Down to the wire

Suzie Harrison

Sculptor Tim Shockley, third year exhibitor at the Festival of Arts,

likes to switch roles and teach, an opportunity offered by the

festival’s youth art education workshop program. On Aug. 11 he was

the featured artist teaching wire sculpting to about 30 enthusiastic

children.

“I’ve been involved with junior arts and have done some other art

programs here at the Festival of Arts,” Shockley said. “This was a

good group of kids today.”

Shockley said he was chosen to instruct the class because the

project was to create three-dimensional art. As a sculptor he fit

well with his visual and technical skills. Before class, he made four

models reflecting what he thought the young artists could relate to.

“The whole idea, when you’re going to do something sculptural, as

opposed to painting where you can just start ... teaches planning and

foresight,” Shockley said. “When they pick up the piece of wire and

wonder ‘what am I doing,’ they draw it first and make a rudimentary

plan and they get it, ‘oh that’s what I’m doing.’”

Shockley said it teaches them a logical approach. But it also

teaches the students to interact, share and learn a technique of how

to put things together and make them stick.

“I made a heart because I didn’t like the flower that I made,”

said 6-year-old Sydney Fisher. “I liked making it, bending it at the

top and stuff.”

To create her piece Sydney said she first drew sketches to decide

what she wanted to do. She then sanded the base and created the piece

by bending the wire.

Megan Bills, 8, was focusing intently on her work while she was

creating it. All the while she had a big smile on her face as she

continuously looked at the drawing she made as a reference.

“I’m going to do a butterfly because it matches my room and I like

them,” Megan said. “I have a bunch of butterflies in my room, and I

like butterflies because of their colors and stuff.”

Peter Gilmore, 10, was working hard maneuvering the wire to bend.

“I just wanted to do a snail, an example was sitting right here,”

Peter said. “It’s real hard to bend the wire, usually you have to use

your teeth or the pliers.”

Shockley said he also feels the project helps the students be more

creative.

“I love the cobra, and the ballerina was excellent, and they all

had something going in their own way,” Shockley said. “They did it

themselves with little bit of training, and when the kids come and

hug me at the end it’s all worth it.”