As a gardener, I have a special interest in bees. I let some of my plants go to seed so they can have the pollen from the flowers. I take time to observe them in the garden and leave them some water. Most of us have heard the bad news about failing bee populations. This threatens our food supply and that of our fellow creatures.
With the ongoing drought here in California, we decided to tear out our dying lawns and plant native plants. I have been reading a special book Bringing Nature Home by Douglas W. Tallamy. The author describes how our bees, butterflies and birds rely on native plants as food and shelter. When we import non-native species, they cannot adapt. The premise of the book is that if we took out our sterile lawns and artificial turf and replaced them with native plants, we could help restore our ecosystems yard by yard.
It seems a small thing, but it is working. Our landscaper lives next door and he did this to his yard. When you walk past, you see bees that you don’t usually see in the neighborhood. We can do this. One yard at a time.
The work in this series honors our pollinators. Bees and Hummingbird Moths. They are painted with watercolors, cut out and embedded in encaustic bees wax on pigment fractal prints. Some coloring is done with oil paints. The surfaces are very tactile and the warm scent of the wax is subtle.