#132: Harvestman Spider

I spent an OBSCENE amount of time making this spider. Hours! And let me just say, I definitely lack talent with a soldering iron. My own soldering iron is a joke, but it got the job started. I borrowed my neighbor's soldering iron that has more wattage, and that helped me do a bit more shaping. But I still had trouble melting the solder and getting it to do what I want. I started with a copper-rimmed purple gem, glued four strands of wire to the back, covered the wires and back of the gem with copper tape, then waited overnight for it to dry. The next morning, I bent the wire for the legs before beginning to solder. The heat from the solder melted the glue, making the legs go every which way, and I knew my only hope was to be able to wind the solder around and between each leg. I sat on the front porch all afternoon, patiently trying to shape the solder, and just as a few raindrops began to fall, I closed up shop. I used 100-grit sandpaper to remove the sharp edges, and then I glued a piece of faceted ball chain around the edge of the gem to give it more definition. I had the idea to hammer the ends of the legs to flatten the wire, and it worked beautifully. It was the only thing about making this spider that worked beautifully. I used a subtle white gold paint to give the spider more shine, and being that I'm obsessed with patina, I dulled the metal with a coat of green patina before deciding it was a tad too dull and sanded it off again. Overall, I think it still looks wonderful, more a piece of art than any of my other spiders. And I got practice at soldering and experimenting with the wire and metal. This is my new favorite spider.

Materials: glass gem, E-6000 glue, copper tape, wire, solder, faceted ball chain, paint, patina