Cloud-living spider
Semljicola caliginosus
About
The cloud-living spider is a typical moneyspider, light to darkish brown in colour and approximately 2mm in length excluding leg-span It lives on mountains in Cumbria, Yorkshire and the Scottish Highlands and is found sparingly in damp, moss-rich places (although its detailed ecology is very poorly understood and it has been found at lower altitudes). Money spiders typically spin a small horizontal sheet web for capturing prey.
Found in Britain, Norway and Russia. The UK supports a significant percentage of the global population but it is under threat from climate change and inappropriate management across the uplands. It has declined by 78% over 25 years.
Conservation status
Endangered on the GB Red list.
Cloud-Living Spider
Seen at Great Shunner Fell in 2015
High above the city of spinning jennies,
gossamer across the heather,
the fog-grey whirl of a web.
Eight green eyes gleam
between crowberries and cloudberries.
Your children unfurl silk parachutes,
catch the breeze, take flight.
I only think I glimpse you.
Length: 46 seconds
Poem: Yvonne Reddick
Read by: Yvonne Reddick
Sculpture
I have gone large for a lot of the pieces for this project, but I decided this piece should be small to reflect the diminutive size of the spider. I took two lines of Yvonne's poem to encircle heather in the centre, which is where this spider can be found.
The piece was created by laser-cutting wood shapes, coating the centre piece in wax and pressing in sprigs of heather. After coating with the ceramic shell these were all burnt out in a kiln before casting.
Bronze on a rusted steel base
Bronze on a rusted steel base
Bronze on a rusted steel base
Bronze on a rusted steel base
Glimpse
11x8x15cm
Bronze and steel
Work in progress
Images and videos of various stages of the sculpture's production:
