I'm starting to put together a portfolio this summer in the hopes of applying to an art school or two this coming fall. Growing tired of simple two-dimensional paintings and drawings, I want to branch out.

My plan is to create a three-dimensional "painting" out of a bunch of old cables and e-waste that I've recently found lying around my house (why let it stagnate in a landfill when it can be made into something beautiful, right?). I have the concept in mind, but I would like a bit of advice on the logistics of it.

My question, to all you lovely crafters out there, is what materials you think would best suit my purposes. I'm not quite sure what to mount the wires to (Would a canvas be too flimsy?), nor what I should use to actually affix them in place (I was thinking tacky glue; would there be something better/easier to use?)

Any comments, advice, or general words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
-Amanda

I'm working on my portfolio too:) What about not using glue at all? You could drill holes through a piece of plywood and either wrap the cables throught the holes or put nails through the holes and wrap the wires around that. But if you really want to use glue there's always super glue (wouldn't suggest gorilla glue it poofs up like a cloud and is too messy)There is some stuff called wire glue but I've never used it before.Also if you wanted to keep a metal feel to the whole thing you could spray paint the wood to look like metal bc some metals are really expensive.Good luck!

Thanks for your suggestions. I probably wouldn't have thought of drilling into plywood; I'll take that into consideration.

I did something like that once... there was an old computer tower that was going to be trashed at my school... I gutted it and painted the outside with nature scenes and filled the inside with a vine house plant that weaved in and out of the components. It was fun, a kind of technology meets nature... I was even able to sell it :)

wires shouldn't be too hard to poke through the canvas you could also use nuts, screws and washers or something to hold it in place. E6000 is a great glue to use, its very strong and you don't have to use much to keep things in place (you can even paint over it)

That sounds great; I love the juxtapostion between the industrialism of the computer tower with the free-flowing natural elements.

Thanks for your suggestion; I'll look into it and see if that's an adhesive that would suit my needs. :)

@emmyann07 that's sounds so awesome, I would love to see a pic of that!
@thatdorkychick there's a ton of cool ideas, I don't really have any suggesyions that werent already mentioned, I just wanted to say something cuz it sounds so awesome! I hope you'll share pics when its done :)