During the first lockdown,
I noticed a beautiful web spanning the corner of my bijou
greenhouse. A tiny shy spider hung stock still.
I was transfixed and kept watch from a distance.
Over the coming weeks, Fred grew larger and larger.
I soon found out that Fred was actually Frieda
and what an amazing creature she was.
Frieda, my pet Orb Weaver Spider project was born.
This has evolved into a mobile, transported by bicycle
and mechanically hand operated zoetropic installation.
1. The installation has two zoetropes.
2. The two zoetropes sit on top of the carriage
3. and are manually operated by a handle on each end
of the carriage.
4. One person at each end independently turns the handle
5. and as the zoetrope spins
6. you look through the slots
7. and the animations come to life.
8. The smaller of the two has six one second animation
depicting the building of a web
9. the larger of the two has seven depicting the body parts.
10. You have to adjust your distance and speed of the spin
to cater for differing eyesights
11. The two zoetropes are stored inside the body and
transported by bicycle.
How can we help?
Our gardens are a vital resource for wildlife, providing corridors
of green space between open countryside, allowing species to
move about. UK's gardens provide more space for nature than
all the National nature reserves put together.
Spiders are very beneficial because they will catch and eat a
lot of pest-type insects.
