Art Historical Examples: I pulled inspiration from these two works when I was initially developing the idea for my sculpture.
Artist: Alexander Calder
Tools Used: Needle Nose Pliers, Lineman Pliers, Wire
Wire Used: 20 Gauge Galvanized Steel (Body of Sculpture), 24 Gauge Annealed Wire (Face of Sculpture)
Initial Blind Contour Sketches:
In-progress: When I was starting the design process I couldn’t decide between making one or two figures. I decided to make just the one ultimately because I felt that I was able to communicate what I wanted without building two figures, trying to construct another felt superfluous when it did not add anything particular to the meaning of the piece.
Finalized Contour Sketches:
These were the figures I was picking between. I wanted to illustrate a sense of self-reflection, taking a snapshot into a moment of intimacy with oneself, I then utilized the figure that I decided aided that narrative best.
Process Pictures:
These are some pictures I took along the sculpting process. I experimented with a couple of different gauged wire before choosing to build the main structure with 20 gauge galvanized steel and the smaller details in the face with 24 gauge annealed wire.
Final Product Pictures:
Here are some photos of the final product in different lighting, some photos trying to capture a hint of the shadow effect the piece had.
Final Reflection:
I really enjoyed this project as a whole, before this, I had never used wire to make art and after I find myself excited by the idea of using/sculpting with the wire I have leftover. It was such a different experience from any other sculpting I’ve ever done and I have learned so much. It is a medium unlike any other I’ve used before however and that had its many obstacles, but nothing I couldn’t learn from and adapt to. I loved the problem solving I had to do and was ultimately very pleased with the final result. To end up with an aesthetically pleasing sculpture that was still able to successfully speak for itself in a critique is all any artist can hope for when experimenting with new media.
