Organic Casting- Cross Orb Weaver Spider

I just received a real spider, from the Shuswap region of British Columbia, and wanted to put it to good use. To keep it fresh, it has been sitting in my fridge for the past month so I thought it would be best to get a move on and stop reaching for it thinking it was leftovers. In the past, I have had mixed results with the success of my organic burn out casts. An organic cast is when you make a mold from something such as a spider, a flower, twigs etc. and burn it out of the mold leaving an area for molten metal to fill. A great amount of detail can be achieved through this process. One of the main issues is porosity, which can be avoided through several tricks. For a brief explanation on how to cast organic matter, click on the following link:

http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive/201102/msg00403.htm

And this link for a how to on general purpose “Lost Wax” casting:

http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/lost-wax-casting-notes.htm

Having had this spider, I wanted to make sure it’s sacrifice would not go to waste. After further research I concluded that it belongs to one of the Orb Weaver spider families, an incredibly diverse and fascinating branch. Their bodies alone can reach up to 2.7” in some regions of the world (inspiring!). I believe that this spider in particular is a Cross Orb Weaver. To learn more on this family of spiders follow the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orb-weaver_spider

And specifically the Cross Orb Weaver:

http://naturemappingfoundation.org/natmap/facts/cross_spider_712.html

I began by spruing (attaching the feeder tubes that would allow the molten metal to fill the mold after having burn out over night in a kiln).

Each of the eight legs had to be sprued in order to allow the metal to properly fill them all. And finally ready to invest (the process of creating the mold)...

Eventually, you get the final results, and in this case they turned out well. Even the hairs on the spiders legs cast! It is fragile, and in terms of design this will need to be factored into what it can be used for. All in all, a successful venture!