problem solving

my led project has hit another snafu. after wire wrapping three columns (of the 72 column grid), i discovered that due to the uneven weight on the very thin wrapped kynar wire, some were breaking. i chose the thin wire to not detract from the light feel of the piece. each circuit board holds two leds and represents one "pixel" or "dot" of the overall image and connects to adjacent boards via two kynar wires. the problem is that it is extremely difficult to wrap the two such that the lengths are exactly the same. because of this, the weight is unevenly distributed, and as subsequent boards are added, more weight needs to be supported by a single wire.

i scrapped (for now) the idea of using the kynar wire in lieu of two continuous lengths of wire for each column, to which the boards would be soldered. this would get around the problem of a lot of weight on a single bit of wire. unfortunately, my new plan has not been working out as well as i had hoped and has been very frustrating especially since i have been working on this for so long and am anxious to finish it (i keep reminding myself it is the journey not the destination). i have tried braided stainless steel, galvanized steel and copper. the braided steel looked nice, but the solder would slip right off as if it were coated in oil. solid copper wire worked fine, but i want to use a wire that is flexible for storage and does not stand out from the rest of the piece. tinned copper seemed to be the way to go, but not available to the average consumer.

mike found some picture wire i had, made of stainless steel, and had some modicum of success soldering, so i ordered some to test, and that didn't work. this past week, i researched soldering stainless steel, which is apparently quite difficult to do. i tried increasing the temperature and even using a torch, sanding the wire, using acid-core solder, and separate flux. none of these methods has worked. i'm hoping maybe it's the flux, and am now trying to find some special flux for soldering stainless steel.

this is not boding well for me. i want to forge ahead and have hopes of finishing this in time for a show in the fall. one of the most interesting things i find about making art is the problem solving, but it can be very frustrating. i find myself attracted to challenges but often wonder if i'm a masochist...

last sunday, while feeling pissy and frustrated about making a jig wherein i had to hand drill evenly spaced pairs of holes into a length of plywood, and after considering buying a drill press, i did find a new, smaller and doable project. i am interested in the idea of perfection and recently found myself considering why i like making things that have the appearance of being machine made. what is this aspiration towards an ideal that in extremes can be detrimental to one's mental and physical health? i was thinking about the women in lauren greenberg's documentary on eating disorders and my own perfectionist tendencies. it can be absurd when you're on the outside looking in yet inescapable. as a nod to john baldassari and conceptual art, i am going make a piece about perfection. already, the thought of changing the context of an act in the art process will change the experience and meaning of the piece and provide some distraction while i figure out how to solder steel.