A rumbling in the distance is nature's way to alert living creatures to their environment.
Rumblings is a work in progress, a monumental collection of fifty 30" X 44" watercolor monotypes that draw attention to the endangered knowledge of the 20,000 species of wild bees.
In these works, I carefully manipulate watercolor ink, and solvent into a chaos of infinitely miniscule paint particles. The materials are interconnected across the over-size monotypes, paralleling the synergistic, aqueous effects of the untold bee species' magnetic attraction to golden dust and their corresponding fragility due to the applied chemicals that flood residential gardens and industrial agriculture. Closely studying their exceptional ability to buzz pollinate with their exceptional pollen-adhering bodies, I use abstraction and zoom in to depict the organized mayhem of their movements.
The installation of Rumblings inspires curiosity, alerting all viewers to pay attention, asking them to consider the unintended consequences of their actions in our-interconnected micro-ecosystems. It is a resounding call to decrease pesticide usage, provide habitats for nesting, and plant native indigenous plants providing nectar for the bees that are responsible for 70% of the foods we eat.
Osmia Texana — the berry bee
30” X 44”
watercolor monotype
Osmia texana is as big as a housefly; they are a beautiful metallic blue looking through a macro lens. Their hairy abdomens are a pollen magnet. Over millions of years, their bodies have adapted perfectly with a variety of berry blossoms to collect pollen from blueberries, raspberries, melons, strawberries, and various vegetables.
Living for only 6-8 weeks, Osmia t. emerges in the spring. The females build their nest in reeds and visit 20,000 blossoms per day, leaving pollen as a food source for their offspring, and then die.
A honey bee only visits 50-1,000 blossoms a day.
When I have completed 50 bees I will decide on the placement of each piece and connect them with abstract botanical markings.
Bombus fernaldae
30” X 44”
watercolor monotype