Final Project - Pumpkins In Wire

This piece is 8” X 4.5” X 4.5” and made of a combination of 18 and 22 gauge silver/steel wire.

The construction of this piece ended up being significantly different than what I had envisioned from the initial sketch of the pumpkins, but I am overall very pleased with the final piece. After attempting a two-ringed approach with the 14 gauge wire (see image 1) I discovered that I needed a slightly higher gauged wire in order to effectively develop the pumpkin shape.  After doing some research on “wire pumpkin construction”, I discovered that by securing together several concentric rings of wire I could easily create the overall shape of the pumpkin. 

Initial Attempt at structure with 14 gauge wire

Final plan using 18 gauge wire

Final Structural base using 18 gauge wire.

The initial attempt using this construction was significantly larger than what I needed, but working through some of the design ideas in this larger size made it easier for me to work out how to make the correct sizes to represent the original pumpkins. 

Two major challenges that I had to work out were how to attach the individual pumpkins together once they were complete and how to develop and attach the stem to the top pumpkin.  The wrapped wire around the pumpkin frame created a barrier that made it challenging to be able to attach the wire in the places necessary to do both of these things.  I learned that by creating a curved end (similar to that of a suture needle) I was able to loop wire under and around the existing structure to create attachment points that were stable and nearly invisible unless you are looking for them.

Given unlimited time on this project, I would probably start by removing and re-doing the stem.  While I am happy overall with the attachment of the stem to the structure, the shape and construction of the stem are not what I would like them to be.  I think it would also be nice to add a few leaves around the base of the structure just to give it more of a grounded feel.  I have even considered making it more mixed medium and adding some silk leaves to the structure.  I’ve considered painting it but I haven’t decided if it would add too or detract from the delicate feel of the overall structure.  If I were to paint it, I would still want to keep it one color – but maybe gold or a bronze color would make it pop a little. 

I learned a lot about my design aesthetic in the process of this project.  I learned that my preferences lean toward the more delicate-looking pieces.   Wirework was interesting and may be something I try again in the future and the project came out much better than I anticipated.