Honey Bees, Waxy Start

Some of you may know I have started to keep bees. This is an amazing human experience. I am learning so much about these little creatures. I have taken classes, watched videos and read the books. To actually see these creatures in person, doing their pollen dance, seeing worker bees eat their way through the wax to come into life to start collecting pollen and create a strong hive is just beyond words. I hope that you enjoy the photos and the development of the hives in the future months and years.
There are a few reason for why I have started to keep bees. I had to opportunity to keep bees, so I took it. I come from a long line of family farmers. My roots are from Iowa. My beloved Grandma Mullen was a farmer. I recently found out that the farm would rent bees to pollinate the crops. I also found out that one of my friends grandfathers used to rent his bees to farmers and he would travel from land to land with his bees and pollinate the crops, that in turn feeds us all and keeps us healthy, moving, productive humans. Very awesome. So here I am, helping out where I can and although I am not traveling from farm to farm, I will be helping out just a little with the crops that grow around the Santa Cruz mountains. An additional reason, is that I paint with bees wax. I'm excited to be able to produce my own wax from the honey bees.
The honeycomb that I have photographs of here, fell off of one of the frames. The bees built an additional section that attached to one of the frames. I left some space in between two of the frames and so they built an extra, home. Im learning so much along the way. So when I went to pick up that frame and lifted it in the air to check for the brood, the whole thing fell off. BOOM! Just like that, then all of a sudden all the bees started buzzing louder, I got a little nervous, but thank goodness for that bee suit. All of a sudden I had bees going for my face on my hands and this beginner bee keeper wasn't sure what to do. I remembered that I can not have the hive open for too long, so I scrapped off any additional wax and I placed the top back on to the hive and I watched the bees that fell of this additional comb do their thing. I crouched there with the pine trees looking over my shoulder, as we all watched and listened to the sweet honey bees.


So now I have my first set of wax, and I am very excited to create my first painting with my first wax!

Bedford Galley 'Working in Wax'

The Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek had an amazing opening about two days ago with all things wax. There were 400 entries and 85 artist were juried in and there are about 100 pieces in the exhibition.
I have been painting since I was five and most of the time I painted in acrylics, water color, i did pen and ink did some sculpture work, and glass work too. In college I really learned what it meant to paint large. I received my degree from California State University, Monterey Bay in Visual and Public Art which equals Large Scale and Mural painting and a minor in Graphic design. My love for painting large and making a difference in my community will never leave me. Since my graduation I was still hungry for more. I am a sponge. I took a course with Cari Hernandez and Daniella Woolf. After that, game over. I fell in love with the medium. I painted in a way I always wanted to but never allowed myself in acrylic paintings. I feel so free when Im doing encaustic painting. I have found myself in a place with no rules and as a matter of fact it seems that in the encaustic world rules are meant to be broken. From working with canvas, painting over acrylic, using oils, incorporating plexi, bronze, cheese cloth, and so much more. Encaustic is the medium of exploration. It is competitions like 'Working in Wax' at Bedford and 'Metamorphsis' in Lincoln, Nebraska that are bringing a scene of healthy competition to the medium. Every time I go to a purely wax event all I do is discuss the medium, who the artist is and how they did their work. There is nothing more exciting then discussing with your fellow artists the possible process that went behind a particular piece. I am a member of the International Encaustic Artists. I love this group of waxy artist. I have been able to really discuss on a deep level the medium and process and learn from othr artist.

Here are a few shots from the event at the Bedford. Most all the work is for sale in the show and is a great chance to give back to the community and support artist around the United States.

Happy Creations

My world is full of painting, community and yoga. Since my arrival back from Nebraska I won a proposal from Fine Art Base. I won a studio space for a month to create some work for a showing the group of artists will be having on the 28th of this month. The work is to be based on art + environment. So i have moved my encaustic studio over to Fine Art Base located in Sand City. I have been so productive. I am using found objects and a Monterey Bay inspired color palette for the work. I will be showing with three other local artists. I am very excited about the space. There is so much positive energy in this group work envirnoment. I really have fallen in love with this space and working around other artists. It is a great change for my work flow. So check out the images below, enjoy and I will see you on the 28th in Sand City.








Here is on of the other artists, J.R. Uretsky. She is creating a huge installation and involving the community in the process.

Here is a kelp pour with Rodney Thompson panel. :)


RandFpaints with my clay tool scraper.

I just want to let you all know what a great thing deconstructing is. I have been reusing my wood panels that do not sell. It can be such a great feeling deconstructing older work that I have move on from. Here is a piece I did for a local showing at Cafe Lumiere. And now....it is something else...









O here is another panel i had created from Rodney. I cant wait to show you the finished product.