Sculpture at home may seem like a daunting idea, but many sculptural materials are not only easy to use, but inexpensive and tidy.
I love wire!
Wire is a great choice for elementary age artists, as the wire represents line, which makes a familiar link from two-dimensional drawing to three-dimensional sculpture. Students can clearly visualize how a drawing can become a wire sculpture by following the contours of their drawn lines.
There are many varieties of wire, ranging from thick aluminum to fine copper wire, and also colorful plastic coated wire more suited to younger artists, as it dulls any sharp wire ends.
Wire is also forgiving of mistakes and changing ideas, allowing for untwisting and re-twisting many times before the wire becomes too tangled to use again.
Below is a video tutorial demonstrating how to make a wire figure sculpture. You can create this and display as-is, or glue it to a base, add clay, aluminum foil or plaster to create a realistic figure with more volume. Try it at home with your family!
