I had been wanting to create a sculpture for a dear friend for a while so I reached out to her and asked what she might be interested in. She came up with 4 or 5 things and then she had the idea that we would each separately rank them. To our delight, at the top of both of our lists was the Orb Weaver spider!

More specifically the argiope aurantia, commonly known as the yellow garden spider or the scribe spider as it makes a darker zigzag pattern in the center of its web. I had always wanted to make a spider sculpture but never had because people rarely want them, finding them unsettling or scary. Paying the bills as an artist was challenging enough when making butterflies and flowers, so I had steered clear of spiders but hoped I would get a request for one someday. That's why it was at the top of my list! Also I have seen so many of these spiders while in my garden and have always loved them. They are large beautiful spiders that spin gorgeous webs.

This was a fun one to make as coloring rods can be more challenging than sheet metal and these guys needed a lot of that for their long legs! I also had to figure out how to deal with the fact that one of their primary colors is black, which is not a color I can get using heat patinas. So what I decided to do was burn tons of holes to create a nice pattern and texture and then back the holes with blue patinated metal so when the light hits it, blue would shine through. Burning the holes also allowed me to shape the body easier and hide seams, as the orb weaver's body shape is an incredibly difficult form to cold shape.

Ultimately I loved how this spider sculpture turned out and I really hope I get the chance to make more spiders and insects!

Also this piece was accepted into the 30x30 show at the Museum of Life and Science here in Durham, which is a show to bring awareness to the 30x30 initiative striving to protect 30% of our natural world, waterways and oceans by 2030! It was an incredible honor to be accepted into this show!

This Orb Weaver Spider sculpture is wall hanging but could easily be created to be free standing, made entirely of stainless steel, colored using only heat patinas, and is safe to be kept outdoors!