The wire I use, comes from inside slot machines, electric motors, transformers and any other sources I can find. It is knitted on knitting frames using a variety of hand techniques. The work is influenced by cultures from history (old & new world) and nature, both from land and sea. These influences are used to make the bags, headgear, body pieces and creatures themselves. The wire gives the creations structure but is also flexible, this allows the creatures to articulate. Not wishing just to copy nature, I try to capture its essence.
Angler fish Constructed on a knitting frame use plastic coated wire from a slot machine and copper wire from a transformer. It is available from Sea Pictures Gallery . sold
Cray fish Created on a knitting frame using red copper wire from a transformer. The wire is this colour when it is unraveled from the transformer.
Goby This piece has just been sold in Craft in the Bay the retail outlet for The Makers Guild In Wales sold
Jelly fish The wires used for this piece come from electrical motors and are various shades of copper, green and red. It was created on a domestic knitting machine but just using it as a frame and latching each needle back by hand.
Octopus The metre long tentacles are made from copper wire reclaimed from washing machines motors and five were needed to make the eight of them, as well as an amount of plastic coated wire for the rest of the creature.
Turtle The turtle took a long time to make as I ran out of white coated wire. Often the sculptures take a lot more wire than I first estimate and have to wait until something similar turns up as I reclaim it. I wanted to create a turtle as they are an endangered species.
Ray The ray was made for the Reworked exhibition at the Washington Gallery in Penarth. The wire used in this piece is much thicker. I believe that I am the only wire frame knitter who uses this thickness of wire.