We Meet… Wire Sculptor Nicolette Trapp

 

 

When we discovered Nicolette’s talent for creating fabulous wire sculptures we just had to share our find with you. We asked Nicolette if she would be happy to be interviewed and, to our delight, she agreed!

Nicolette lives on the south coast of Dorset with her husband and German Shorthaired Pointer named Ralph. After 30 years of working in financial services, Nicolette has undertaken a complete career change allowing her to indulge her creativity to her heart’s content.

“My wire sculptures are a very recent venture and something that happened quite by accident. We had some old chicken wire in the garden and I decided I could turn it into a little Indian Runner Duck. It turned out so well, I was inspired to continue. From this initial duck sculpture my style hasn’t really changed but I’ve become more proficient and have tackled both larger and more detailed pieces. I usually work to achieve a life size sculpture and also paint the finished items as that provides an element of realism to them.

I love that something seemingly so rigid and utilitarian as a roll of chicken wire can be transformed into a beautiful life-like form with character and movement. I guess having a ‘vision’ of the finished sculpture is half the battle. Each piece takes a good many hours to complete which can be frustrating (and hard on the hands!), especially when I’m full of ideas for the next piece.”

Nature is an important source of inspiration for Nicolette in more ways than one: “My main workplace is my beautiful summerhouse at the bottom of our garden (hence my Etsy shop’s tagline ‘handmade from the bottom of my garden’). It’s a lovely relaxing and peaceful place to work. If the weather is very good I like to move outside either to the deck or patio. I find being outdoors a great motivator, surrounded by nature and birdsong.”

Nicolette’s talents don’t just stop at wire sculptures, however. “I also like to knit and sew, having been taught by my grandmother at a young age, and initially started my Etsy shop to sell my handknitted bags and sewn fabric items. However, now I’ve been distracted by wire sculpture I’m afraid those other crafts have rather taken a back seat for the time being,” Nicolette says.

And what does the future hold?

“I’m taking part in the Etsy sponsored Handmade & Vintage Christmas Fair on 6^th December as part of the Dorset Team and am currently working on stock for this.  Other than that, I don’t really set time driven goals. After working for so long in a time-bound, task driven environment I’m enjoying working at something I enjoy in my own timeframe. I do have ideas for sculptures that I want to create over the next 6-12 months and my plan is to keep making things I love in the hope that others will too.

There’s nothing better than receiving a positive reaction to one of my sculptures, and of course a sale. It’s very humbling to think that someone wants to own something I’ve created and place it in their home or garden.”

 

Nicolette’s wire sculptures are available to buy from her Etsy store and you can see more of her wonderful creations on her Wire Menagerie board on Pinterest.

You can also like Nicolette on Facebook and follow her on Twitter too.

 

Would you like to host a tutorial on Make It Shabby and promote your work or business at the same time? If you would like to contribute and be interviewed for future features email info@makeitshabby.com with ‘Craft Features’ in the subject line.