'All Wired Up' artist Celia Smith

Celia Smith uses wire to create sculptures. Each sculpture she makes is a three-dimensional drawing with the wires representing a quality of line. Birds are her main inspiration; capturing their movement and character are her primary concern.  Celia finds that wire has a spontaneity that can give her sculptures a feeling of life and energy.

Celia says, 'Christine Fletcher-Jones from Walford Mill Crafts approached me to be a part of an exhibition called ‘All Wired Up’ over a year ago.  It’s a show I very much wanted to be a part of, its always fascinating to see how other makers create with wire.  For the show I have made a selection of wall pieces and sculptures.  I have focused on birds that you might see on the river next to the mill – apart from the guillemots and puffins! 

I wanted to make one large sculpture for the show and after having a the pleasure of sitting in a bird hide sketching a very obliging Heron it had to be this bird that I made.   I wanted to replicate the lines I made in my sketches as much as possible, and the feeling of a cloak of feathers.  I had some old steel wires that had the texture I wanted and helped to give the muted grey colour of the feathers.  Going out drawing birds is a very important part of my work – it’s the starting point for all my sculptures.'

All Wired up runs from 2nd March until 14th April 2013, at Walford Mill Crafts in Wimborne.  Please visit Walford Mill Crafts website to find out more.