For the 3D wire hand project, I picked a small air plant as the object my hand would hold. I based the shape of the hand off of this object so that it could be held and supported with enough wire. I started by tracing my hand with pencil and then taking 16 gauge wire and tracing my hand outline. I then attached the hand outline to a circular base so it could stand and bent the hand in the position that would best hold the air plant.
After creating this foundation, I went back in with my 16 gauge wire and added depth to each finger, attaching each new piece of wire to the base using thinner 22 gauge wire and needle nose pliers. I bent the wire using a combination of pliers, but found that sometimes my hands worked best. Once the basic structure of the hand was in place, I wrapped the thinner around the hand in a crazy, scribbly way to give it more dimension and make it look even more 3D.
I think the air plant is a cute and slightly stupid looking small spiky plant. I wanted to mimic that childlike, silly quality in the hand that I made to hold it.
