Create a unique hanging mini-sculpture using the wire, beads, and buttons while drawing inspiration from the work of artists Mary Nohl and Emery Blagdon. Pick up the materials for this project FREE from the Social STUDIO, or try using materials you already have.
The colorful wire in the kit was originally meant to connect phone lines inside a home, but you can make it into a hanging sculpture of your own design. Use the buttons and beads to add more colors and textures. Are there other materials you have— such as yarn, tape, sticks, or even paper cutouts—that you might like to include? Go for it! Remember to incorporate a loop into your design or attach a piece of yarn at the top as a way to hang your piece.
Your sculpture might represent something or someone meaningful to you, or you can make it to hang in a place that is important to you. You might make it to give to someone you care about.
Visit the Art Preserve at 3636 Lower Falls Rd., Sheboygan, WI, to see Mary Nohl’s and Emery Blagdon’s work in person. Examples of Nohl’s and Blagdon’s work can be seen below.
1. Emery Blagdon, “The Healing Machine” (untitled individual component), c. 19551986; metal, plastic, and mixed media; 13 x 28 x 25 in. John Michael Kohler Arts Center Collection, gift of Kohler Foundation Inc. Photo courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center.
2. Emery Blagdon, “The Healing Machine” (detail, untitled individual component), c. 19551986; metal, plastic, and mixed media; 13 x 28 x 25 in. John Michael Kohler Arts Center Collection, gift of Kohler Foundation Inc. Photo courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center.
3. Mary Nohl, untitled, 1971; metal, wire, and plastic; 10 7/8 x 9 x 18 1/4 in. John Michael Kohler Arts Center Collection, gift of Kohler Foundation Inc.
4. Mary Nohl, untitled, c. 1940c. 1950; iron alloy wire and buttons; 29 x 24 x 4 1/2 in. John Michael Kohler Arts Center Collection, gift of Kohler Foundation Inc.