Metal and Crochet- An Interesting Mixture

For over a year, my godmother has been asking me to start a Ravelry, an amazing knitting and crocheting community forum, information database, shop resource, and more. I had always avoided it feeling that my wire crochet was not a true fiberworks art. (Fiberworks are crocheting and knitting with yearn.) Well, as time would have it, I bit the bullet today and decided to sign-up--- and started getting ideas! Why not try to use metal to create a standalone art piece using a typically yarn-based crochet pattern?

My semi-epiphany may seem logical, but once you have tried crocheting with metal, you will see why I had avoided it. Metal, unlike yarn, does not supply a "give" making it easier to work with and shape. While one can undo a yarn based stitch, one cannot undo a metal based stitch without likely breaking the metal. This situation leads to the need for extreme exactness and being able to find creative measures to hide "mistakes." It also causes wire crochet artists to typically start with making cuff bracelets or braided necklaces, as can be seen below.

"Fire" Inspired Brass Wire Crochet Bracelet

Black Pearl Silver Wire Crochet Necklace

Both these pieces use relatively simple stitches, yet look beautiful when done. (Granted, I put teeny, weeny seed beads on them, making the stringing take over an hour, but it is worth it.) However, when trying to applying crochet techniques to more difficult ideas, it took over a year to develop my skills. The next two pieces show my relatively current skills; the ones that I feel can now move to the next level.

Black Pearl Bird's Nest

Green Flourite Silver Wire Crochet Pendant

And what is the next level? Either this pattern from Pie in the Sky Crochet, or a variant of it. Now, upon reading this pattern, my head has gone "BOOM," but with patience and time, it could be an excellent necklace or bracelet. I just have to use different size hooks and get the hang of working the next level in wire. 

So, in short, wish me luck! I will try to do a semi-documentation of making this piece in pure copper core wire...

Playing with Retro

As this blog will be jumping between time periods, it will also be jumping between piece styles. Today's piece arose from a desire to make a vintage-esque pendant for a new store that recently began carrying my work. Located in the semi-retro area of Toronto, The Trap Door Boutique exclusively carries only 20 designers. The owner, Gabrielle, has collected a unique blend of wearable art that ranges from classic dark elegance to retro-loving fun to the rave days of yesteryear. My wire crochet line is also included in this elite team, including collars, earrings, and pendants that have never shown anywhere.

In any case, on with the story!

This little dude is loving called, "a mesh with a hairdue." He started with an idea: to make a fashionable vintage styled piece using the my love of wire crochet. To this point, my art has solely focused around the themes, colors, and shapes found in our green environment. I wanted to expand outside my comfort zone. I wanted to try something that exceptionally contrasted with my own innate passions. Thus, the little vintage fashion ball was conceptualized.

Modern fashion-lovers and hipsters have never been my clientele. I spend my downtime at art shows watching  fellow artists attract these people through their own specialization. Slowly but surely, my viewing deepened my comprehension of the styles that exult man-made creativity.I saw how a little mesh sphere could be seen as a necessary fashion accessory due to its shape and multipurpose use; how old-fashioned ideals led to romanticism represented by a worn necktie. The combination of these ideas led to my eureka moment- why not use wire crochet, a modernized historical skill, on top of those multifunctional fashion spheres to create my own versatile piece? A "mesh with a hairdue" was born.

Creating this piece was another matter. Luckily, most jewelry stores stock these popular little mesh balls that many jewelry artists use. All I had to do was figure out how to make an asymmetrical wire crochet cap, or hair due. Basing this structure of my wire crochet bird's nests, I toyed with the black top's tension and shape until it fit perfectly. What I did not expect was the difficulty attaching the wire crochet top to the mesh ball. Over 1.5 hours and 30 attempts later, I had successfully woven the the piece together. However, my unforeseen Herculean task did win in one aspect: I have to leave one thin black piece of wire showing along the side leaving tears swelling in my inner perfectionist eyes.

In the end, inner mesh, wire crochet hairdue ball boy was created. I had triumphantly left my creative comfort area to form a retro-based fashion piece that could appeal to a contrasting clientele. This piece is currently searching for its ideal audience at Trap Door Boutique where it eagerly awaits its permanent home.

(As always, I can always create a sibling via custom orders. Feel free to adopt one at its Etsy listing.)

Creation

Recently, I was told to write a book concerning my pieces. As I have tried to write a blog repeatedly on this subject, I found the heartfelt recommendation ironically funny. Tonight, at a sleepless 4:15 AM in the morning, I will commence my third, or perhaps fourth attempt at maintaining a blog. However, the focus shall shift from creating stories inspired by my textured work to explaining the inspiration behind to my work.

It is only fitting that the semi-commencing entry to be written about a semi-commencing piece: Ocean Turquoise

This piece arose from my love of turquoise color and my avoidance of the color orange. In early 2013, I decided to combine my opposing color passions in an effort to expand my own ability and artistic flair. (This same choice has occurred numerously since then.) As an artist, I was quite aware that these colors were complimentary and, as such, were extremely visually compatible. However my animosity towards orange remained constant.

Thus began the search towards designing a piece that aligned with my work's underlying theme, to be connected to nature, and integrating orange. Luckily, my mother gave me a little bag of coral the year previously. Its orange color immediately foretold what the theme would be- the ocean. A gorgeous underwater bed with coral and pearl. Yet, my search has not ended completion. I wanted to add a complexity to this piece as it was one of my first ever created. I continued to hunt through my gemstones to discover orange calcite and sand-colored jasper. Hazaa! The secondary theme quickly evolved into the desert, from where my love of turquoise blossomed four years prior in New Mexico. 

Excitedly, I began working, endeavoring to create a piece that represented this wonderful duality. The piece slowly formed, combining two elements that more people have yet to notice, or if so, have not verbally indicated to me. 

The next stage became how to clasp this beauty? People struggle closing toggle clasps when the bracelet is wide and form-fitting. A lobster clasp, no matter the size, would look dinky, or worse, cheap. Thus, I opted for functionality. When I first learned how to make wire crochet bracelets, my instructor had a sumptuous display of dazzling Czech glass buttons that we used for clasps. Following her wisdom behind the button method, I chose to look for vintage buttons that would indirectly respect the historical textile weave. I scoured various shops to discoverer the perfect vintage button that would compliment my themes. A non-intrusive, demure  sand shaded button circa twenty to forty years ago caught my eye. It perfectly connected the two themes as sand is found in both locals, granted one unseen. This button completed my first ever nature-based wire crochet gemstone bracelet, and as such, helped to create an addiction while making any wire crochet work. 

I hope you have enjoyed this story as it is the first in hopefully many to come.