| Project Title: | Honoring the Honey Bee Society with Solar Plate Prints |
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| Contributors: | MPC Printmakers Club, Stefania Detrait, Evelyn Klein, Cynthia Rand-Thompson, & Edward West |
The Honey Bee and the Beehive
Few animals have such an important role in symbolism. The symbolism of the honey bee and the beehive as an archetypal symbol of society: structures, organization and social collaboration. All individuals lead to a whole: no notion of individuals. As our present society is dealing with epic concerns on economic, environmental, health, and other human issues, all we have to do is turn towards the “honey bee” society for answers.
Click here to read more about this art piece.
Why the Honey Bee?
Because of what it represents throughout humanity: Industry through cooperation. In these times of greed and intense individualism, we have seen major world structures collapse. How has the “honey bee” society been able to survive through the ages, without being consumed by it? There seems to be a higher motive, common to all in the society. Can we look inwards and reconnect to our own “higher motives”? Can we move away from fractionalism to wholeness, where there is an emphasis away from individualism?
Honoring the Honey Bee Society in STEAM 2.0
The honey bee embodies several aspects of STEAM. They use science and chemistry to convert pollen and nectar into honey and beeswax. Their engineering feats in building bee hives and honey combs is remarkable. They certainly understand the concept of math because they know how to multiple. As for art, well just look at them, they are beautiful. Lest we forget pollination, that’s in a category of its own. Without pollination many agricultural crops would not exist.
Printmakers also share many of these attributes. We use science, technology, engineering, and math to create beautiful works of art. We even use beeswax for many of our creations. One type of printing that embodies all of these is the solar plate printing technique, which we would like to share with you.
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