Spider's web cup and saucer, 2004. 30cm x 15cm diameter, spider's silk, glass, wood

A cup and saucer made from woven spider's silk.

Making the sculpture:

Each morning I took the same walk through the park looking for webs. I made numerous small wooden frames that I carried in a box. I held a wooden frame behind a web and drew it towards me. The web would stick to the frame.

If I was careful in my collecting some silk would remain attached to the spider. In these cases I would slowly turn the wooden frame and was able to spin the silk directly from the spider's abdomen. I would usually be able to draw a metre or so of silk before the spider would cut the thread with its back legs.

I had two rules for collecting. I would not collect a web that was in the process of being spun and I would not disturb the web of a spider that had just caught a fly. Also, a couple of times I did not collect webs that were particularly beautiful or structurally amazing, for example those that had been built to stretch metres between the trees.

When I returned home I used my fingers and a pair of tweezers to weave the web together. Often I could not see the web and would carry on turning my hands, assuming that the web was still attached. After a few days of spinning I began to dream of the web.