Mid-Week #9: Wired Wednesday Lucky 7

Welcome to what may or may not be the final Wired Wednesday for a while! Since I'm so late posting and sharing masks again, I might as well go with Theatrical Thursday.  If only science had been able to grasp the elusive secret to faster than light travel, I might even have been able to post it Wednesday night on Thursday morning...Moving on...

First up is a mask that I'm hesitant to call complete.  It is loosely based on Balinese masks of the lion-like king of spirits, Barong, the leader of the forces of good.  I really like the extremely expressive masks of both Barong and his evil nemesis Rangda (a mask of whom will also be constructed at some point).  They are recognizable by their exaggerated eyes and mouths.  I will likely add more of a frame to this eventually and give it a nice mane and beard, also made of wire, of course.

 Next is a more Egyptian inspired mask. In case you've missed the context clues throughout my blog, I enjoy the mythologies of various cultures throughout the world.  This, as I said, is a mask of any of the variety of hawk or falcon headed gods of ancient Egypt.  Like the Barong mask above, I will probably add more to this one in the future, but for now I'm happy with it hanging on my wall as it is. I really like the way the feathers turned out in this one. While ideally I could have a three-dimensional image you could rotate to see all the different angles, you at least can get a better view of the feathers from the profile shot I also included.

Finally is one that has a much less mythological inspiration.  It's a goat.  I suppose one could argue that there are several instances of goats in various world mythologies, but this is your basic run-of-the-mill goat. I think goats get a bad reputation from their (admittedly creepy) horizontal slit pupils. In fact, they share that genetic trait with deer, cattle, most horses, and many sheep species all of which benefit with greater peripheral depth perception. The primary difference being that goats have lighter colored irises, so the strange shape stands out more.  You may be thinking "None of that has to do with art or wire," but remember that any artistic reproduction you make with the desire to accurately depict reality must begin with close observation of the aforementioned reality.  Plus, creepy factor aside, their eyes look kind of cool.

Thus ends (maybe) the saga that has been Wired Wednesday. Changes lie ahead for the Hey Mr. H! blog. Starting Sunday, the first of the week posts will now periodically be featuring some of my paintings, so be sure to check back in for that. And don't forget, if you like what you see on this or any other post, share it with a friend. Blogger supports a variety of social media (twitter, Facebook, etc.,) In any case, I hope you have a wonder-filled second half of the week. Until next time.

Stay creative,

AH!

Mid-Week #8: Wired Wednesday Part 6

 Wired Wednesday is off and running! This week's theme is...well...there really isn't one...I guess wire? Yeah, I'll go with that. Anyway, here we go.
This first one is a unicorn, as is strongly hinted at by the singular sharp horn protruding from its forehead. Unlike most of the sculptures I've posted pictures of so far, this one is in fact the third of its kind.  I produced the first one as a gift. When a co-worker of the gift recipient saw it, she offered to commission a second one.  While I was making the second one a thought occurred to me. "Why not make a third unicorn to keep for display?" I thought. Not exactly a riveting story, I know, but important nonetheless. Had I not made this one, I couldn't be sharing it with you today. The final product stands 9.5 inches tall and is about 11 inches from head to tail. I like the way the whole thing turned out, but my favorite part of this one is the mane, on which I used a smaller gauge stainless steel wire.

At this point, I imagine that seeing another mask shouldn't come as much of a surprise.  This one is fairly unique in that it has almost no story of how I was inspired to make it.  Basically, I started bending some wire and really liked the shapes that began to form.  At some point in every work of art the artist has to step back and say, it's finished.  That time came fairly early in this mask's creation process. It's about 9 inches tall.

I'll conclude this week with one that isn't nearly so simple in design, but also started as a mask.  This, in case it isn't immediately apparent, is a chimpanzee head. My fascination with most primates is the short form explanation of the "why?" of this one.  It started off in much the same way the mask above did.  I first set out to make a slightly abstracted (read cartoony) monkey mask. Somehow in the process of creating it, the project took on a life of its own and became the approximately 1:1 scale chimp head you see now. Unfortunately, due to the complexity of the wiring, it doesn't translate as well into two-dimensional photograph as I would prefer. The first shot shows it in profile, the second viewing it from the front, and the third viewing it from the back.  Like the full scale hand I made and showed in this post, I hope to one day complete an entire body for this guy.  If and when that day comes, I will most assuredly post pictures of both the process and the final product.  Until then, a disembodied primate head it shall remain.

Though I will still post wire sculptures periodically, my weekly Wired Wednesday series will be drawing to a close before long.  Keep checking back though to see what other projects I have in store for you.  Rest assured that as long as there is life in my body, I will continue to do my best to translate my art from ideas to realities.  As usual my art challenge to you all stands and don't forget to support your local artists of all forms. Have a great week and as always...
Stay creative.
-AH!

Mid-Week #7: Wired Wednesday Act V - Masks Continued

Wired Wednesday strikes again! I decided to share a few more of the masks I've made this week, including one of my favorites. So here we go...
This first mask is the result of my general distaste for football (American football for my overseas readers).  I know, I'm supposed to be a huge fan of it just because I'm a guy, but I greatly prefer one good hockey game to a whole season of football. Anyway, about five or six years ago, I was invited to hang out with some friends and watch the Superbowl. Since by my estimation, the commercials and conversations with friends are often the best parts of the game, I brought along my wire and started working as we talked. By the end of the game, I had managed to bring about this half-mask. I've always enjoyed the labyrinthine meandering lines of ancient Greek and Roman art, and since they were some of the great masters of theatrical masks, the project practically designed itself. So here it is It's about six inches from top to bottom.

Along the same lines of thought, I also made this next mask.  If you are familiar with classical theatrical symbolism, you'll likely recognize this guy as Comedy, a mask most frequently associated with the muse Thalia. In fact, you have almost certainly seen it in the company of the mask of Melpomene, muse of tragedy. The two masks together being an accepted symbol for theatrical acting.

This final mask (for today, at least) was made as an accompaniment for the Sun mask I posted in the first Wired Wednesday. I decided to make the Moon simple in design to provide visual balance with the much more visually busy Sun.  Like the Labyrinth mask above it is a half mask, only split vertically instead of horizontally.

On that note, I'll say "Good night, Moon," (and other masks) and sign off for the day.  I'm finally taking pictures of some of my other figures, so the Wired Wednesday series will continue for at least one more week. That should give you all time to work on and send me the art I challenged you to draw a couple of weeks ago (hint, hint, hint). Looking forward to sharing more drawings Sunday!

Stay creative,

AH!

Mid-Week Post #3: Wired Wednesday

And now for something completely different.  I first began bending picture hanging wire into various shapes one night after a seeing a great concert (the Christian rock group Third Day, for those interested) in North Little Rock, Arkansas one Good Friday, quite a few years back.  Oddly specific, I know, but that's just how my memory works. Anyway, the first thing I made was a little man. This one is a little more refined than that first one, as I have made a veritable army of the little guys since then. They usually end up going home with whoever is around and seems interested when I'm making them. My first wire man I made, named Zeke-37, still resides on a shelf in my bedroom.

After the first four or five wire men, I decided to try some other shapes and, for whatever reason, I settled on masks.  I'm really fascinated by masks of various cultures. I find it interesting how some cultures that are separated by vast geographical distances frequently managed to not only create similar mythologies, but chose to express them through the crafting of masks. I'm sure that hundreds of psychologists and cultural anthropologists that have at least as many theories as to why that happened.  Honestly I'm not interested in the reasoning, I just like the masks. Here are a couple of the first ones I made. The first one ended up having a Norse feel to it. The second has a sort of an African feel. I included side views of them to show their depth.

I made this sun not long after these first two masks. I suppose it could be considered the third mask I made. The distance between the eyes and mouth of this one would make it less functional, except perhaps for a child. I suppose I haven't really made any of them to be wearable, instead opting to make them more for decoration than anything else.

Much like the drawings, that's just the tip of the iceberg in regards to my wire working, so I'd imagine I'll be posting more of these too as time progresses.  Until next time, I'll leave you with one of my new favorite quotes.

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."

-Scott Adams, Cartoonist and Author

Stay creative, my friends.

-AH!