Ideas fill my head daily. I have sketchbooks full of half-formed ideas waiting for realization; and even more that I haven't put down on paper. There will never be enough time. That is a blessing of creativity.
When I was in school, I used to call my grandma and tell her about the events in my life, a school play, a concert, a party with friends. She would always say she "wished she could be a mouse in the corner", and sometimes "a fly on the wall". She wanted to be present, and would ask details about everything. She lived in a different state, so was rarely able to be there in person.
When she passed away I was living in Seattle, and had met the love of my life. She never got to meet Scott, but she knew about him, and was happy to hear I was happy. After she passed, my mom, brother and I started getting visited by bumblebees--inside our homes. We reminisced about her longing to be with us and see us in person, and the bumblebees became a symbol of her to us.
This is my first ever bumblebee, a theme that has been quietly waiting. I can't stop smiling looking at her, and am excited to revisit this idea some more. She goes well with the micro-mini honeycombs I made earlier this year.
Sawing out the bee form, I wanted to give the impression of fuzz.
These antennae didn't look right, so I stopped and did a little research.
New antennae, and then the best part was an addition of keumboo, which is a Korean technique for adding gold by fusing it to the silver. Blackening the silver brings out the pure gold.
Inlaying the micro-mosaics.
She is almost ready. I will grout her tomorrow, then photograph and put her in my store. Stay tuned. ;)
