I tend to get a little repetitive on the topic of spiders as I wax lyrical about our lovely, brightly colored orb weavers, for I am a lover of spiders – an arachnophile, if you will. It’s hard not to feel affection for another creator as she deftly weaves intricate and lacy webs through the air, plucking her strings like a guitar. If I could hear this, would it be musical genius? I could easily wile away the hours in observant stillness in the company of spiders.

Methods for using spider webs as passive air samplers have been developed over recent years. Chemicals and air pollutants caught in spider webs can determine the health of certain environments. The results show some of the impact humans are having on nature.

Lino block print, oil inks on cotton paper