Daniel’s Skill Log 3: Wire twisted tree

What I learned:

In this skill logging assignment, I learned how to twist wire into tree sculptures. From the raw material of copper wires, bundling them together, twisting them at different lengths and angles, and then adding the final bends to make the tree look realistic and natural. In all honesty, most of the tutorials I’ve watched were very basic. They didn’t have much step-by-step instruction but were just the process of creating the trees. Through hands-on work was when I learned the most about how to create a realistic tree.

Reference:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/83ZJcgpb70k

Artifacts of what I learned :

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  The raw material used to create the twisted bonsai. Surprisingly it only required one bundle of the coil.

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  The wire is separated from it’s rubber jacket and ready to be formed.

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  The beginnings of the twisted bonsai tree.

The Thing I made:

To begin the bending of the wires, the raw material must be acquired. For some, this may be coils of armature wire however, for my source I chose electrical wires. First, the plastic coating had to be stripped to reveal the inner copper wires; this was my starting point. The copper wire was bundled together and twisted near the base. The long free strands were the branches while the short parts were for the roots. Then at different lengths, a portion of the free wire was split to create branches that grew apart. As the process went more branches were formed by splitting and twisting. The most important part was the bends. In nature, straight lines are uncommon so adding bends into the limbs gives it life. Although they may look random each bend gives the tree characteristics. Too much or too less can throw the feeling of the piece off. Finally, it was then mounted onto the pots made previously.

Artifacts of what I made :

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  This is the finished final product of the twisted bonsai in the pot created before. Leaves are missing as they are anticipated to be replaced by solar panels.

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  Top down view of the wire bonsai tree.

Connecting Back to Class:

This connects to the class as it is incorporating technology into art. With the technological advances thousands of years ago and the advancements in the recent centuries, we are blessed with electricity and most importantly the material used in this assignment. The small strands of copper, not only useful in transporting energy but also flexible, mimic the striations in the bark and wood of trees. This also supports our project’s topic as it is Sustainability and Energy. The sculpture is made from electrical wires that in some cases can be salvaged from construction or demolition of buildings. Instead of being in landfills or melted using lots of energy, we can repurpose them into building materials for our sculptures.