Wire Bird Sculpture workshop with Tom Hill

Where: The People’s Building, 9995 E Colfax Ave, Aurora, CO 80010. Parking is behind the building (see their website FAQ page). The workshop is in the basement level.

Who: Thomas 'Tom' Hill. Learn more about Tom on his Instagram @tomhillsculpture. You can also read this feature article in American Craft HERE. Tom will also be presenting at our Annual Conference, IGNITE, July 19-21.

When: Tuesday and Wednesday, July 16 & 17, from 10am-4pm with a break for lunch.

Workshop Outline

Students are asked to  think about the sort of bird you would  like to make before you arrive. Take or find photographs that you can bring to the workshop. It would be helpful if students could find images of birds standing and running as one of the most fun parts of the workshop will be balancing your wire bird sculpture. Your birds will be between 10-30 inches tall.

The first morning of the workshop will be spent developing ideas by drawing on paper for about 45 minutes. Then Tom will demonstrate basic joining and wrapping techniques. The afternoon will be spent creating the basic outline of the bird and starting to fill in the three-dimensional form.

On the second day, Tom will start by demonstrating how he makes bird legs and then have the students work on this with help from Tom and an assistant in the morning. In the afternoon students will spend time balancing the pieces and adding and refining the details , etc . If there is time students will be able to experiment with adding flat areas of paper/card or even make a second piece experimenting with balance, etc.

A lunch break will be determined by the class. 

There is no soldering or welding in this workshop. Suitable for novices or experienced 3D/Sculpture or metalworking students, 18+.

Materials

Black annealed steel wire in different gauges will be provided and is what your $15 materials fee is for (included in your registration price). Please bring , if you are able , needle nose jewelers pliers or household long nose pliers and any wire cutters or pliers with an integral cutter that you may have. The tools don’t need to be fancy - Harbor Freight is a great place to find these cheaply and thrift stores/garage sales. Tom will provide some pliers as well.

Please bring paper and/or a sketchbook and a drawing implement of your choice. Do not worry if ‘cannot draw’, you will simply be rendering photographic images into drawn lines so that you can translate more easily into wire lines.

You may wish to wear old clothes or an apron and have a rag to clean wire or your hands while working.