When it comes to framing a pyrographed piece, especially if you are entering it in a competition, you want it to be done well, and add to the look of your work.

Contrary to what you may initially think, framing does not have to be elaborate or expensive. It does have to be done tastefully, and appropriately.

Different frames can completely change the look of a piece. There is nothing wrong with simple, and a frame does not have to be fancy to look nice on a piece. In fact with a water color I won an art show with years ago, the only suggestion that a judge made in the remarks was that perhaps a simpler frame would have been less distracting from the piece.

Specifically in regards to pyrographic works without color, I have found that dark frames compliment a pyrographed piece better than lighter colors. Black is the color that 90% of my custom frames are ordered in and I make. It looks nice and matches almost any room as a neutral accent color. Dark brown, burgundy, and red are other colors that can look nice with a burn on wood as well.

Wood frames can be tricky to make look good framing a wood piece that is a different color. My best suggestion to this would be a good contrast in color. Again, just as a painted frame, a dark color that is a sharp contrast to the background of your piece is a better choice. You can also add a matte to separate the two woods. (The wood of the piece framed, and the wood frame.)

I do a torch burned finish for some of my frames too which is very much like a wood stain look. It really is a unique look and I have clients who can’t get enough of it, but it is a “busier” frame and because it is wood, it only looks good on pieces that leave space around the subject… in other words, If I know that someone is going to want that type of frame I will design there piece so that none of the burning actually extends to the border of the piece, this leaves a natural matte around the subject and will make it look nicer when it is framed.

I will try to get some examples posted on here in the near future to illustrate the points.