Today I was at the Alaska State Fair doing a demo in the Craft House. First I stopped off at the agriculture building and I talked to a young woman beekeeper about her bees and encaustic art and getting raw wax.
It is a romantic notion of mine to have bees. I raise my bees with tender loving care, provide acres of Alaskan wild flowers and clover for my happy bees to pollinate, then I would harvest the sweet golden honey and get pounds and pounds of wax for my art. Did you read “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd? I highly recommend the book or movie.
I asked her opinion of the collapse of the hives and she told me about huge bee farmers in the lower 48 states store them is huge connex trailers and truck them to a huge field where farmer Joe pays him to let the bees pollinate their huge crop fields. We don’t do it here because bees don’t survive the winter here unless they are kept in heated buildings from October till May.
The problem is the pesticides and fertilizers being sprayed on the crops! It seems obvious to a layman like me why there is a huge collapse of bee hives?
They are being poisoned!
I buy organic produce most of the time, recycle my trash, use my own cloth bags for shopping and consoludate my trips to town for fuel savings. It’s small steps for now. In the future I dream of a self sufficient home that does not impact the earth. I and am hopeful that we are going to solve the devastating problems we face from overpopulation, greed, addiction to fossil fuels etc.
I was inspired to make these two pieces of art today in honor of the bees, I invite you do sit down with me for just a few minutes have a hot cup of tea sweetened with honey and simply be grateful for these wonderous little creatures that bring us so much.
2 comments:
On this matter I feel we must have been twins separated at birth. Only in my case, would I try to grow flax seeds for their linseed oil?? I even raised some roosters this year in the hopes of painting them. No great paintings for me, but they did wonders for the lawn, lol. Great painting, and a wonderful reminder. I love bees.
Very cool bees Judy. I used to be a beekeeper in Montana. Never forget the time I thunked on their hive by mistake. Bees and me flying around the place so they'd stop stinging me and the dog who knew something was up but couldn't figure out what. Love your new stuff.
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