Scourge of arachnophobic hikers for years, 'Waiting For Lunch' was located towards the end of the Millwood trail and was a favourite of mine as a kid, for obvious reasons. Mercedes Bermudez, studio manager for Michael Winstone, evocatively describes the piece and its making:

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"The vivacious spider spins its web between forked trunks of a tree. Michael wondered at the time whether the tree would eventually spin its own web of branches engulfing the sculpture over time. This sculpture, like many he has made, evolved through a process of spending many days working, but also sitting silently in the forest observing the comings and goings of its inhabitants that you do not normally see unless you are still for some time."

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Sadly, this brooding piece was removed in the nineties, which means any pictures I own contain myself and family members sporting various stages of late-eighties and early-nineties fashion, which rest assured you do not want to see. So enjoy instead this brooding photograph, courtesy of the artist himself, and this quote from then-Head Forester Bill Grant:

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"Michael Winstone is a quiet contemplative chap, who for one so young is remarkably well-organised and confident in his approach to his discipline.

For his second piece Waiting For Lunch, Michael moved into a different medium and his giant spider, complete with web, waits silently for potential prey. Again his clever choice of site highlights the intelligent use of degrees of forest light and shade."

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Also by this artist:

Midnight Feast 1984

To Fuel A Dream 1989

Piscatorial Flora 1991