Mitch Weaver: Spiny Orb Spider

 

Sometimes I come up with characters based on things I encounter in real life.  Such is the case with Mitch Weaver.  Years ago, when I was living in Alabama, I discovered a spider in the front yard.  To me, it looked like its abdomen was a smiling skull with horns.  It turned out to be a Spiny Orb Weaver.  I happen to have grown up with someone named Mitch Weaver.  So I decided that could be a fun character.  I created sculptures of Mitch Weaver and his Fly friend using Sculpey clay and paint.  Mitch Weaver and the fly were created to look reminiscent of members of a biker gang.

I ultimately moved to Florida and discovered that there was a Spiny Orb Weaver spider in the backyard here, too.  I also started (trying) to keep carnivorous plants in the backyard.  I got a Venus Flytrap and a Tropical Pitcher Plant.  The Tropical Pitcher Plant in particular looks like a grotesque creature, and along with the Venus Flytraps, are perfect antagonists to a spider and insects.

Carnivorous plants are famous for feeding on flies, but they indeed also eat spiders (and really anything else that may wander into their trap).  They lure in their prey with nectar.  Because of this, Mitch Weaver as a concept is an allegory for substance addiction.