Pyrographe

I was standing in the queue for the Greyhound Bus in San Diego, screaming internally because I completely misread the information on my ticket, and had arrived a smooth hour after I was supposed to, something I’m putting down to what I call “Backpackers Madness Syndrome.”  That’s when I met Milan Finnie.

Unafraid of sparking up conversation with a sweaty, tired looking woman with a funny accent, Milan reassured me that everything was going to be fine (it was), and in the thirty minutes we spent waiting for our separate buses we talked about our plans for the future and the decisions that had led us to this point in our lives.

As it turned out, we were both at a crossroads; Milan was deliberating between a life of travel and creative curiosity, and returning back to college (University for us Brits) to continue a course she wasn’t particularly inspired by.

Flash forward a year later and Milan has been busy…

Since our paths crossed in 2015 at the bus station, Milan has embarked on a life filled with creativity and adventure. She now specialises in pyrography- the art of decorating wood or other materials with burn marks- and has exhibited her work at numerous festivals including San Diego’s True North and Hillcrest City Fest under the brand name Matter By Milan

Biography

Milan Finnie was born and raised in Imperial Beach, located in Southbay of San Diego, California. As a young girl, she could often be found visiting her father’s workplace at  the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park. Although a woman of many passions  and talents, her early fascination with creativity remained the source for her passion. In observation of this, her father placed her in classes to begin her formal art and music education.

Her connection to the ocean, earth-positive music, and travels to various countries that include: the Peruvian Amazon, Thailand, and Jamaica, have aided in her ability to explore and tend to her relationship with the Earth.

While attending an art class at High Tech High Media Arts School, her Art Teacher, Joshua Krause, introduced the class to pyrography, which would later become her primary medium. Her work is inspired by tribal prints, indigenous cultural art of the world, sacred geometry, women’s body-positivity, and the elements of the earth.

Check out more of Milan’s awesome work on Instagram

Get your hands on some of her products here!