Beginnings

I’ve always felt that creating something by hand is more than an act of making—it’s an act of remembering.

Before I ever picked up a burning pen or shaped a piece of wood, I was shaped myself—by story. As a child, I sat with my great-grandfather, listening to the traditional Yuchi and Creek stories he carried with care and reverence. Those stories were never just words. They were teachings. They were maps. They were the roots I didn’t yet know I’d spend a lifetime returning to.

Growing up, I turned to art as a way of connecting with the world around me. I began with drawing and painting, often focused on the natural world—wildlife, plants, bones, feathers, the quiet symbols of nature that held meaning even when I didn’t fully understand why. Art became a language when words felt too small.

Then—almost by accident—I discovered pyrography. The idea of drawing with fire stopped me in my tracks. What started as curiosity quickly became obsession. The smell of wood, the feel of grain beneath my hand, the dance between precision and unpredictability—it felt like every part of my creative journey had been leading to this. It wasn’t just drawing anymore. It was marking. Remembering. Burning meaning in.

That storytelling tradition I grew up with gave me a reverence for symbol and memory. It taught me to see patterns in trees, meanings in animals, and power in the spiral. That sense of connection still guides every piece I make.

Over time, I began to see those same echoes in other ancestral traditions—the bold knots and curves of Celtic art, the stark lines of Nordic runes, the spirals carved into stone across continents and centuries. Though I wasn't raised in those cultures, their symbols stirred something deep. They felt like old songs I somehow already knew.

That’s how Pyroforma came into being: fire + form + story. A creative practice rooted in Native memory, shaped by earth-wisdom, and awakened by fire. A space where flame is used not to destroy, but to etch meaning—into wood, into fiber, into the everyday.

I burn. I carve. I weave. I listen. I remember.

In this blog, I’ll be sharing more than just my process. I’ll share what fuels it: the stories behind the symbols, the ancestral threads that guide my hands, and the personal reflections that come from walking this creative path. Some posts may be practical. Some poetic. Some will be raw and real. All of them will be part of the spiral.

Thank you for being here at the beginning. I’m so glad we’ve found each other on the fire path.