Fish Sculptures in Metal

It is always interesting for students to explore the use of texture in art. Both in our Mixed Media and Printmaking courses this is a significant area for experimentation for creating visually interesting works. Likewise, the students undertaking the Sculpture course are also exposed to a range of textural possibilities when creating three-dimensional forms. Recently my Grade 9 class applied their investigation of texture into a sculptural piece based upon fish.

Following a number of research tasks and media experimentation exercises, each student began to develop an idea based upon a series of line drawings. These were then adapted to the use of wire to create a central outline, which was then given width by adding loops of wire around the body of the fish. In this process students were taught basic techniques in wire cutting and soldering. In the end this provided the skeleton for the fish, which could then be clad with a range of metal textures and surfaces (ie copper, brass and aluminum). For the most part these materials were simply bent around the wire frame with pliers resulting in only minimal glueing.

The eyes were added using metal washers and the final sculpture was attached to a single metal rod, which was then set into a wooden base for stability. The students seemed to like the way that the original skeletal structure wasn’t always totally obscured by the added surface materials. Most of the works were confidently executed, with the bold scale of the works resulting for some impressive finished pieces.