Copper Puppy: the Wire

I wanted to post something about how I make a wire sculpture. I've never done this before (though I did create the stop-motion video "Make a Wire Bird," on YouTube and Flickr), and I apologize for how tacky the photos are.






1. I cut old electrical cable into lengths of 5 or 6 feet.



2. I use a utility knife to strip the rubber or plastic coating off each length of cable.

3. When I pull the covering off, there's a bundle of twisted wires inside. Some cables have as many as 19 wires; this cable had 7.

4. I untwist all the wires.

5. I pull each wire under my shoe (wearing old shoes - it cuts the soles!) to straighten it.

6. Now I've got about 130 feet of heavy-gauge (I think it's 16) copper wire to play with.