Laura's Art Blog, Exploring the Material World

Isn’t beeswax beautiful!?! It’s harvest time and we (actually… he)
are busy rendering the last of our in-house wax in preparation for the new to come in. It’s an abundant time of year.

Beeswax comes in a range of colors from lemon yellow to golden brown. The lightest wax is cappings wax. That’s the new wax in the hive that the bees use to cap over their honey. The darkest wax is from the brood chamber. It’s older wax from the part of the hive where the bees live and raise their young all year round. The golden color comes from the footprints of thousands of bees tracking pollen and propolis around on their tiny feet. I treasure all the colors. The lightest wax makes a beautiful painting medium with high translucency. The darker wax makes richly fragrant candles.

If you’re a painter or cosmetics maker seeking a high grade source of local beeswax ask your neighborhood beekeeper for cappings wax. He or she will know exactly what you mean.