Art and Science in Beekeeping

Here you can find educational resources and original works of art

Presentation on Poisonous and Hallucinogenic Honey

What you will learn
  • What honey has hallucinogenic and poisonous properties
  • What plant it comes from
  • Where is it found and species of honey bee collecting it
  • What makes it toxic
  • What the signs and symptoms are
  • Case study
  • Other uses
  • Unique harvesting
  • Demands and impact

Pollinator Water Garden

I created a pollinator water garden by using an old glass top table, glass pebbles, copper tubing, pond pump and liner.
I wanted to provide a water source for my honeybee colonies and discovered that other pollinators and animals were also using this garden.
it has held up for the past couple years, with minor maintenance here and there.

Beekeeping Through the Ages

This artwork represents the history of beekeeping through time and our relationship with bees. Each hexagon symbolizes a window with each painting depicting a different time period and story dating back thousands of years to modern day.
Starting from the front leg to the chest,
  1. Cave painting found in Spain 6000 BC,
  2. Egyptian time period, hieroglyphics translates to Beekeeper,
  3. Greek God Aristaeus, creator of various arts including beekeeping,
  4. Medieval beekeeping collecting honey,
  5. Modern day, family beekeeping, learning from generations with the invention of removable frames to properly inspect beehives.
From the back leg to the shoulder,
  1. Mayan beekeeping with stingless bees,
  2. Medieval tree beekeeping, climbing trees with their family names carved onto the opening of the hive, still practiced today,
  3. 1600’s ship with bees to America,
  4. The indicator bird, whistling back and forth, the bird indicates where the hive is,
  5. Swarm catching, dating back thousands of years, and we still catch swarms of bees today.
Bees have been intertwined throughout our existence from the food we eat, mythological and religious stories, use as currency, and medicinal purposes to name a few. The arms are full of flowers with wandering pollinators looking for nectar which drips to the hands and turns to golden honey symbolizing that we have hand harvested honey for thousands of years. Glowing paint is used around the hexagons, bees, vines and flowers on the legs representing the bees continued hard work throughout the day and night
Elements and Mediums used- clay, modeling paste, acrylic paints, glow acrylic paint.
By
Nikki
Backyard Buzz

Wearable Art Fashion Show

We wanted to create a wearable art featuring our pollinators. The more you look, the more you see. At the neckline is honey dripping, followed by bees around the torso, then butterflies, bats, beetles, hummingbirds, bees and flowers on the flowing dress, with hexagon accents on the legs. The skep hat is made with painted metal bees and jute.

Photography

What’s Buzzin’ in Your Backyard? Here’s what’s Buzzin’ in mine! All photographic images are by Nikki, from the backyard garden. We love seeing pollinators in the garden and creating plant biodiversity to keep them coming back! Photography prints are available on request