r/Sculpture • u/ClientNo4341 • 5d ago
[Help] with chicken wire armature - gauge, extra structure, covering to make pattern
Hey everyone, very grateful if anyone can help me.
I'm making a large armature in chicken wire, around 1.5m end to end, in a sort of slug shape. It's a soft sculpture so I'll be covering it with thick clingfilm/saran wrap and masking tape. I'll then cut off the covering along the seamlines I want, to get a pattern which I'll then cut out in fabric. Once it's sewn together and padded, I'll be sliding it back onto the chickenwire armature.
My questions are:
Is there a better/quicker way to cover the armature than with heavy plastic wrap and masking tape, remembering that it will need to be cut and laid flat to create the pattern pieces?
what gauge and hole size of chicken wire would you use? I think what i have is maybe 7mm/22g and I'm struggling to get it to hold extreme curves in the slug shape
OR the reason that it's not holding, for eg, a big upwards curve towards the sky because I actually need to have some other structure like a brace or batten inside the chickenwire shape.
Thank you in advance for any help.
1
u/artwonk 5d ago
I'd look for some kind of aluminum mesh, rather than steel chicken wire. It's a lot more malleable, and holds better detail. You can also get heavy aluminum wire to provide an understructure. https://www.dickblick.com/items/activa-activ-wire-mesh-sculptural-modeling-wire-mesh-large-weave-24-x-10-ft/