Kaska Firor Wire Woven Jewelry

 

I fell in love with wire arts the moment I picked up a pair of pliers in my first wire wrapping class in the summer of 2001. It was the way those small wire tools felt in my hands, so naturally and comfortably, and the irresistible magic of wire, its ability to transform into different shapes and patterns, that completely captured my imagination.

I have been making art all my life.  Some of my best childhood memories include cutting, gluing, pasting, carving, or building something. Art has always found its way into my life. I spent five wonderful years drafting and building models while studying Interior Design in college. Over time I also dabbled in bronze casting, clay sculpture, stained glass, sewing, crocheting, and even cross stitch. But wire jewelry proved to be the thing that stuck – at least so far.

 

After that first class in 2001, I spent several years working with traditional wire-wrapping techniques, improving my skills and experimenting with various types of wires and tools.

After a while, when I felt that I’d pushed wire-wrapping to its limits, I started searching for new ways of working with the wires. That was around 2006 when wire-weaving – adopted from textile and basket arts - just started making its regular appearance in jewelry magazines and books. The mesmerizing beauty of the rich textures and patterns of the weaves made an enormous impression on me, and I set off to learn as much as I could about these innovating techniques. I have to thank Mary Hettmansperger whose book Fabulous Woven Jewelry helped me so much at the beginning of my wire-weaving journey. 

 

One aspect of wire-weaving that proved to be especially exciting to me was its many ways of capturing stones and other elements.  During my wire-wrapping years, I developed an appreciation for the stone as a focal piece, with the design growing around it, dictated by the shape of and the patterns with it.  It was important to me to continue that emphasis on the stone as I started shifting my focus to wire-weaving. 

 

In the last several years, I’ve continued my study of the weaves.  I adopted the existing and devised new ways of using the various techniques to create my own designs, most of them, of course, incorporating cabochons, crystals, and other focal elements.  I have been fortunate to have my work included in several magazines and books.  My designs have also won numerous awards at art shows and jewelry competitions.  I wrote two books on the subject of wire weaving. The first one, Weaving Freeform Wire Jewelry was published in 2013. Wire & Fire, a book co-authored with my daughter, Katherine Firor-Colque was published in 2019.