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with my scissors, but you might need to use pliers
depending on the thickness of your wire. When
drawing with wire remember to watch out for the
end as you don’t want it to accidentally ping into
anyone’s eye!
The tricky thing about drawing this way is how each
bend and fold created moves the existing bends
and folds. This means you have to keep altering and
adjusting as you go, keeping in mind the overall
look of the drawing, while also focusing on the small
section in progress. The finished pieces are gorgeous
but very fragile; they’re easily squashed so store them
in a safe place until you’re ready to tape them into
your book.
Drawing with wire is a really beautiful way to create
a line drawing in space. I have lots of these drawings
taped to the walls of my studio and I love their
elegance and the different shadows they create
over the course of the day. Using wire is a sculptural
approach to drawing, allowing us to create lines in
three dimensions and to view our emerging and
finished work from every angle. These drawings work
beautifully hung as mobiles or simply taped or pinned
directly onto the wall. For inspiration before you begin,
research the exquisite wire drawings of Alexander
Calder and CW Roelle to see how far this approach can
be taken and inspire you before you begin.
You will need a small amount of thin, soft, pliable
wire that is really easy to bend with your fingers. I
recommend floral wire, but you can also use 2mm
aluminum wire or modeling wire. I can cut floral wire
Drawing
with Wire