Ceramic Bee Projects
In 2012 I began working on a series of projects that revolved around making ceramic bees. The bees came from molds I made from specimens I collected from my environment and from bees I received from local beekeepers (in some cases I used bees friends collected and shipped to me).
These projects ask many questions about our relationship to the environment; our fears, and our collective "blind spots." But they are also about the act of noticing, the reverence of small things, and the rhythm, tedium and delight of handmade work.
These projects ask many questions about our relationship to the environment; our fears, and our collective "blind spots." But they are also about the act of noticing, the reverence of small things, and the rhythm, tedium and delight of handmade work.
Borderline |
Borderline installation at Louisiana College. 2014 |
Borderline installation as part of exhibition Oversight with Kenneth Steinbach. CIVA Gallery 212. Madison, WI. 2016
Borderline is the most ambitious of my bee sculptures. Each bee in the project comes from a single mold taken from a dead bee. Each terra cotta bee is then stamped with a number in sequence. My goal is to make approximately one hive's worth of bees–somewhere between 8000-10,000–to complete the series. As the mold is used it slowly erodes, subtly changing the shape of the bee as the series progresses.
Small Bee Sculptures |
Many of these small works are available. Check out my store. for current inventory.
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Gold-Leaf Bee wall sculptures
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Each of these terra cotta bees is covered in 24K gold-leaf and sets on a small wall-mounted pedestal made from repurposed cedar.
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Amber-Glazed Bee sculptures
ceramic |
Made from molds of actual bees, each of these works is about 1" long. The amber glaze adds a richness to the surface that is hard to see in a photo.
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A blog post about the making of the molds can be found here.
