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wired for art

If you simply think of wire as pencil lines sketched on paper brought into your 3-D world, you’ve already grasped the beauty and simplicity of creating wire sculpture.

To get started with your first project, gather a few materials. The only tools you need are wire cutters. Because your first few pieces will require trial and error, buy a few types of wire to experiment with what feels best to you right now. Visit a hardware store for:

• Paddle wire or floral wire
• Copper, brass or aluminum wire
• Tie wire or baling wire – preferably of galvanized metal
• Picture wire
• Colorful laundry line wire

Or look in your own home for free:

• Old phone wire you may have in your garage or workshop
• Aluminum foil
• Wire hangars
• Pipe cleaners

Start experimenting
Fiddle around with easy-to-mold wire, like pipe cleaners or floral wire. Get a feel for how the metal bends, holds it shape. Now try a different kind of wire and see how that responds to the same techniques. Experiment with how pieces fit together, whether they stay in place or not and how to affix them if they don’t. Try using glue, epoxy or even welding to keep joints and sections together.

Experiment with shapes, like curlicues or flowers or animals or geometrics. Remember, the weaker the wire the less resilient it will be. Don’t worry. You’re having fun and being creative!

If you find you don’t like what you’ve made, just take it apart and start over. But remember the rule of serendipity and take pleasure in the forms, shapes and magical creatures you do develop. There’s probably someone in your life who will love whatever wire sculpture you make for them, especially if it’s one of your first.

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