“Timmy” Grips Add Fine Art to Fly Rods

Phil Monahan writes on Orvis.com about the fancy hand-burning of art onto fly rod grips performed by Utah artist, fly-tier and college instructor Tim Johnson. “Tim has worked primarily in watercolors,” notes Monahan, “–we’ve featured his paintings on this blog–but about five years ago, he developed a new medium: hand-burning original artwork into the cork grips of fly rods. He calls these pieces of piscine pyrography ‘Timmy Grips’ and makes them to order, turning a favorite rod into a truly one-of-a-kind work of functional art.