Beautiful works of art are not usually associated with death. However, an increasing number of artwork techniques is making it very dangerous.
Intense currents of electricity are being used by people all over the country to create intricate patterns in wood. These people are creating the designs using homemade devices made from microwave parts that can produce thousands of volts.
This is called fractal melting. While the result may be stunning, it can also lead to fatal mistakes.
Tanya Rodriguez, James Carolfi, and Tanya Rodriguez were both electrocuted as they were wood-burning. Their Wisconsin home also caught fire.
“This is not worth messing around with,”Caitlin Schmidt spoke to Inside Edition.
Fractal wood burning caused her to lose her husband.
“He loved our family. he would have never in a million years done this if he had known this could be the outcome,”She said.
Schmidt had Schmidt record Matt, her husband, showing off his artistic designs to their children.
“Isn’t that neat?”Matt asked his family a series of questions in one video.
Two weeks later, their son found Matt in the garage dead.
“He was most likely gone before he even hit the ground,”Schmidt stated.
Schmidt isn’t the only one who has suffered this loss.
As wood-burning patterns are a common practice, at least 33 Americans have died.
James Trudell was making Christmas gifts for Brenda Trudell’s family when he was electrocuted. He died one week later.
“It’s heartbreaking. In the blink of an eye everyone’s life has completely changed,”Trudell stated.
If professionals are trained and competent, fractal burns can be done safely. Eric Beauchamp, a Chicago artist, showed Inside Edition his carefully controlled method. However, even with the proper equipment and safeguards in place, there is still risk to fractal burning.
Beauchamp also advised people to steer clear of the do-it yourself method that seems to be growing in popularity.
“Insanely dangerous,”He stated. “How they’re wired and how they’re setup are very different, and that combination is a recipe for disaster.”