03/29/2012 - Completion of Tree Art

I got news today that this piece was chosen to be in a First Thursday show...hooray. To be honest I didn't really figure out what "First Thursday" meant until I was talking to my mother-in-law about it and did a little web research. This and my Portland Bike Lane piece will be part of a 75% recycled show sponsored by SCRAP and Whole Foods. Can you notice anything strange about this picture?

Reclaimed Material: bicycle brake wire (cables)
Other/New Material: none
Tools: cable cutters, electrical tape

How I did it: I finished this piece by continuing to unravel the cables to make the various branches and tucking the ends under the canvas. I wanted to give a 3D effect to the piece, so I raised some of the "branches" and trimmed them at various lengths. I had to bend down the ends because each strand is razor sharp...I have the cuts to prove this. I trimmed off the excess wire from the back of the canvas and used the tape to hold the cables in place.

What I would do differently: Once I start a project I am really excited about I have a hard time sleeping because I just lay awake thinking about my next step, so I didn't get much sleep during this process. I should do things differently by getting more sleep, but it is hard to turn off creative processing mid-stream. I am very excited with how this turned out. My doggie, Max, was outside while I was taking this picture and is sitting right behind the piece so you can see his silhouette in the middle of the piece.

In case anyone reading this lives in the Portland Area, here is the information for the opening, but the pieces will be on display the whole month:

03/28/2012 - Brake Wire Tree

Trees are some of my favorite things. They are beautiful, unique--I can go on and on and on. I was so excited to start the tree once I finished the canvas. I was a little worried this wasn't going to turn out the way I wanted it to when I started the trunk, but as I kept going it came together nicely.

Reclaimed Material: bicycle brake wire
Other/New Material: electrical tape
Tools: brake wire cutters

How I did it: After I washed the wire/cables, I started with the trunk of the tree by using pieces of brake wire that had cable stops on the bottoms, yes, I was just told by my hubby that is the correct name. I threaded the wire through the weaves and twisted them randomly to give it more of a trunk look. I unraveled a strand of the brake wire and used it to hold the trunk in place by looping the strand around from underneath. After the trunk was completed, I spread out the brake wire to make the branches. I unraveled the ends of the brake wire branches to make smaller branches then tucked the ends between the weaves of the canvas.

What I would do differently: I need to be more careful with the brake wire because I got a lot of little cuts. I also scrubbed them before I started this project but there was grease in the nooks and crannies of the wires, so I think I should soak them overnight in Simple Green.

02/12/2012 - Packing Peanut/Coffee Bag Earrings

Sometimes you have to make lemonade. I thought for sure melting packing peanuts would mold them together to make a large piece. My original plan was to melt the peanuts together and make a box. They just shrink up into tiny pieces and don't stick to each other...they do, however, get an iridescent look to them when they are melted. I decided to try to make some kind of small jewelry with the pieces, but the pieces were to brittle to use on their own, hence the addition of plastic/foil coffee bag.

Reclaimed Material: packing peanuts, coffee bag, bicycle brake wire 
Other/New Material: earring findings
Tools: iron and board, parchment paper, pliers, glue, straight pin

How I did it: As I stated above, I melted the packing peanuts. I did as with the other plastic melting projects -- between parchment paper with a hot iron. I glued the melted peanuts with the shiny side up onto a coffee bag, also with the shiny side out. Once they dried I cut out squarish pieces from the coffee bag then poked a hole in each piece with the pin near the top to string the wire through. I cut four pieces of the wire (about 4" long each) and looped two through the loop on each earring finding. There were four pieces of wire hanging down so I threaded packing peanut/coffee bag pieces on each strand of wire. I staggered the placement of the squares then wrapped the ends and trimmed the excess wire.
 
What I would do differently: I have no clue what else I would do with these melted packing peanut thingies again. As far as jewelry making goes, I just need to keep practicing on my wire work.

02/11/2012 - Tree Pendant

I really love working with metal bicycle parts and I have been trying to come up with ways to use them without any welding knowledge. I am not sure how I am going to end up using this piece, but I am happy with how the front turned out!

Reclaimed Material: bicycle cog, bicycle brake wire 
Other/New Material: none
Tools: heavy duty metal snipper, pliers

How I did it: The first thing I did was to thread the brake wire through 4 holes on one side of the cog. I only used two pieces of wire so I threaded each wire in a U-shape between two holes. Brake wire is made up of many little wires, and those little buggers are very sharp. I got a few metal splinters when I was digging through the box at the bike shop I got them from. I used the pliers to untwist each of the wires that make up the brake line to separate them. This was a little more difficult than I anticipated. Once all of the tiny wires were separated I bunched them together and twisted them together at the base as tightly as I could with the pliers to make the "trunk" of the tree. I then grouped smaller sections of the wire to make the "branches" and pulled the ends of the wire through the holes along the top of the cog. After the tree design was complete I twisted the wire together in a circle behind the metal part of the cog to make sure no sharp wires were sticking out.
 
What I would do differently: The only thing I am not completely satisfied with is the back of the pendant with the wires leftover from tree. I need to figure out a good way to hold the wires so that this can be used as a pendant. For now I think I will make a small frame to mount this on.