March 06, 2010

Twisting and Bending Wire


OK, so this is harder than I thought. While working on this cuff, I realized that wire working requires a lot of thinking about structure and construction beforehand.
I tried to work in the same way as I, in many cases, work in beadweaving - creating a base and then add more materials as I go along and build the design. Implementing the same process with wire could have worked (I think) if it was a free form wire cuff, but in this case, it didn't work well.




I built a frame around the focal bead and then connected more pieces, one at a time. I should have measure and cut all the pieces first and then connect them with another piece of wire in order to have a symmetrical body. Another thing I learned is that I should have used thicker, harder wire for the foundation (the wire here is dead-soft 20 gauge). I also had problems with creating the closure after the whole body was finished - another thing that I should have thought of beforehand and resulted in an awkward finish.
Although I spent more than 5 hours working on it, struggling with the wire and pliers, and it didn't came out as I envisioned it, I learned a lot of things through the process, which is most important.


I have so much more to learn and practicing to do and I'm excited about it! The only bad thing I can tell about this new work is that my fingers are aching from all the twisting and bending...

8 comments:

  1. The cuff is lovely! I like the effect of the frame around the focal.

    I remember the sore fingers when starting to work with wire. I decided to work on making my pliers an extension of my hands. It took a while, but it was worth it!

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  2. That is an absolutely beautiful, amazing piece of art Smadar.

    Nicole/Beadwright

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  3. Ich finde Ihre Armband, trotz der
    Schwierigkeiten sehr cuccessful.

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  4. I tried making a silver wire ring for my boyfriend for valentine's day but it just left me in tears and my hand hurt so bad the next day. I didn't plan it either but it seems like you were way more successful than I was.

    I think the cuff you made is beautiful and makes me want to give wire wrapped jewelry another go :D

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  5. Thank you all very much for your encouraging comments!

    Rose, as Kara said, it will take time and then we'll get used to it... I don't want to give up on this! :)

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