How to Create Wire Sculptures

Ever wanted to make a wire sculpture, but don't know where to start? This article will give you some tips and tricks for making these wonderful creative masterpieces. The possibilities of what you can create are endless - everything from animal sculptures and delicate flowers, all the way up to more abstract shapes like cubes or spheres. So, get your wire ready, grab those pliers and let’s get ready to start creating. 

This guide is inspired by the wonderful creations and expertise of professional artist, YouTube and TV personality, Huran Robert aka Mad Stuff With Rob who was the creative director of the popular Do it yourself (DIY) TV show M.A.D.. 

Step 1: Gather all the materials that you will need

The materials that you’ll need are wire - of course - as well as wire cutters, pliers and gardening gloves, a plastic sheet and tape. 

When choosing the most suitable wire for your piece you want to consider the its gauge. Gauge simply refers to the thickness of the wire - the lower the gauge number means that the wire is thicker; whereas, the higher the gauge number signifies that the wire is thinner/finer. According to The Creative Folk, to find the best wire, you should also note:

• the complexity of your project - for more intricate pieces, higher gauge wire will be more beneficial whereas, for a simplistic piece, you can opt for lower gauge wire.

• the amount of detail you want to add to the sculpture - a higher gauge wire allows you to incorporate detail with more ease than a lower gauge wire because it’s easier to bend.

• mixing both high and low gauge wires - for example, if you’re making an ostrich, a lower gauge wire will work well for the body whereas a higher gauge wire will tastefully highlight the neck and head areas. Furthermore, mixing wires is ideal for creating a sturdy structure and this technique gives you room to add more details.

• the hardness or malleability of the wire - wire hardness is available in three types:

  dead soft: dead soft wire is especially pliable and super easy to manipulate into all manners of shapes or patterns. We would recommend this for most wire sculpture projects. If you have some good tape to stick the wire together, then you are only limited by your imagination with this type of wire. You can make everything from the extremely basic, to the advanced, and everything in between. Plus, you can bend dead soft wire easily with your hands.

half-hard: it holds its shape well; creates a sturdy structure and with a pair of good pliers, half hard wire can be bend and twisted as you please.

full-hard: the hardest, most rigid and durable option that holds shape well. It is typically difficult to manipulate this type of wire with your hands so heat and tools are needed.

For wire sculptures, we’d suggest aluminum (armature) wires, copper wires, and sterling silver wires because they exhibit all the necessary qualities such as sturdiness, easy malleability, rustproof and lightweight that will make your process more enjoyable. 

Step 2: Choose your reference images

Just like when working with other mediums, you want to start with selecting a few images that you can draw reference from for the duration of your project. For wire sculptures, the best reference images have a clearly distinguishable, dynamic  form such as a silhouette or a distinct line drawing because it’s easier to see how the wire needs to be shaped to replicate the reference. 

Step 3: Get your plastic sheet and sticky tape

Place a clear plastic sheet over your reference image and use sticky tape to secure them together. 

Step 4: Outlining

Find your starting point which can be the top or the bottom, whichever you prefer. You want your outline to be one continuous line that bends and is shaped to follow the curves and form of your reference image. Use tape to help keep the parts that you’ve already molded, flat and secure over the reference image. 

After you have finished the outline, carefully remove the tape. Feel free to experiment with building layers to create a more dynamic and dimensional form. To do this, all you have to do is simple repeat this step on another part of the object’s form. For example, the first layer of a dog can comprise of the head, neck, body and front legs and the second layer can focus on the hind legs. To join layers, you can use small pieces of wires and coil them around the first and second layer. We’ll be discussing this technique and others in the next step. 

Step 5: It’s technique time!

One of the best parts about wire art is that there are numerous ways to manipulate your wire to create different impressive effects. We just mentioned one - coiling. There are different coiling techniques - closed coils, open coils, flattened extended coils and scrollwork and ribbon coils. The Home Shopping Network (HSN) has created a easy to follow guide, which we have included below, on how to do each of them and all the many other wire working techniques that we will be addressing.

Closed Coils: Using round-nose pliers, make a small loop at the end of the wire. Hold the loop firmly with parallel or channel-type pliers, and continue bending the wire around itself until you have a coil of the desired size. Keep adjusting the position of the pliers as you work, taking care not to mar the wire.

Open Coils: Using round-nosed pliers, make a small loop at the end of the wire. Holding the loop in the pliers, place your thumb against the wire and form a curve, eyeballing the space you want between the rings of the coil. Finally, carefully flatten the coil with parallel (channel-type) pliers.

Flattened Extended Coils: The flattened extended coil is a quick and easy way to form decorative trim or a structural device such as the side walls of a container.
Wrap the wire several times around a broomstick or dowel to make a coil. Remove the wire from the broomstick when the coils reach the desired length. Splay out or flatten the loops one by one by holding them firmly between your fingers and thumbs, or by squeezing a small group of coils with nylon jaw pliers. Keep splaying out or squeezing the loops until the whole coil has been flattened. The loops will now look more oval than round. You can stretch the coil further to open the loops if desired.

Tip: Make a length of dimensional coils by wrapping wire around a dowel. Remove the wire from the dowel when they reach desired length. After removing the coiled wire from the dowel, use nylon jaw pliers to tuck the sharp ends in and to manipulate the coils into any manner of shapes.

Tip: To slightly separate wire coils evenly, slip the blunt edge of a butter knife between the coils and rotate the knife's blade to separate the coils.

Scrollwork or ribbon coils: Place your wire on an anvil or other hard, flat surface; hammer the length of wire into a flat ribbon shape. Use round-nose pliers to shape the wire around the plier's jaw. Adjust the pliers as necessary, and continue scrolling to form a coil. Use nylon jaw pliers if incorporating the coil into another wire piece.

Twisting wire: Twisting wires together is a useful method of strengthening the structure and adding texture. Knowing the type of wire you’re using is important so that you know which tools to use as well. For example, softer materials such as copper can be manipulated and twisted with your hands; whereas, harder wires will require tools such as pliers or hand drill to mold and shape. HSN notes that “letting go of the wires prematurely may cause them to spin dangerously out of control. They further explain that “the easiest method for twisting wire is with a hand drill [or a wooden coat hanger with a revolving wire hook], giving you more control over the wire. Start with a piece of wire at least three times as long as the desired twisted length, keeping in mind that the tighter the twist, the more wire you'll need. Fold the wire in half and wrap it around a table leg or doorknob. If necessary, place some padding between the wire and the doorknob or table leg to protect the surface. Place a cup hook in the drill, and secure both wire ends to the cup hook. While holding the wire taut, slowly turn the drill handle, twisting the wire.”

Basic anchor loop: “Grasp the end of the wire with round-nose pliers, about 1/4" down from the end of the nose, keeping a firm grip on the pliers' handles. Create a tight loop by carefully winding the wire around the nose of the pliers by either turning the pliers or by pulling the wire around. Remove the loop from the nose of the pliers, and place the looped end between the tips of the pliers, squeezing to flatten out the end.”

Wrapping wire: The key to wrapping wire is to start by using a core wire that is thicker and more durable than the wrapping wire. Copper is a great material to use for this technique due to its soft, easily malleable nature. HSN advises that “when cutting the core wire, leave an extra 2-1/2" to form the winding loop. If you are using long lengths of wire, you may want to coil them first so they won't become unmanageable. Using round-nose pliers, make a loop at the end of the core wire and attach the wrapping wire to this loop. Insert a pencil or chopstick into the loop and use it as a winder by rotating it with one hand. While winding, use your other hand to tighten and scrunch the wire coils so that the wire is closely wrapped. You can also use flat chain-nose pliers, taking care not to damage the color coating.”

So, what are you waiting for? Grab your wire, get creative and make some art!  Wire sculptures are a great way to express your artistic creativity. They can be made out of any size or shape of wire. You can even use different colors to make them stand out more. There's no wrong way to create one either and there's no right answer when it comes to how they should look; the important this is just to have fun with it!