Laura's Art Blog, Exploring the Material World

A thematic exhibition of encaustic artwork curated by Gregory Wright.

“Pollination can be defined in so many ways: literally, emotionally, metaphorically, politically or poetically. I chose each artist for his or her unique vision and ability to use encaustic to express it. I looked for artists whose work speaks to movement, change, storytelling and reformation… Laura Tyler uses flower parts, the essence of pollen itself, combined and reconfigured to convey a sense of rebirth.”

- Gregory Wright

You’re warmly invited to check out the show on Beekeeper Day. I will be there with Gregory Wright and Tony Lulek, President of the Norfolk County Beekeeper Association and will present my documentary, Sister Bee. We’ll talk about about art, wax and the bee.

Beekeeper Day
Saturday, November 19th from noon to 4:00 pm
Brush Art Gallery and Studios
256 Market Street
Lowell, MA

LINKS:
Pollination: Beyond the Garden, Gregory Wright’s curator’s statement
At Long Last, Pollination, opening night by Nancy Natale
Driving directions, Brush Art Gallery and Studios
Brush exhibit is the bee’s knees, Lowell Sun
Lowell art gallery exhibit explores Pollination, Encore
Sister Bee

Sister Bee is screening in Leavenworth, Washington on Friday, March 25th as part of the Wax & Wane Encaustic Retreat (which looks downright restorative, by the way).

Thank you, Shannon Newby.

Sister Bee is screening at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Saturday as part of Making Brooklyn Bloom.

Marjorie McLellan, the “older” beekeeper in Sister Bee, passed away on Friday, July 16th.

“You know, you reach a time in your life when you’re not trying to impress. You just want to get along.” – Marge McLellan

The above quote is one of my favorites from Sister Bee. It’s a tricky one that I didn’t quite get at first. I remember it seeming important when Marge said it because her tone shifted from lighthearted self-deprecation to solemnity which grabbed my attention. At first, I thought it had something to do with resignation and the giving up or softening of ones opinions/principles/stridency with age. Today it seems to have more to do with an opening or generosity that comes with maturity. When we’re young we have so much to prove! Marge helped me see that age can bring the confidence it takes to take a break from trying to ourselves to listen and appreciate what others have to say.

Marge McLellan using the uncapping knife on a frame of honey

Marge McLellan modeled graceful aging for me. She was a dear friend and mentor to many. I miss her already.

Marge McLellan walking with her garden cart

It’s an honor and pleasure to let you know about a FREE screening of
SISTER BEE happening at the Loveland Museum on Saturday, April 10th at 1:00pm.

It’s an honor and a pleasure to announce that Sister Bee is screening in St Louis, Missouri tonight, January 26th as part of the Slow Food St. Louis Urban Homesteading Series.

The Sister Bee trailer is now available on YouTube. You’re warmly invited to share.

It’s been a long time coming, but Sister Bee finally has a new website all her own. You can check it out here. The site includes biographies of the Sister Bee beekeepers, information about the soundtrack and She Said, a retrospective blog about the making of Sister Bee including quotes and outtakes like these:

It’s wonderful to see… life!

- Mery Molenaar

I’m a beekeeper. Um hmm… The bees keep me.

– Marge McLellan

Some of the hardest lessons, the best lessons, have come from making dumb mistakes.

- Patricia Butler

It’s an honor and a pleasure to announce that Sister Bee is screening at the Belfast Free Library on June 23rd as part of a series of bee events hosted by the Maine Farmland Trust.

Included in the festivities will be a showing of encaustic work by Belfast sculptor Beth Henderson, photographs by Michelle Olson from Caribou, and various educational displays. For more information about these events please contact the MFT Gallery Coordinator Anna Witholt Abaldo.

It’s an honor and a pleasure to announce that Sister Bee is screening at the Denver Botanic Gardens on Thursday.

SISTER BEE at the Denver Botanic Gardens
Denver, Colorado
Thursday, February 19th at 7:00 PM
Tickets are $8 for members and $10 for the general public. Panel to follow. Panelists are myself, Sister Bee beekeepers Suzanne Connolly-Howes and Julie Finley and honorary Boulder County Beekeepers’ Association President, Tom Theobald.

Hope to see you there! If you come, please say hello after the show.

Don’t you just love road trips? I had the pleasure of tripping it up to Nebraska for a Sister Bee screening at the Chemical Free Beekeeping Conference right before Thanksgiving. Here are some images from the road.

I’m a nature girl so it’s usually grass and trees that ensnare me. But on this particular trip, trucks ruled. Their primary logos read like emblems from a distant kingdom. My favorites had a map or puzzle-like quality to them. But I enjoyed the simple ones too. And the cattle trucks were exquisite. From a distance they look like simple metal grids. But get close and you can see eyes, noses & hides peeking through.

Great food for painting.

Special thanks to Michael Bush of Bush Farms for hosting such a thought provoking show. I learned some interesting new/old things about beeswax & look forward to posting them soon.

SISTER BEE at the Koehnline Museum of Art
Feminist Ecology Exhibition
Oakton Community College
Des Plaines, Illinois
Opening reception Tuesday, October 28 from 5-8 PM
Free and open to the public.

SISTER BEE at the Chemical Free Beekeeping Conference
Southeast Community College
Lincoln, Nebraska
Conference runs from Friday, November 21st through Sunday the 23rd
Open to conference registrants
More info at Bush Farms.

SISTER BEE at the Denver Botanic Gardens
Sustainability Film Series
Denver, Colorado
Thursday, February 19th at 7:00 PM
Tickets are $8 for members and $10 for the general public. Panel to follow.

I’ll be at the Denver and Lincoln events. Hope to see you there!

I read the news today, oh boy… The financial institution, Lehman Brothers, has declared bankruptcy and the financial markets are tumbling. Does anyone know how this’ll affect regular people like you and me?

It’s times like this, when the human world feels unsteady, that I take comfort in the abundance made by honeybees. Here’s a picture of our garden from this morning. There’s a zucchini, some carrots and chard in the front with some just-ripening tomatoes, peppers and a few spent okra plants bringing up the rear.

And it’s honey season! Flowing. Flowering. We extracted our 2008 crop over Labor Day weekend with the help of family and friends. Maybe I’m being naive… But it’s hard to work up too much world-news anxiety at harvest time. As Marge McClellan said rightly in Sister Bee… “It’s all just so… BEAUTIFUL!”

Honey lovers in Colorado are invited to taste our honey at the Boulder Farmers’ Market on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings now through the end of September.

May your cupboards be blessed with abundance this fall.

Sister Bee was just one of sixty-plus events offered at HAS this year. I wish I could have attended all of them! Alas… time and space limited me to the few. Thought you’d enjoy hearing about these standout honeybee projects.

LOST MOUNTAIN HONEY PROJECT
Tammy Horn who authored “Bees in America” has begun an ambitious new project. The Lost Mountain Honey Project is opening new space for forests and honeybees by linking beekeepers with coal companies and private donors. They’re turning defunct mining sites into productive apiary forests and training grounds for new beekeepers. Beautiful, eh?

BEEKEEPING SAFARI
Second generation beekeeper and Ntaba Tours owner & guide Robin Mountain is offering a Beekeeping Safari to South Africa this December. Robin is one one of the first people I met a HAS. He’s a great storyteller. The itinerary looks fantastical. (I love the idea of a tour that makes time for picnics, penguin colonies, leopard gazing and honeybees.)

A STUDY ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND HONEYBEES
Curious about climate change and honeybees? NASA scientist and beekeeper Dr. Wayne Esaias is gathering information about “how climate change is affecting flowering plants and their pollinators” by observing honey flows. He’s actively seeking volunteers. A big ol’ scale and honeybees required. Get involved at HoneyBeeNet.

Big thanks to Dan O’Hanlon and Gabe Blatt of the Cabell Wayne Beekeepers Association in West Virginia for inviting me to screen Sister Bee at HAS last week. What a wonderful experience! The people, the setting, the workshops… all beautiful. I feel blessed to have participated. Will write more later this week…