Mayor Knotrob Ford

As you may of heard, Knotrob Ford is in some serious hot water! Reports say that the oft-maligned Mayor of Knotsville has been caught on camera smoking what appears to be a banned substance. The original footage, taken by Somalian fashionistas, was eventually eaten by Ford in what was described as an "unruly display of hunger".

Knotsville reporter and professional pyrographer, Chris Burns, was in the room when the incident took place:

"We were all hanging out on a typical Tuesday afternoon, smoking crack with our Somalian wardrobe specialists and BOOM... Knotrob jumps out of his chair, starts feverishly waving his hands around in the air and makes a bee-line towards Farxaan screaming, I'M GOING TO EAT YOUR PHOOONNNEEEE!!!!!"

Burns went on to say that although he felt threatened by the incident, he knew right then and there that he had to let the people of Knotsville know the truth about the man they once adored.

So he started doing what he does best - woodburning his rendition of the fateful scene for all the world to see.

Now YOU can own this piece of Knotsville history! For a limited time, the original burning will be on sale at the artists own website for $200 until Saturday, May 25, 2013. This includes free shipping to anywhere in Canada or the USA.

**NOTE from the artist**

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has also been accused of smoking crack, and there is currently a crowdfunding campaign to pay for the release of the video. If this woodburning sells before the May 25th deadline, $100 of this purchase will be donated to the Rob Ford Crackstarter / Indiegogo campaign on your behalf (if you choose).

Click here to visit the Champstiles online store and view the original woodburning of 'Knotrob Ford'.

The official Indiegogo Rob Ford Crackstarter campaign here.

The 'Knoteye' series feature characters that are brought to life using the artist's imagination, and the natural defects in a given piece of wood.

Ithaca Invasion

Saturday, April 27th, 2013 - Comet Skateboards held another epic Slide Jam in Ithaca, NY... and Toronto's own skate and art collective, the Skate Invaders, made their presence felt!

Now, I am honoured to be considered a member of this extremely talented group of individuals...and am admittedly THE WORST skater of the bunch. Because of that, I take the 'art collective' side of being an Invader very seriously!

This year, in preperation of the Ithaca Jam, I stripped down an old Comet Voodoo Doll and went to burning something special for my fellow Invaders to bring to the jam.

Using the photography of Jonathan Nuss as reference, I burned the steezy stylings of S.I. member John Park sliding his way off the Mothership and landing at this years Ithaca Slide Jam.

The board was presented to Comet, and given away to the 'most awesome of the awesome'... which happened to be Toronto's own Zachary Nyers! Way to hold it down man.

Photo by: Jonathan Nuss

EAT YOUR CEREAL

Rarely do I use my art to 'make a statement' on a trending topic... partly because the woodburning process is generally too slow to finish a piece before it becomes irrelevant. But in this case I thought it was important enough to make the time. 

I'm not going to pick apart the ridiculousness of the things he said.

I'm not going to go on about how society should be working towards everyone having a more positive self-image, regardless of height, weight, sex or 'cool' status.

I'm not even going to point out that my husky-ass wouldn't rock those clothes if they came in size Extra Extra Bacon-Lined Large to begin with.

All I'm going to do, is let my portrait pyrography skills shine, and tell the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, Mike Jeffries, to...

Nothing like a couple hours of burning wood to get something off your chest.

If your not familiar with the controversial stance of Jeffries, check out this 2006 interview from Salon.

And for those of who don't get the cereal part of this, check out this very informative post by CBC's Lauren O'Neil about the 'Ryan Gosling Won't Eat His Cereal' meme.

Global News Feature

Global News reporter Dave Gerry found Champstiles Woodburning online, and contacted me about doing a feature highlighting my experience as a pyrographer.  He wrote, "I've covered a lot of artists and craftsmen over 37 years...but never done pyrographics"... well Dave Gerry, welcome to my world of wood!

Watch Mr.Gerry wax poetic about his visit to my studio:

It was a pleasure having the crew from Global News over and showing them around. The feature aired later that same night, and my phone blew up with congratulations... mostly from my friends' parents. I guess they're the only people who actually watch the evening news anymore ;) For the rest of us, feel free to spread this link around whenever someone asks about the ancient art of pyrography/woodburning.

Custom Longboard Art

Burning a custom graphic onto the bottom of a board is one of my favourite canvases to work on... especially when I get to make the board and don't have to sand off a previous image and finish before I start. 

I was recently contacted for a commisioned piece by a gentlemen in Florida, who wanted to get his girlfriend a longboard for her birthday with some very personalized imagery. He asked family and friends for an image each that best represents their relationship with her, and ended up with quite a list!  Everything from cd's, toys and furniture, to a smurf with a cigar and a burn mark on his arm... this was going to be quite a challenge, but I pride myself on being able to bring people's visions to life.

Just another example of how Champtiles Woodburning can work with you to design and burn just about anything onto a piece of wood.

Email champstiles@gmail.com for custom work.

I built the board using Roarockit's Thin Air Press and 7 layers of 1/16" Canadian Maple veneer.  The classic pintail shape ended up being the perfect canvas for the project, and the recipient was thrilled to receive such a one-of-a-kind gift. 

Click on the photo to check out more custom longboards by Champstiles