She's Crafty | String Art

A few posts ago I talked about two interior decorating books we have in our library. One of the books, Bright Bazaar by Will Taylor, showcased a home with these really cool string art boats nailed directly into the wall. You can read that post here if you like: Bright and Fearless Decorating.

After seeing these boats I began thinking about string art more and more. What projects I've done in the past, what really appeals to me, and what I can actually do.

Back in the day I made string art earrings. You get tightly coiled wire, make a shape--usually a tear drop--and then you wrap different colors of thread round and round the coiled wire to make cool designs.

Kate's Earring by Fenn. Some Rights Reserved.

I made these by the boat load. Not literally, but I literally did make a large number of them.

Then for a teen program the idea of making string art on cork coasters or tiles was considered. However, I opted for something else, but I am not opposed to revisiting the idea. If you get the right materials you don't even need a hammer to make cork string art, just some thick cork, little nails, and a pile of strings in every color imaginable. I can see kids, teens, and grown people enjoying a bit of string art in the library.

String Art Heart by Personal Creations.
Creative Commons 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What is really catching my eye right now for my personal use is big, bold, and colorful designs. I'm thinking pop art in strings. Quotes, in strings. Abstract three-dimensional wooden sculptures...with strings.

String art by Dominique Falla. #altsummit.Photo by designmilk. Some rights reserved.

Untitled, sculpture of mixed-wood, screws, string and acrylic by Tyson Koehn.
Photo by Ali Eminov. Some rights reserved.

There is something fascinating about the craft of wrapping threads of all kinds around nails or other objects to create either chaos in straight lines or an orderly geometric pattern. In fact, did you know that string art can be used to illustrate one of the main ideas of calculus? Yes, the idea that straight lines can be used to represent curves is easily revealed in string art. Just take a look at the curves created by straight lines in the earring above. If you want to learn more about the educational uses of string art check out, Cool String Art: Creative Activities that Make Math & Science Fun for Kids!

Malia