CW Roelle is often referred to as the “Wire Magician” and looking at his breathtakingly intricate wire artworks, it’s easy to see why. The Rhode Island-based artist somehow manages to twist black metal wire into detailed masterpieces that resemble pencil drawings.

The first time CW Roelle used wire as an art medium was in 1997, during the second semester of his junior year of college. One day, when drawing a model, he suddenly felt he wanted to reach in, grab the lines of his drawing and just move it around. That night he started redrawing his classroom works with wire. Over the years, his skills improved immensely, and Roelle is now able to create detailed works of art with nothing but metal wire. Some of his pieces can take just a few hours to complete, but there have been some that have taken the artist as long as four months to finish. He says most of his medium-size artworks take about two-three weeks, which is actually less than his realistic pencil drawings take. Because they are all handmade, no two wire drawings are the same.

Even though the objects and scenes depicted in CW Roelle’s wire artworks are one-dimensional, being arranged on different planes and casting a shadow on the white background they create an optical illusion, often tricking the eye into thinking they’re three-dimensional sculptures. The level of detail in some of his most complex works is simply mind-blowing, and judging by the constant evolution of his technique, they’re only going to get better. Make sure you check out his entire art portfolio on Flickr.

Photo copyrights: CW Roelle