Wire Sculpture Experiments

This was the second task we were given in college. Trying to make wire structures within the are of 'fabricated nature'. I chose to make basic leaf branches as I'd learn how to attach small pieces of wire, without them slipping down or distorting the branch, as well as making a large amount of small fiddly leaves.

The first of the two pieces I made. I cut the wire into smaller lengths and used pliers and my hands to mold the wire into the shapes I wanted and attached them to the main branch by twisting the wore over each other till they stayed. This was the hardest part of the process as the two pieces kept slipping over each other and sliding down the branch. I ended up having to change my process. Instead of attaching the leaf to the branch, I extended the length of the leaf 'stem', and attached this to the last leaf. This new leaf stem then became the new branch until it eventually trailed off, and was replaced by another.

I like the outcome of this as all the detail is made by the wire, like a 3D line drawing. It makes it look delicate and pretty.

This is the second piece I did. I like this in different way than the first one though as this is a lot busier and complex than the other but lacks the simplicity of the first. I enjoyed making the leaves (brown paper) although it could get quite frustrating taping them to the wire as they would fall or be distorted. I do however like the finish look of them. I also like how I inserted the wire through a paper straw to create the branches as it gives them more structure and were able to hold more weight. They also made it a lot easier to attach the leaves as the wire had something to grip onto and so didn't fall down nearly as either as the first one. Unfortunately I didn't manage to complete this one (as you can see by the plain branch at the bottom) because the wire got so tough and difficult to work with, my hands were sore and nicked so much I had to put them down. I would however like to finish this at a later date to see how the finished piece could look.

Bart Soutendijk

Source: Bart Soutendijk

Soutendijk is originally from the Netherlands and has worked with mediums such as photography, silk-screen, lithography, acrylics, oils, clay and stained glass. He only started using wire after seeing an exhibit of Alexander Calder's wire art at Whitney Museum in NYC.

Soutendijk designs and builds custom wire wall art using 9 or 12 gauge annealed steel wire. He welds the finished product for strength and stability and powder coats them for endurance. His style is figurative, and says this helps him express what's most important in life, the simplest things. 

    

This is Soutendijk's 'Dogwood Flower's' and 'Daffodils'. I really like these pieces and how they highlight the beauty of simplicity. He is able to create such amazing sculptures by only using the necessary details for us to recognize what they show, not excessively adding too many details. I think the use of the thicker gauged wire gives Soutendijk the ability to give the pieces the strength and stability that I could not achieve with the thinner wire, as joints and bends required more wire to achieve.