Wall art present, yay/nay

ihmmy

So, I made this:

because, well, mostly I was wanting to play with copper wire. But my mom and her bf have been really liking steampunk lately and have could use more art in their house, so I'd kind of made this thinking it would be a spiffy gift for her. Does it suck? Not suck? Acceptable present for a mother, from someone who's not in elementary anymore? I made it out of all reclaimed/used type stuff if that helps make it niftier

Belruel

it kind of just looks like something pulled out of a junk heap to me.

It would probably look better horizontal, with maybe more interesting elements added to it. if you are going steampunk, try and find old cheap watch movements, and try and make it look like it might make some sort of sense.

what is the wire's purpose beyond being a tangle around the wood?

Esh

Belruel wrote: »

it kind of just looks like something pulled out of a junk heap to me.

Aumni

Yeah, I don't see any rhythm or sense to the object at all.

FeatherBlade

It might help if the wire were wrapped around the wood in a discernable pattern.... like radiating from those sunburst dealies on the ends, or something.

I think you would need a lot more copper wire to make it look decent, though...

tynic

The thing with steampunk is that while while it is a style with a lot of baroque and decorative flourishes, at its core it is a very functional aesthetic. Maybe you should start by thinking 'what is this designed to do' and then proceed with the things that should be necessary, before applying any decorative elements at the end.

MagicToaster

What is it?

HugmasterGeneral

(I apologize if this post has a tone.)
It really just looks like it was dug out of the garbage, which is where your mom will probably toss it. Like an above person said, steampunk serves a perceived purpose.

This is a guitar.


This is a watch.


This is a laptop.


It's instantly obvious which each item does. Each is a heavily stylized version of a sort of alternate timeline in which today's technologies existed back in the steam age.

ihmmy

to clarify, it's not supposed to be steampunk because I know that's beyond my abilities. more of an inspiration in terms of objects/colours used (dark wood and copper)

understood that it's basically crap.

Kendeathwalker

.

Forbe!

If I got that as a present I would be mad.

What do you want to make with copper wire, why is it something you're interested in? Tacking a bunch of crap together and calling it art is the wrong way to go about it. Draw an idea, something within your skillset, and execute it. Try to straighten out the wire instead of leaving all the kinks in it. And if 'steampunk' interests you, learn how to solder/braise, and don't fall into the cliched steampunk craft world of gluing clock gears to crap.

Munch

To give a little practical gift-giving advice that sticks to the steampunk theme, a quick Google search reveals a few How-To tutorials for creating various steampunk objects, as well as a few people on Etsy that sell steampunk gewgaws, which you could either buy, or just use as inspiration.

During my brief interest in steampunk, following a month of playing Arcanum, I kind of wanted to buy a crappy wall clock, and customize it. I imagine it'd be easy enough to pop off the plastic cover, switch out the hands with something a little more kitschy, change the background/numbers on the face, and paint the body of it with some cheap brassy spraypaint. You could probably even stick a small gear in the place of the seconds hand so that it'd be constantly turning.

m3nace

I've done some steampunk miniatures made out of old crap a couple of years ago. Those are really fun to do and can give really nice results.