EEEK, it's a Spider

So anyone who knows me well, knows that I hate spiders. And when I say hate, I mean close my eyes if they show up in a movie or TV show, locked myself in the bathroom for 3 hours until my husband came home, stood on top of my desk at work until my boss shooed the the little arachnid out of the office, HATE. (PSA - I will not kill them as they are good for the environment and are considered good luck in many cultures.) So how come Spiders have become such a main stay of my current work?

 Because the general public seem to find these little 8 legged crawlies cute. 

It all started when I was invited to be part of an exhibit at a local Nature Center. The theme was "What's the Buzz", with an emphasis on Spiders.

So I decided to face my fear and try to have fun with the subject. I started by creating an army of what I called Marching Spiders

 Then I decided to be a little more precise and educational and looked up all kinds of spiders. I wanted to find out about the spiders that weave those beautiful webs.  I decided on an Orange Orb Weaver spider and web and even added an informational card, just for good measure.

 And so here we are.  

Three weeks ago I was invited to be part of a month long Skeleton and Skull Exhibit and as I was designing my feature piece, a large hanging Skull, I couldn't help it, I just had to add the spider details.

 

This doesn't mean that I  will go out and pet a tarantula or anything like that, and I will still probably lock myself in the bathroom if one decides to march thru the house, but I can at least appreciate their importance in nature and the beauty, in their own small way,  they bring to the world.

My Covid Year

 For all of us, 2020 was a challenging year to say the least.We all had to learn to deal with a reality that was so different from anything we had ever dealt with before. One of the many things that I, as an artist had to come to terms with was the cancellation of every Art Show, Art Venue and  outlet that I was used to participating in. 

Like many of my Artist friends, at the beginning of 2020, I found it hard to be creative in.  It was as if all the artistic juice had been wrung out of me. 

But then I got a call from a person who had bought from me at a local show, asking if I could make a custom piece as a gift. That helped get me back into the studio.

Then, I received an email from my Glass supplier that they were going to have a contest. Everyone would get the same piece of glass (a 12 inch chisel shaped bevel) and you could make what ever you wanted with it. Well that seemed to spark something in me and I ended up recreating a USCG boat that my daughter had commanded. 

 

And suddenly I was creating for special exhibits, like "Whats the Buzz", about bugs and spiders in particular, for a local Nature Center.

  

 And I had customers start calling for special pieces and personal gifts like the cat plate hanging for a Sister-in-law, or the cake plate hanging for a                   Grandmother.

   

 

The holidays brought the chance to create some fun pieces for a couple of local Art and Gift shops in the area. which helped while away the cold winter afternoons.

So,by being more open to new and different opportunities,thinking outside the box and staying active and creative, I made it through 2020, feeling productive and creative and excited to see what 2021 will bring. 

 

 

And so to end this Blog, I would like to share my latest piece, that I made for my Orthopedic Surgeon who fixed my left shoulder in January. After years of horrible pain in my joint, he has given me a relief that I have not had in years. So I made him a replica of the Tree from the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery. He just didn't seem like a Butterfly or Dragonfly sun catcher kinda guy to me.