that moment, the inspiration to create in this way has never ceased.
Q: What are some of the tools you use when creating your pieces?
A: The most common tools that I use are a variety of magnifying glasses as well as some standard woodworking tools like sandpaper, and a few saws.
Q: Approximately how long does it take for you to complete a piece?
A: From start to finish, a piece can take anywhere from 2 hours to 50 hours or more depending on the size and detail.
Q: What techniques do you like to use?
A: Outside of breathing techniques, I do not necessarily have any other techniques that I use when engraving my pieces. It is a pretty straight forward process once the wood is ready I just go outside and get to work.
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Q: What is your creative process when starting blank? How do you come up with the idea of what you are going to make?
A: Good question, it depends on my state of being when I put something on the wood. If I'm creating out of emotions, then I will channel my emotions into my piece until I feel like I have expressed myself enough. And then I may come back later that day or week to add to what I started. If I'm creating based on the energy that I feel has not translated to words, this is where my abstract expressions with solely lines and shapes will come out onto the wood.
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Q: How do you continue to challenge yourself?
A: I shamelessly allow myself to switch it up from time and this keeps things funky fresh. If or when I feel stagnant in any of my creations or creative processes, I allow myself to try something new instead of feeling fixated on a specific way in which I feel like I "should" go about creating or offering a service.
Q: How does it feel to have as big of a following that you do? How do you interact with who follows you?
A: It feels like another day in the neighborhood now.
Q: Is there any art piece that you created, that you would consider being your favorite?
A: Honestly, just about every piece that I create ends up being my favorite (with a few experimental exceptions) :)
Q: What do you like the most about working with nature?
A: The fact that it reminds me that I am nature. I am the very elements that I engage with to create my pieces. My passion for creating is Fire, the fluidity in my creations are reflective of Water, the wood I use is Earthly and the breath I breathe is reflective of the Air element.