The strength and structure of spiders webs

I was interested by an article that I found that talked about how the structure and performance characteristics of spiders webs were being researched into by leading professors and used when thinking about the structure of the things around us and how they can be developed to perform a bit more like these webs. This is an interesting example of biomimicry... I think there's a lot more that can be learnt from spiders that we are yet to discover!

 

Extract from the article...

 

A spider web's ability to adapt to different levels of stress is the key to its remarkable stability, say scientists.

As well as seeing how much strain natural webs could take, researchers used computer simulations to find out how the silk structures responded.

Webs stood up to a variety of stresses, including hurricane-force winds.

The team report their findings in the journal Nature.

They discovered that a spider web's design, and the unique properties of its silk, allowed just a single thread to break so the rest of the web remained unharmed.

"It is stunning because, in fact, engineered structures don't behave that way," explained Dr Markus Buehler from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, who led the study.

"If a building, a car or an aeroplane is exposed to large mechanical stress, it typically breaks as a whole and the entire structure becomes dysfunctional."

The expert in molecular mechanics and his team studied the webs of a variety of species including European garden spiders (Araneus diadematus) and orb weavers (Nephila clavipes).

By investigating the silk on a molecular scale, the researchers found they could explain the behaviour of the web as a whole.

Jessie

Spider Silk

Spider silk is made up of amino acids which is a protein. It is very strong (5 x stronger than steel and 2 x stronger than kevlar).

This strength means that it would be great fibre, which properties which would be perfect for a number of uses. Such as being sustainable, biodegradable, lightweight, strong and natural. It would be a better replacement for kevlar, however because of the way it is produced, it cannot easily be harvested, and would not be humane for the spiders.

This means that it has become an interest for biomimicry, and people are interested in finding a way to mimic the qualities of spider silk.




This image is of a golden cape made by the artist Simon Peers and designer Nicholas Godley. It took 8 years to create because of the amount of silk needed to produce it. However they state that they were humane to the spiders which they used. They took them from the forest but returned them after a day.
I think this is an interest use of the silk, but it is obviously such a time consuming process. It is just something else which we can think about.

Kennedy, M. (2012, January 24). Spider Silk Cape Goes On Show at V&A. The Guardian. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/jan/24/spider-silk-cape-show

Jennifer

Spiders that decorate their webs

Amazed by the information that I found on how some spiders beautifully decorate their webs! They are really beautiful and a lot of them look like some of the delicate hand embroidery stitches or zig zag stitches that we've been looking at in our workshops...

Jessie

Spiders webs

The structure of an Orb web

 I have a new found respect for spiders and how they work! Found some very interesting things about the way that they craft their webs and how they operate. Heres a snapshot...

• The silk they spin is strong enough to rival steel
• 40,000 different species
• Many different web types including sheet web, dome or tent web, orb web (most common), tangle web, funnel web, Tubular web
• Webs can be vertical, horizontal or at any angle in between...
• Different types of silk are produced for different jobs- sticky capture silk, fluffy capture silk...

Different methods of catching prey-

• Simply catching it within the orb web and then wrapping it in silk
• net-casting spider throws its net over the insect 
• Bolas spider throws thread with an adhesive bubble at end which decoys prey through a chemical substance
• Trapdoor spider- hides in a tunnel that can be closed with a door and when anything walks over the single thread the door opens and the spider grabs the prey!
• Funnel weaver- spins a horizontal mat and waits in a funnel at the end for the prey
• Messy space web- the prey is tangled within the messy structure
• 3D tangle web- used by spiders such as the black widow within a horizontal dense sheet of non adhesive threads, flying insects fly against threads and tumble onto mat below where they're grabbed

 Jessie 

Spiders' Webs

I found some information about spiders' webs in this article:

Spiders’ webs

by Vollrath, Fritz

Source: Scopus™

Publication Title: Current Biology

Publisher: Elsevier In

Volume 15, Issue 10, 24 May 2005, Pages R364–R365

It has some really good information about the different purposes of spiders' webs and their functionalities. For example, their webs are used to mainly trap their food but only some would use it as a place to shelter.

A web is made up of blends of different silks: the fairly stiff, radius silk threads and the extremely soft, extensible and sticky capture silk threads, which are fixed on the radii by stringy silk cement. Spider silk contains many different organic and inorganic components, such as neurotransmitter peptides, glyco-proteins, lipids, sugars, phosphates, calcium, potassium and sulphur. Spidroin proteins are highly repetitive in their main section and rich in the amino acids alanine and glycine.

I also learnt there are different types of spiders' webs: 

The Orb Web

The Zygiella

The pattern of a spiders web is determined by the behavoural pattern of the spider and the environment it is in. The web is many times the spider’s size.

I think it would be interesting to research more into the different types of spiders webs and why they're different.

Tammi.

Crafted Repetition

Heres the first brainstorm that we did as a group. Just a little reminder of the original thoughts that we had about our theme to get everyone thinking again...

Jessie

Poetry

I liked the idea of looking into different poems as they are great examples in themsleves of 'crafted repetition' with most of them repeating lines having been carefully crafted so that they flow and the lines link.

These are two of my favourite poems that I found that are related to nature...

 

Daffodils by William Wordsworth

I wander'd lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils,
Beside the lake, beneath the trees
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: -
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company!
I gazed - and gazed - but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought.

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills
And dances with the daffodils.

'a host of golden daffodils'- naturally occurring masses and multiples within nature...

I like this image showing a tree in each of the different seasons. The changing seasons are a great example of repetition within nature happening all the time. I also thought about daily routines and how we repeat actions and thoughts and words all the time without even thinking about it...

To Autumn by John Keats

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers;
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too -
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

Jessie 

This is our group brainstorm from the other day to get us thinking about 'crafted multiples' as a theme... Looking forward to seeing what different poems everyone finds and also repetition within nature...

Jessie

Nature Poems

While researching poetry, it's been quite difficult to read as I don't understand a lot of it. However, I've come across this book, The Poetry of Nature by Henry Van Dyke (1909).
Here's my 3 favourite poems from it:

UNDER THE GREENWOOD TREE

UNDER the greenwood tree

Who loves to lie with me,

And turn his merry note

Unto the sweet bird's throat

Come hither, come hither, come hither !

Here shall we see

No enemy

But winter and rough weather.

Who doth ambition shun

And loves to live i' the sun,

Seeking the food he eats

And pleas'd with what he gets

Come hither, come hither, come hither !

Here shall he see

No enemy

But winter and rough weather.

As Ton Like It, n. v.

I first picked this because of the repeated line, 'come hither'. However, I also like the descriptions being used for the tree as if it is a person.

THE THROSTLE
" SUMMER is coming, summer is coming.

I know it, I know it, I know it.
Light again, leaf again, life again, love again,"

Yes, my wild little Poet.

Sing the new year in under the blue.

Last year you sang it as gladly.
" New, new, new, new ! " Is it then so new

That you should carol so madly ?

" Love again, song again, nest again, young again,'

Never a prophet so crazy !
And hardly a daisy as yet, little friend,

See, there is hardly a daisy

" Here again, here, here, here, happy year ! "
O warble unchidden, unbidden !

Summer is coming, is coming, my dear,
And all the winters are hidden.

LORD TENNYSON

I like the movement and rhythm of this poem and the odd few words or lines being repeated. I also find it interesting how the word 'again' has been used a lot meaning Summer is being repeated.

SONG OF THE BROOK

I COME from haunts of coot and hern,

I make a sudden sally,

And sparkle out among the fern,

To bicker down a valley.

By thirty hills I hurry down,

Or slip between the ridges,

By twenty thorps, a little town,

And half a hundred bridges.

Till last by Philip's farm I flow

To join the brimming river,

For men may come and men may go,

But I go on for ever.

I chatter over stony ways,

In little sharps and trebles,

I bubble into eddying bays,

I babble on the pebbles.

With many a curve my banks I fret

By many a field and fallow,

And many a fairy foreland set

With willow- weed and mallow.

I chatter, chatter, as I flow

To join the brimming river ;

For men may come and men may go,

But I go on for ever.

I wind about, and in and out,

With here a blossom sailing,

And here and there a lusty trout,

And here and there a grayling,

And here and there a foamy flake

Upon me, as I travel

With many a silvery waterbreak

Above the golden gravel,

And draw them all along, and flow

To join the brimming river ;

For men may come and men may go,

But I go on for ever.

I steal by lawns and grassy plots,

I slide by hazel covers ;

I move the sweet forget-me-nots

That grow for happy lovers.

I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,

Among my skimming swallows ;

I make the netted sunbeam dance

Against my sandy shallows.

I murmur under moon and stars

In brambly wildernesses ;

I linger by my shingly bars ;

I loiter round my cresses ;

And out again I curve and flow

To join the brimming river ;

For men may come and men may go,

But I go on for ever.

LORD TENNYSON 

In this poem, I like the repition in this of the line, 'But I go on forever.' I also like the idea of the waves in the river and the motion of them repeating forever.

Tammi.

Initial thoughts

Ideas generation

To start my ideas flowing I have looked into the key words related to this project. From these I have looked at dictionary definitions, synonyms and related themes.

I've found it interesting to look at the words in a broad sense and particularly found the following ideas interesting...

• ideas of music (repetition within music)- 'repeat' having its own musical symbol, like a broken record repeating itself 
• patterns repeated accross textiles and colours/ graphics- different types of repeats eg half drop
• Broadcasting- re-runs of programs 

I dont know if somehow within a final presentation or something that we produce we could include audio to add to the repetitive theme?

Multiple and craft

'Multiples' the idea of having numerous parts, elements or members- repetitive

CRAFT- I like the way that this comes in a variety of different forms but with a common thread of skill in making things by hand. However, I was interested to be reminded that theres a different form of 'craft'- to be crafty has a negative connotation and is more to do with being cunning, sly and sneaky...

Jessie

Giant Mesh Installation

This is a giant installation piece which takes inspiration from the structure of spider's webs. It was created by the artist Thomas Saracen. It is an interesting interactive display, I like the fact that it is encouraging participation as this makes it more interesting for people to see and it invites them to get involved in the piece.

This is a display which has a structure like that of a web. It consists of individual strands and each piece is crucial to the structure of the web, as it adds to the strength which supports the weight of the people within it.

This is something which I find interesting and is another piece exploring the idea of scale. Although we would not be able to explore anything as extreme as this, it is useful for us to see the possibilities which can be explored from the simple idea of a web.




Williams, A. (2013, June 26). The hanging gardens of Dusselldorf : 80ft art installation creates giant human
'spiderweb' with 2500- square metres of mesh. Daily Mail. Retrieved from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2348740/The-hanging-gardens-Dusseldorf-80ft-art-installation-creates-giant-human-spiderweb-2500-square-metres-mesh.html

Jennifer

Colourful Spider's Web Art

These pieces are works by the artist Anthony Michael Simon. He took inspiration from spiders webs whilst visiting Korea and thought about the possibilities of sculptural art using this craft. He took spiders into his studio, where they created these webs.

He then took these webs which he has placed across plastic rods. He sprayed these webs with a coating, this had two purposes. It was to make the structure of the webs stronger, to keep them intact. It also was used to add colour.

 I feel that this colour creates a really interesting collection as it makes the webs stand out. They are usually quite translucent, so that they are hidden within the natural surroundings. This makes them nearly invisible for the flies - making it a trap for them. However these sculptures have been painted to make them bold bright colours which make a much more exciting appearance which adds to the interest for the structure.

I feel that this is an interesting piece for us to look at for inspiration. It is very exciting in its appearance and it shows another way of displaying this form of art. This is something which we were struggling to get inspired about so I feel that this is another piece we could look at for this.






Pinar. (2012). Spiderswebs Transformed into Colourful Works of Art. Retrieved from: http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/anthony-michael-simon-spiderweb-sculptures

Jennifer

Mended Spider's Web

This is a series  by an artist called Nina Katchadourian. She has found abandoned or broken webs, and made patches on them and repairs using a red sewing thread. This choice of colour means that it is highly contrasting against the natural colour of the spider's silk. This makes it stand out against the surroundings which use colours which are so different from this bold colour.
I also find it interesting that she found some of her repairs taken out of the web by a spider, who repaired the web itself. This shows nature rejecting man-made influences upon it.
I think that this is a really interesting project and it really focuses on structure and form. This is what I find fascinating about the webs as they are so cleverly designed. It looks at detail and fine pieces which is very delicate and intricate.


Katchadourian, N. (1998). The mended Spiderweb series. Retrieved from: http://www.ninakatchadourian.com/uninvitedcollaborations/spiderwebs.php

Jennifer

Giant Spider's Web

These images are of giant spider's web found in Madagascar. This is an orb web, which is the type of web most commonly thought about. This one in particular which was found is 25m2. This is really interesting to read about as I did not know that spider's webs could be created on this large a scale.
I feel like scale is something which we consider within this project. Spider's are thought to be quite small and it might be interesting to explore the contrast between webs which are tiny, and full of minute detail, and pieces which are much larger. This would be something which we would need to think about and consider as a group.

Walker, M. (2010, September 16). Gigantic Spider's Web discovered in Madagascar. BBC. Retrieved from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9001000/9001866.stm

Jennifer

Giant Spider Web crafted from tape

This is a piece which was created by a collaboration of designers. This is a human made piece but it is inspired by the structure of natural spider webs. They have used tape to create this huge structure. I think that this is an interesting choice of materials as it is very different from spider silk. However it would still have the sticky qualities to it, which would mimic that of an actual web, which is designed to catch food for its makers - the spiders. This is an inspiring installation for me and one which I feel we could look at as a group to give us ideas of presentation. This is an area where we are struggling for inspiration, as we are unsure of how to display our work. Therefore this could give us some ideas, as it shows us something which has already been created by other designers.

Quigley, R. (2010) Giant Spider Web Made From 117, 000 Feet of Tape. Retrieved from: http://www.geekosystem.com/tape-spider-web/


Jennifer

Poem Structures

After looking at two poems in particular which look at spiders' webs, it has made me think more about the structure of these. This could be something which we could look more into, as part of this form of craft. There are many different types, which all have a very definite structure, and rules which they follow. I have selected some which I have found to be the most interesting, in their structure or pattern which they follow.

Ballad
This is quite a narative style, which tells a story. It also usually follow a regular rhyme scheme (abcb)

Haiku
This consists of three lines which do not rhyme. It has a syllable structure of 5, 7, 5.

Lament
A poem which expresses grief.

Limerick
This is a light verse - so it is quite light hearted and jokey. It is five lines long and has a regular rhyme scheme (AABBA). It also follows a syllable structure (8,8,5,5,8).

Sestina
This is a french type of poem. It doesn't usually have a rhyme scheme, instead it repeats the last words of each line, in following stanzas. It consists of 6 stanzas, each with 6 lines within them. The structure of the word repetition is: in the first verse 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, then the second verse, 6, 1, 5, 2, 4, 3, the third verse 3, 6, 4, 1, 2, 5 the fourth verse 5, 3, 2, 6, 1, 4 the fifth verse 4, 5, 1, 3, 6, 2 the 6th stanza 2, 4, 6, 5, 3, 1 and it ends with a three line envoy. The six words are repeated within this with 2 per line, one is place in the centre and one at the end. This goes (6, 2) then (1, 4) and in the last line (5, 3)

Sonnet
This consists of 14 lines. The rhyme scheme of a Shakespeare sonnet consists of ABABCDCDEFEFGG.

Tanka
This type follows a sylabble pattern. It consists of 5 lines and the syllable pattern is: 5, 7, 5, 7 ,7

Triolet
This poem has eight lines, and it also repeats two of these. The line repeat follows: 1, 2, 3, 1, 5, 6, 1, 2. It also only has 2 rhymes.

Villanelle
This is a french form of poem. It has 5 verses each with 3 lines, and a final quatrain. The first line and the last line in the first first are alternatively repeated in the following verses. They also become the last two lines within the last four lines.

Poetry Foundation. (2014). Glossary terms. Retrieved from: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/glossary-terms

I feel that these are interesting to read about, and I especially like the pieces with the syllable pattern. I like the concept of rhythm within the writing, and the style that this brings into the piece. There are also repeated lines as well as a rhyme scheme. This brings repetition within this craft, which completes the concept of this project.


Jennifer

Thread in a Spider's Web - Coral Bracho

This is another poem which I have found, also about spiders' webs. This is less literal however, and uses the web as more of a metaphor.

Thread in a Spider's Web

A little stream, drawn by the magnets of air and light,

and flowing like time, like copper forming, 

is the thread

in a spider's web. Pools of silver shimmer

from one leaf to another, from one path trodden

to another on the soft ground. I see you go across,

 over there, between two lines. ‘I love him',

 I say.

The little stream forks; flows between

two possibilities.

Its thread is in thrall to this sea of light,

this liquid, 

coursing. This water makes the evening sing, heady

and drunk. Its fire flows

on into the east forever. Held in the sun's

fine balance

I think of you.

Bracho, C. (1998). Thread in a spider's Web. Retrieved from: http://www.poetrytranslation.org/poems/83/Thread_in_a_Spider's_Web

This poem also has less of a ridged structure or pattern to it. It doesn't have a regular rhyme scheme, instead the lines flow into the next. This could be symbolic of the web itself,  in particular the threads coming from the spider. This is definitly inspiring me to look more into the idea of the spiders' webs and finding more specific information on these.

Jennifer

The Spider and the Fly - Mary Howitt

As a starting point for this project we began looking at poetry. There are many types of craft, rather than just the typical pieces which are thought of.  Poetry is a form of craft and one which we thought we could look to for inspiration. It would be a starting point for us and something where we could try to find a direction in which we could take.

The Spider and the Fly 

Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly,
'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I've a many curious things to shew when you are there."
Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again."


"I'm sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;
Will you rest upon my little bed?" said the Spider to the Fly.
"There are pretty curtains drawn around; the sheets are fine and thin,
And if you like to rest awhile, I'll snugly tuck you in!"
Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "for I've often heard it said,
They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed!"


Said the cunning Spider to the Fly, " Dear friend what can I do,
To prove the warm affection I 've always felt for you?
I have within my pantry, good store of all that's nice;
I'm sure you're very welcome -- will you please to take a slice?"
"Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "kind Sir, that cannot be,
I've heard what's in your pantry, and I do not wish to see!"


"Sweet creature!" said the Spider, "you're witty and you're wise,
How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!
I've a little looking-glass upon my parlour shelf,
If you'll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself."
"I thank you, gentle sir," she said, "for what you 're pleased to say,
And bidding you good morning now, I'll call another day."


The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again:
So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready, to dine upon the Fly.
Then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing,
"Come hither, hither, pretty Fly, with the pearl and silver wing;
Your robes are green and purple -- there's a crest upon your head;
Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead!"

Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little Fly,
Hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by;
With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew,
Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue --
Thinking only of her crested head -- poor foolish thing! At last,
Up jumped the cunning Spider, and fiercely held her fast.
He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,
Within his little parlour -- but she ne'er came out again!


And now dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle, silly flattering words, I pray you ne'er give heed:
Unto an evil counsellor, close heart and ear and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and the Fly.

Howitt,M. (1799-1888) The spider and the Fly Poem by Mary Howitt. Retrieved from: http://www.love-poems.me.uk/howitt_the_spider_and_the_fly_funny.htm

This is a poem which I found, it is about a spider and is written in quite a fun way, despite being about luring a fly to be eaten. This makes it quite contradictory. It is also quite easy to read as it has quite a regular structure to it, as well as a regular rhyme scheme. This gives it rhythm and brings in the idea of repetition.

This had led to thinking about spiders webs as something we could investigate further. They are crafted by nature and something which have an interesting structure which would be interesting to find more out about.

Jennifer