Knight's Spider Web Farm facts for kids
Knight's Spider Web Farm is a special place in Williamstown, Vermont. It's an art studio, a shop, and a home all in one! Will Knight started this unique farm in 1978. He had a very unusual idea: to create art using real spider webs. His finished art pieces are made by carefully placing whole spider webs onto painted or stained wood. This is a type of textile art. Will Knight even called his farm "The Original Web Site"! He passed away on June 12, 2017, but his family keeps his amazing work going.
How Spider Webs Became Art
Will Knight, who was born in 1926, first thought of using spider webs for art in 1977. He got the idea with help from his wife. They started by collecting webs they found around their home.
The farm officially began in 1978. This was after Knight lost his job with the state highway department. He said his first idea came from a Girl Scout Manual. His wife was an artist who did decoupage, which is gluing paper cutouts onto objects. Knight realized, "She knew that you could glue things onto things." Since he was a skilled cabinetmaker, it made sense to combine his woodworking with her gluing skills. Together, they figured out how to glue delicate spider webs onto wood.
Collecting Spider Webs for Art
The farm uses special square wooden frames. These frames are hung inside many sheds in the backyard. The process of collecting webs is quite clever:
- First, the spider web is gently sprayed with white paint. This makes the web easy to see.
- Next, the frame with the painted web is carefully removed. The web stays perfectly on the frame.
- Then, the frame is placed over a smooth, flat board. This board is usually painted black or stained. The web naturally sticks to this surface.
- Finally, the entire surface is covered with lacquer. This creates a smooth, clear, and protective finish.
Spiders are always busy building new webs. This means that new webs can be collected every single day!
Unique Spider Web Artworks
Every spider web is different, so no two art pieces are exactly alike. Once the webs are collected and covered with lacquer, they are ready to be sold. Sometimes, other artists use these lacquered webs as a canvas. They paint realistic flowers and plants right onto the finished surface.
Will and his wife first sold their spider web art at craft fairs. They even rented a pushcart for a week at Faneuil Hall Marketplace to sell their creations. Today, you can buy their unique artwork online or at their gift shop located right at the farm.
