Laura's Art Blog, Exploring the Material World

It’s an honor and a pleasure to announce the following events.

SISTER BEE at the Montserrat Encaustic Conference
Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, Massachusetts
Saturday, June 7th, 3:30 PM
Sunday, June 8th, 3:30 PM
Open to conference registrants. Wax-centric Q & A to follow.

SISTER BEE at Colorado’s Chautauqua Association
Chautauqua Community House, Boulder, Colorado
Monday, June 23rd, 7:00 PM
Open to the general public. Tickets $10. Panel discussion to follow.

SISTER BEE at the Heartland Apiculture Society’s annual meeting
Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia
Thursday, July 10th, 9:45 AM
Open to conference registrants. Q & A to follow.

Great news for the bee-interested in the Boulder-Denver area! Julie Finley of Sister Bee and Garden Director at Growing Gardens in Boulder is offering a hands-on beekeeping class. The curriculum looks fabulous. Julie is a gifted teacher. Highly, highly recommended.

For more info please email Julie@growinggardens.org. Here’s a printable registration form. And a brochure.

Class 1 – Introduction
Date March 8, 2008 Time 9:00 am to 12:00
Meet the instructor, share expectations and goals for the course. We will explain the top bar method and the basics of beekeeping. There will be a demonstration hive available for inspection and plans for building your own Top Bar Hive and information for purchasing supplies and bees.

Class II – Meeting the Bees
Date April 5, 2008 Time 9:00 am to 1:00
We will meet the caste of bees that live in a colony and cover the ecology of honey bees. In the lab we will learn about hive preparation, how to install packaged bees or swarms, and what to look for in your new colony.

Class III – Colony Care I
May 3, 2008 Time 9:00 am to 1:00
You will learn how to handle combs, trouble-shoot problems, manage build-up, and maintain the overall health of the hive. The lab will apply the knowledge gained from the class through hands-on beekeeping.

Class IV – Colony Care II
June 7, 2008 Time 9:00 am to 1:00
We will review how to maintain healthy colonies and discuss sustainable agriculture practices and methodologies. In the lab we will review proper handling of the combs, assessing queen vitality and brood development and we will learn how to observe honey flow and colony strength through the seasons.

Class V – Practical Lab I
July 12, 2008 Time 9:00 am to 1:00
In this three hour lab you will have the opportunity to gain confidence and familiarity with honeybees and learn how to work a top-bar hive successfully. You will gain knowledge in how to manage hives for optimum honey production and colony health. We will begin the harvest of Cultiva honeycomb for Farmer’s Market sales.

Class VI – Practical Lab II
August 2, 2008 Time 9:00 am to 1:00
This class will give you a chance to improve your skills and gain more experience handling combs and bees. We will continue to harvest honey. We will discuss and practice sustainable techniques for monitoring and preventing diseases and parasites.

Class VII – Fall Preparations
September 6, 2008 Time 9:00 am to 1:00
In this class we will review the use and application of Formic acid, Oxalic acid, herbal bee calm and other preparations for maintaining a healthy hive. We will also learn alternative honey processing techniques.

Class VIII – Winter Care
October 4, 2008 Time 9:00 am to 1:00
This class will focus on the steps needed to prepare the hives for winter. The lab will demonstrate a variety of winterization techniques unique to top bar hive management.

Class IX – Honeybees Give Us More than Honey
November 1, 2008 Time 9:00 am to 1:00
Here we will learn how to process wax and how to make mold candles, ornaments, salves and lip balms. This 4 hour practical lab will be devoted to making samples of these various products and enjoying the fruits of your labor.

“Class materials and methods will focus on the Top Bar Hive, and a natural means of raising bees. Thank you, for your interest in honeybees, Growing Gardens, and our relationship to community.”

- Julie Finley
Growing Gardens
3198 Broadway
Boulder, CO 80304
303 413 7248 x 1
303 413 7201 fax

Exciting news! Joanne Mattera – esteemed painter and author of “The Art of Encaustic Painting” has invited me to screen SISTER BEE at the second annual Montserrat Encaustic Conference in June. Yay! This is a rare opportunity to join in an event that holds all three of my professional interests – beekeeping, filmmaking and painting.

As you may know – beeswax is a beautiful, mythic substance. What’s less known is the science behind its symbolism and how it’s made by honeybees. Artists who take the time to learn about these things are in for a treat. Honeybees are fascinating creatures. They provide a wealth of inspiration. And knowledge about them deepens our comprehension of beeswax as a medium. I look forward to talking about these things with artists at the conference in June.

You’re invited to stop by Joanne Mattera’s conference page for more info – dates, schedule, etc…

This we know, all things are connected, like the blood that unites one family.
All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of the earth.
Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it.
Whatever he does to the web,
he does to himself.

- Chief Seattle

Are you a radio listener? I’m just about to hop over to KGNU (Boulder’s community radio station) for a SISTER BEE interview. Radio interviews are fun! (You don’t need to worry about what to wear.) Suzanne Connolly-Howes of SISTER BEE will be joining me. Tune in from 8:00 to 8:30-ish am to listen. It’ll be airing live on the morning news. Not sure quite when.

UPDATE Thursday, August 16th 9:45 AM

You can listen to the interview here.

Thank you, KGNU!

Although I’ve got about a month’s worth of thoughts on painting and traveling and keeping bees to share with you, they’ll have to keep… at least for a few days. SISTER BEE news is stacking up and I’ve got some reporting to do.

First and foremost…

You’re warmly invited to attend a special SISTER BEE screening in Boulder this Thursday, August 16th. The kind folks at Boulder County Going Local and Boulder Valley Relocalization are hosting the show. Since they’ve got a strong interest in “what’s happening to the honeybees” the post-film panel discussion is going to be a key part of the show. Panelists include Suzanne Connolly-Howes, Julie Finley and Marge McLellan (all lovely, all featured in SISTER BEE). I’ll be there too! Hope to see you.

SISTER BEE in Boulder, Colorado with panelists Suzanne Connolly-Howes, Julie Finley, Marge McLellan and me!
Thursday, August 16th, 7:00 to 8:30 PM
Boulder Outlook Hotel, Panorama Room
800 28th Street (Frontage Road)
Boulder, Colorado 80303

Finally! SISTER BEE is available on DVD. The cost for individuals is $25. The cost for group screenings (bee clubs, schools, libraries, etc…) at which admission is not charged is $75.

If you’re interested in hosting a full scale SISTER BEE event (with music, honeybee discussion, etc…) in your community, please contact me. I’d be delighted to collaborate with you.

I’m home! Just got back from a two and a half week SISTER BEE tour (plus vacation) on the East Coast. Had a great time, but boy, it sure does feel good to be home. Heavenly, actually.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who showed up at the Portland SISTER BEE show on Friday. It was a beautiful night, eh? Due in large part to all of you who showed up and asked such great honeybee questions.

I’m in Middletown, Rhode Island today – getting ready for the Providence show. It’s going to be an interesting one. We’re screening at as220 – an art space / nightclub with a focus on local artists. Soprano Ellen Santaniello has prepared a special musical program that’ll precede the SISTER BEE screening. Can’t wait to hear it. I look forward to seeing you there.

SISTER BEE in Providence, Rhode Island with special guest Ellen Santaniello
Monday, July 23rd, 7:00 to 8:30 PM
as220, 115 Empire Street, Providence, Rhode Island
$8

SISTER BEE in Portland, Maine with special guest Full Circle
Friday, July 20th, 7:00 to 8:30 PM
Talbot Auditorium, Luther Bonney Hall, U.S.M., Portland
$8 at the door

Click for directions.

Those of you planning to come to the SISTER BEE show in Portland on Friday (July 20th) are in for a special treat. The women of Full Circle have assembled a powerful set of earth-inspired vocal music to entertain and uplift you with – two songs from the SISTER BEE soundtrack plus a few of their own.

We’ve been commiserating on this group performance for months, mostly via email. I got to meet them, and hear them live, for the first time last night at their rehearsal space in Brunswick. And let me tell you… they’re amazing. Their sound exceeded my expectations in every way. Beautiful women with beautiful voices. Soulful and bright. Perfect for SISTER BEE. Can’t wait to hear them on Friday. It’s going to be a special night.

SISTER BEE is screening in Portland, Maine and Providence, Rhode Island in a couple of weeks. I couldn’t be more excited about both of these shows which represent something of a homecoming for me (being from New England).

Both screenings are collaborative, multimedia events that’ll feature performances by local musicians and opportunities to ask questions of local beekeepers.

In Maine I’m collaborating with the women’s vocal group Full Circle. In Rhode Island it’ll be soprano and music director, Ellen Santaniello who adds her special stamp to the show. Details follow. Please feel free to email me with questions about either show. I’d love to see you there.

SISTER BEE in Portland, Maine with special guest Full Circle
Friday, July 20th, 7:00 to 8:30 PM
Talbot Auditorium, Luther Bonney Hall, U.S.M., Portland
$8 at the door

SISTER BEE in Providence, Rhode Island with special guest Ellen Santaniello
Monday, July 23rd, 7:00 to 8:30 PM
as220, 115 Empire Street, Providence, Rhode Island
$8

Many thanks to everyone who helped pull together the SISTER BEE screening in Fort Collins, Colorado last Wednesday. This was a beautiful event. The screen was huge (verging on mammoth). The music was warm. The crowd friendly. Lots of great questions.

The hardest question right now, of course, is “What’s happening to the honeybees?” I wish a had a good answer. Alas, the jury’s still out on what’s causing this year’s massive bee deaths currently known as Colony Collapse Disorder. Folks at the Boulder County Beekeepers’ Association have done a good job updating the BCBA website with links to relevant news items. This is a great place to start your hunt for more info.

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Whoops! Andy just popped in to report that we’ve got a swarm on the way. This is happy news. More later.

KRFC radio personality Lex Krausz said some lovely things about SISTER BEE on the air last night. He’s got a fun show called Film Cuts that airs on Mondays from 8:00 to 9:00 PM. It’s a music show. Eclectic. All the music he plays is from movie soundtracks.

Lex played “Confectioner’s Town” by Diane French which is one of my favorite songs from the film. It’s loaded with longing and mystery. Thank you, Lex! I’m so used to hearing my own voice chatting on about SISTER BEE. It was nice to hear yours for a change. Great show.

Reminder. SISTER BEE screens at the Lory Student Center Auditorium in Fort Collins on Wednesday, May 2nd. The doors open at 6:30. The show starts at 7:00. Please email me if you need directions. I look forward to seeing you.

There’s a sweet article about SISTER BEE in The Coloradoan today by reporter Joyce Davis.  I haven’t seen the print version yet.  But the online story’s brimming with beauty (lots of great SISTER BEE pics).  You can check them out HERE.

I hope you can make it to the show.  Those of you coming from out of town should plan to buy tickets in advance at csutix.com.  I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday!

SISTER BEE in Fort Collins, Colorado
with the Flowering Bones Vocal Ensemble
Date: Wednesday, May 2nd
Time: 7:00 to 8:30 PM
Place: Colorado State University’s Lory Student Center