A Garden Wonder

This woodburned illustration features a zebra longwing butterfly resting among stylized flowers and curling vines. Inspired by the butterfly’s striking striped wings, the composition brings together the natural beauty of its markings with bold botanical ornament and intricate burned texture. The warm natural wood contrasts with the dark background, allowing the butterfly’s distinctive pattern to stand out while the surrounding flowers and foliage create a richly decorative setting. A lovely choice for people drawn to butterflies, botanical art, woodland imagery, and nature-inspired interiors.

Original hand-burned pyrography on Virginia cypress

PICTURED PIECE
Dimensions: 7.75 × 11.25 x 2 inches (W x H x D)
Weight: 2 lb
Burn time: 8 hours

Limited handmade edition of 10
Please allow 4-6 weeks for your piece to be created.

$140
Complimentary shipping within contiguous U.S. included

Ready to hang
Finished with securely attached hanging wire.

Purchase

⚜️ UNDERSTORY: About ten years ago, I discovered the zebra longwing butterfly in a butterfly house at a zoo and was captivated by its markings. Fast forward to a day when I was mulling over “what to do next,” and those beautiful monochromatic stripes seemed to call out to me from my memory, asking to be burned into a smooth slab of wood.

Finding a setting for it was another matter, but this time I didn’t have to go looking through my indispensable book of historic patterns. I already had a couple of ideas waiting for me in pieces I’d completed earlier.

The flowers came from Watership Down, while the vines were inspired by the decorative urns in A Peacock’s Tale. I enjoyed the idea of bringing those elements together in a new way, letting familiar patterns become part of a different little world.

I suppose that’s one of the things I’m beginning to discover about creating art: sometimes an idea doesn’t need to come from somewhere new. Sometimes it’s already there, waiting in something you’ve seen and made before.

Close-up of the zebra longwing butterfly, flowers, vines, and burned pattern in A Garden Wonder.

Close-up of the Virginia cypress edge and natural wood grain of the A Garden Wonder woodburn.

A Garden Wonder butterfly and botanical woodburn displayed as wall art in a home interior.

Each woodburn is created using a fine-tipped burning pen. Rather than drawing the subject itself, I burn around it, allowing the negative space of the natural wood to become the lightest part of the image. Repetitive marks, pattern, texture, and the grain of the wood come together to create each piece.

The burn time noted above reflects the burning process itself and does not include the time spent developing the original design or preparing the wood.

Each piece is offered as a limited handmade edition of 10. It is individually drawn and burned by hand—not printed or mechanically reproduced—so no two will be exactly alike. Variations in wood grain, live edge, size, shape, thickness, and handwork are a natural part of the process and give each piece its own character.

Each finished woodburn is numbered as part of its edition. Please allow approximately 4–6 weeks for creation before shipping.

All artwork prices include complimentary shipping within the contiguous U.S.

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