Arachnophobia...

A thread was started at Wet Canvas today which addressed my work, specifically. I had posted an in-progress photo of the "three red spiders" painting, in a monthly "post what's on your easel" thread. A member apologized to the other artists who had posted their images on the same page as my painting, that she might have missed seeing some of their paintings, since she had to scroll down the page really fast, to avoid seeing "the scary spiders."

Then, today, this same person started a thread asking the Wet Canvas Moderators if they could create a "spider icon" so viewers would know, from seeing the spider icon, if there were spider images in a given thread, without having to accidentally stumble across them.

I have to admit, I feel a certain sadistic thrill when people are frightened by my paintings. I created an installation at the Kansas City Art Institute, titled "The Walk", where I hung a new spider sculpture on the ceiling of a long hallway, every day for a week.

I remember one afternoon, watching students walking down the hall between classes. Occasionally, someone would look up, see the spiders making their way across the ceiling, and flinch.

That was fun!

(I remember another classmate of mine who seriously didn't seem to believe that some people really are scared of spiders--and I related the true story of the naked man who was admitted to the emergency room with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his foot; he was taking a bath, and had seen a spider crawling on his foot. Somehow, the idea of using a nearby gun to shoot the spider, struck him as reasonable.)

Anyway, it's interesting when people are discussing my work without reference to me, just the subject matter.

At least, they're talking!