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Irvington's 8th graders are getting to know Alexander Calder and his amazing sculptures! We looked at many pictures of his mobiles and wire portraits, gaining inspiration for the students' own contour portrait wire sculptures. While Calder's parents were both artists, he actually studied mechanical engineering and mathematics when he was in college. After working as a hydraulic engineer for a short while, he went back to college to study art. His first big sculpture was "Cirque Calder", which was a collection of miniature circus-themed sculptures, made from wire, cork, rubber, and other found objects. So cool! He would even keep the set in a couple suitcases, so he could set it up anywhere he wanted. Later on, he became famous for his mobiles, wire portraits, and large-scale sculptures. Watch the video below to see the process for making wire sculptures!