Carterton artist Ngaire Kearney has the steadiest of hands and nerves of steel. She needs them - she etches intricate images into glass and stone, or burns them into wood. Most of her designs are created on objects she finds in second hand shops - glass vases, school desks, even family heirlooms that people bring to her for an artistic makeover. Ngaire trades as "Burnt Offerings" and her work's included in the upcoming Big Wai Art Sale in the Wairarapa, alongside other local artists and some from further afield. Ngaire tells Lynn Freeman she's self taught and started burning wood about 20 years ago. The Big Wai Art Sale starts at the Carterton Event Centre on September 9.