Native Bee Habitat
Our Fine Arts students buzzed into the Spring 2022 semester by exploring bees and their hives!
Try this at home: Draw circles on a piece of paper so the circles touch, but don't overlap (tracing the mouth of a cup works well to make the circles). Make a dot in the center of each of the triangular spaces between circles, then connect the dots. What shape did you make? How will you decorate your beehive?
A little geometry lesson in the art room! Hexagons are a space efficient shape that happen naturally. Students explored this by placing balls of clay next to each other then rolling them out - they turn to hexagons. This is how hexagon bee hives occur - as the bees pack in wax, it naturally forms the hexagon shape. These will become part of the art installation.
Try this at home: Divide cookie dough into a number of different chunks, using food dye to color each chunk a different color. Make balls, about quarter size, of dough. Place the different colored balls right next to each other (touching) on a cookie sheet and bake according to the directions accompanying your dough!
Next, students made molds of their arms, which will be used to make clay pieces that native bees can use as their homes!
Students used clay to make bee homes from the molds they made, castings from Michelangelo's David, faces they designed themselves, and other clay based art.
Try this at home: Using air dry clay, make a replica of a hand or facial features. Notice that these pieces are a few inches thick, not solid balls of clay. Using a straw, add holes that the bees can use to enter their new home. In addition, add holes to allow you to hang the bee's home. Once dry, decorate the outside of your piece as desired. Finish with a clear sealant on the outside that will allow your piece to be outside.
The structure goes up!
This was a rainy spring, but the structure started to go up! A huge thank you to Ivy Tech facilities, especially Reno, for helping to make this happen!
The native be habitat art installation is finished!
