Come into my parlour ...

As my 'Fine cobwebs' project gets under way I have begun my visual studies for the project. I felt that logically it would be apt to begin with the spider itself, not webs. My drawings (and choice of topic) has received mixed reactions thus far. My thinking behind the project revolves around irrational fears and phobias, and how we seem uncomfortable with the sight or thought of a spider (not me personally of course) and I have been reading several books concerning arachnophobia and attitudes to spiders.
Anyway, here are some of my early visual studies:

Frosty webs

As I begin my new project I am looking everywhere possible for inspiration, and after a particularly frosty spell I stumbled across spider webs covered in hoar frost, they were the perfect oppertunity for me to build up images of webs, here are a select few photographs:

Araneus diadematus ...

A suitable starting point for my project seemed to be collecting together all my existing photographs of spiders, webs and insects. As an amateur Nature photographer, these were in abundance. I feel that using my own images to draw from and take inspiration from is an important part of my work. Here are a select few photographs:

End of the first semester

Today I collected the results of my semester one assessment; and the grades I would receive for both of my projects and all visual studies and practical work for year two so far. I was very pleased to receive an A in both areas, and receive positive and constructive feedback. My work was also retained to be moderated.
This also marks the start of my new project, and with a vast array of topics to choose from I have chosen something which holds a personal interest to me; 'Fine Cobwebs'. From a young age I have been fascinated by spiders and their webs, so this is something I am eager to explore artistically.

Here's one of my photos of a Garden Spider from a year or two ago: