In 1984, Deborah Nehmad, a successful lawyer, slipped, fell and injured her back. She worked for three years through chronic pain until it got so bad she had to quit. She turned to her longtime interest — art. Getting her MFA in printmaking at the University of Hawai'i, Nehmad, originally from Long Island, N.Y., started a new career.

Her show, "Iterations," at the Koa Gallery, continues her work with pyrography — heat is her medium.

"I discovered the burn mark as a metaphor for pain," says Nehmad by phone from Maui where she is working at Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center. "I've been accused of being seduced by the mark, and I acknowledge it. I find the burn mark intriguing."

Nehmad collaborated with another artist on every piece in "Iterations." These days, she says, her work is less about pain and more about process. For some she drew on wood with pencil, then glass artist Geoff Lee traced the marks with molten glass. The glass was removed, and Nehmad would rub oil into the residual mark and print it on Japanese paper. She also worked with printmaker Paul Mullowney, who runs Hui No'eau's press.

"The works in this show are about capturing that ash, part of the destructive process, onto paper," says Nehmad.

"My work has always been about trying to make something beautiful from something that is not beautiful," says Nehmad. "When people who have experienced pain look at my work, they get it right away."

Reach Lesa Griffith at lgriffith@honoluluadvertiser.com.