Before I begin, let me assure you the above title is not a statement about marriage.
Do you play with wire? One of the most enjoyable parts of playing with wire is manipulating it in various directions just to see what it does. There’s something relaxing about the freedom of working WITHOUT a pattern or a set idea of how a piece will turn out.
Art is one of the few places where the guidelines for problem solving are so open. For example, we’ve recently had a problem here at the ranch and needed a prescribed outcome. There was absolutely No Freedom regarding how things should turn out. When your irrigation pivot won’t run and you have to problem-solve a solution, you want the outcome to be a pivot that runs! (0bviously!) In art, however, the outcome may be unexpected, yet appreciated.
I have worked with what I call “double wire” designs for several months. You may recall the necklaces shown on May 28 which were double wire designs. The Chaos Necklace series has pieces that also begin with the double wire idea.
Today, I wanted to show two of the newer pendant-type necklaces that have hatched as a result of playing with the double wire idea. Both of those shown below feature tourmaline that I purchased from Magpie Gemstones (www.magpiegemstones.com). I actually used just one strand of tourmaline to complete both of these pieces and have also used some of that strand for other things. It was a good buy!
It’s interesting to see how different this style turns out when the wire starts in the same manner.
I’m not sure why I call is double wire, since all the pieces are made from a single piece that doubles back on itself. The challenge is how to make that single wire into a pleasing configuration. Give it a try and see what you can come up with.
If you aren’t a wire worker, just play around with drawing the way the wire might go. By the way, if you come up with something exciting, send it my way!!!
Freedom to play around can be found through many venues. It might be the way you dunk the basketball or a new dance move. Perhaps you play around with a new configuration in arranging a shelf full of books or nick knacks. I think that freedom to play around is just as much an attitude as an action. Am I stuck doing things the same old way, or am I free to try something different? Am I free to let those around me try something new?
Lest one of you takes the above to heed and get’s fired, I should remind you that we need to choose appropriate routes to freedom. If your boss isn’t into it, take care. If you ARE the boss, why not give an inch? We could all stand to play around just a bit more.
The third piece probably took the longest to make. It was quite tricky to get the three middle pieces of wire to all ball together in the torch. While you cannot see this very well, I can assure you it doesn’t look very ball-like. Yet, I wasn’t going to do it again! I think the wire weaving took the longest and I really do appreciate those of you who whip out these weaves with the greatest of ease. I’m making myself keep practicing and trying to learn to do this technique without gritting my teeth.
While writing the tutorial, I realized that I had not fully explored the potential of this design. I used the SCAMPER creative thinking tool previously mentioned in another entry and tried new things with the loops. I “minified” the design using lighter gauge wire and a smaller cylinder for the loops. This resulted in both a smaller more delicate bracelet plus a new necklace armature. Although the one in the photo is medium sized, I also like the tiny loops I put in an earlier necklace in the second picture. Hmm . . . I seem to be stuck on purple!
