Stephen Andrews

String Art

Construction Tips

1. Cut wood to desired dimensions. These are about 16" x 16".
2. I use 1 1/4 inch finishing nails on wood that is 5/8 in. thick.
3. Nails do go into particle board easier.
4. Wood can be painted, but a fabric covering looks better.
5. The staple gun I have used to staple fabric to back still requires me to
hammer in each staple. They scratch.
6. Make dotted design on paper that can be folded under the board.
7. Center the paper on the board and hammer in a few nails to
   maintain the position of the paper.
8. It is good to work from the center out, as it affords more finger
room for holding nails. Watch it!   The paper will keep it from
        getting dirty (oil on the nails).
9. After finishing the nailing, remove paper and wash up.
10. It is always good to straighten nails at another time when your eyes
         can better judge your mistakes. Don't worry too much about the
          nails, as the stringing will cover up lots of mistakes.
11. It is good to space equal numbers of dots in lines tow which strings
         will be strung. Centimeter, half centimeter and 1/4 inchspacing create
          different effects. 60 degree angles will get equally spaced lines
for triangles. 120 degree angles are good for creating "Y" effects.
12. Stringing angles is done starting at a nail at the far end on one line and
   then going to a nail at the close end on a different line.
13. It is good not to cut string any more than necessary. Most art work
   was done with one long string, finally cutting after it was completed,
   sometimes switching to a different color in between.
14. The blue and white design which is the same as the white and oragne on
           green was done in overlapping colors. At the end the last color was put
           on and then cut with extra string left over.   Then it was undone, and
   the last part was completed by making a hook with a paper clip
           and pulling the string underneath the other color to get the final
           overlapping effect.

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String Art