String Art treasures

I chanced upon a Russian book with patterns of this easy but beautiful form of handicraft called "String Art" way back in college. 

String art is all about making pictures or patterns from straight lines, often giving the illusion of curves, as the strings are pulled tightly between small nails or tacks.  It is also called Line Design and is commonly taught to kids to make geometry fun. Basic patterns include flowers, diamonds and circles. 

I first tried it on New Year Greeting cards, which I sent out to relatives and friends.  I have also tried it out on plywood with 1" nails. Here are some of my creations:

Here is a simple one using basic geometrical shapes, done in two colors, with mirrors (shisha) and framed neatly.

Capturing the fascinating Indian peacock in string art is a true marvel!  Here is the finished piece in multi-color with mirrors and a golden frame in all its glory!

Whoever said you need to have live fish to derive joy in your room is very wrong!  Check out these gold fishes in string art chasing the golden sun!!

Many of you must have seen this craft somewhere, but if you are wondering what it is, here is some basic intro:

Who invented String Art?

Burda Anna magazine carries String Art patterns now and then. Here are some scanned pictures of Christimas cards from their December 1990 issue:

Christmas cards using String Art

Charts for the cards

Wanna try out some for yourself?  Here are some links with free patterns, for both kids and adults!!

• http://www.stitchingcards.com/section.php?xSec=5
• http://teachersnetwork.org/dcs/math/stringart/index.htm
• http://www.childs.mccsc.edu/art98/art2p1.htm
• http://www.mathcats.com/crafts/stringart.html
• http://www.e-scoutcraft.com/string/string.html
• A video series on string art basics;
• a free software tool to play around with;