This is another piece that I started in my recent workshop at Manor Mill to demo starting with an image glued to the board first then adding layers of wax and papers. I did a quick drawing of the bee with pencil on a dried teabag paper and added it on top of a page from an old book that said Part I. Then more encaustic medium and glazes with pigment sticks. There’s more of a glow to it in real life. Hard to capture that with my camera and on a screen.
A small but eye catching piece. I think that instinctually we are attuned to snap to attention to those striped buzzing bodies.
I love reading about bees and how they work together as one. When I have a gazillion tasks ahead of me that seems like they will never get done and I start to grumble in my head about it, I think about the bees- the journeying bees who travel far to gather pollen and the working bees who do maintenance around the hive. Their tasks and activities are for the greater good of their community. They seem to go about their tasks with purpose and without ego. It helps me try to reframe and find the joy in the doing and in the making, and yes, serving in a way towards a great purpose beyond myself. I’m not talking lofty purposes, but daily mundane things. Maybe it’s the intention behind the things we do.
But also, get in my way and cause trouble, I will sting. Benevolent but not willing to put up with bad behavior. Maybe this is why I’ve always loved bees, ha!