Craftsman Crate: The Wire Sculpture Crate

Description

When do you imagine that wire sculpture began to be an artform? We were surprised to find that it dated back to the 2nd Dynasty in Egypt, some 2000 years before Christ. Wire was a major part of jewelry in ancient times. We didn’t even know wire was made that long ago!

Historically, metal sheets were cut into thin strips, then pulled through the holes in stone or gemstone beads to produce wire. Another ancient technique, called swaging, involved hammering a metal rod between grooved blocks or against a grooved anvil. By sometime in the medieval period, wire was made by hammering the end until thin, then drawing, or pulling, the metal through a die, or dies, to pull it into the proper diameter. The dies are made of hard cast iron, hard steel, or even precious stones. This is a cold working process, done at room temperature.

Modern wire sculpture was pioneered by Alexander Calder with his Cirque Calder in 1926…

The Wire Sculpture Crate Contains: 

Instructions and Patterns

Galvanized Wire, over 300 feet, in three different gauges

Mini Diagonal Pliers

Mini Long Nose Pliers

Large Metal Rings, 2

Small Metal Rings, 2

Waxed Cords, 2

Tree Agate Chips, Drilled – Tree agate, also called dendritic agate, are banded chalcedony stones with iron and manganese oxide crystal inclusions that formed in patterns resembling tree branches or foliage. It was first named by Theophrastus, a Greek naturalist, some three hundred years before Christ. These tree agate chips are drilled to form beads to make the perfect foliage for your tree sculptures.