Wire

Sculpture
 What is wire Sculpture?
•Wire Sculpture is the creation of
sculpture or jewerly (sometimes called
wire wrap jewerly) out of wire. The use
of metal wire in jewerly dates back to
nd
the 2 Dynasty in Egypt and to the
bronze and iron Ages in Europe.
•[1] In the
20 th century, the work
of Alexander Calder, Ruth
Asawa, and other modern
practitioners developed the
medium of wire sculpture as an
art form.
Art work of Alexander Calder
•Alexander Calder (1898-1976), an
American sculptor, greatly developed to
use of wire as a medium sculpture with
his kinetic and movement based Cirque
Calder, as well as pieces such Acrobats,
Romulus, and Remus and Hercules and
Lion.
•In 1926 after a stint spent making
toy at the request of Serbian toy
merchant in Paris,Calder began
creating his Cirque Calder,a
miniature,movable circus that uses
movabe wire models of various
circus performs,like sword eaters
and Lion tamers .
•[2] After this,Calder created
complete pieces only using wire
and in 1927 had a show of wire
Sculptures at the Weyhe Gallery
in New York City in 1930 h had a
solo show of Wire Sculpture in
Paris, at Galleries Billiet
Calder’s wire Sculptures of this period to be
tended portraints caricatures, and stylized
representations of people and animals .While
originally believing the medium of wire
Sculptures to be merely clever and amusing
as his works developed,he began to state that
Wire Sculpture had an Importantvlace in the
story of art and remarkedon the great
possibilities that lie within the medium
•[3] These new studies in wire,however
did not remain the simple modest little
things I had done in New York City.They
are Still simple,more simple than
before; and therein lies the great
possibilities which I have only recently
come to feel for the wire
medium…There is one thing in particular
which connects them with story.
•One of the Canons of the futuristic
painters,as propounded by
Modigliani,was that object should
not be lost to view but should be
shown through the others by making
the latter transparent .The wire
Sculpture accomplishes this in a
most decided matter”.
How to create wire sculpture ?
Step 1

Purchase 25 feet (7.6 m) of 22-

gauge wire. Metal wire can be found
at a local craft store. You will find it in
the jewelry making supply aisle. It’s
usually sold in a gold or silver finish.
Step 2

Cut the wire into 10 strips. Each strip will be

cut to be 2 ½ feet (76 cm) long. Make the cut
using a pair of wire cutters. Set the wires off to
the side.[1]The wire cutters are sharp. Use
Step 3

Add a bead to the first wire. String a bead onto your first wire.
Bring it down to the center of the wire. Bend the wire around the
bead until the ends meet. Twist the wire tightly, moving down
from the bead about ¾ inch (19 mm). You will be left with two
ends on either side of the twist
Step 4

Add two more beads to the wire. Add another bead

to one of the ends of your wire. Bend and twist the
wire around the bead like you did in the last step. You
will have about ¾ inch (19 mm) of wire below the
bead. Repeat this step on the remaining end of the
Step 5

Secure the beads. You now have three beads on

the wire in a “t” shape. Secure the beads by twisting
the remaining wire together below the “t”. Twist
these two wires together about ¾ inch (19 mm).
Step 6

Repeat this process with the remaining

nine wires. Add three beads to each of
the remaining wires. You will end up with
10 “t” shaped wires with three beads on
each wire.
Twisting the Wire into a Tree
Step 7

Twist two branches together. Cross two

branches over each other and twist them together
at the base of the beads. Do this with each of the
branches so that you have five pairings.
Step 8

Twist the grouped branches into a tree. Take one

pairing of branches and cross another pairing over it.
Begin twisting the pairings together. Add another
pairing, and another, until you have added all of the
pairings. Continue twisting the pairings together. This
twisting is creating the “trunk” of the tree. Create a
thick, wide trunk by twisting the bases of the
branches on top of each other.
• Create a thin, swirling trunk by stretching the bases
of the branches out as your twist them together.
Step 9

Create a ball at the bottom of the tree. When you near

the bottom of the wires, twist the wires around each other
to create a ball. This ball will help to stabilize the tree
within its container.