Studio view, works-in-progress. See the paintings develop by following #itbeginswithabee on Instagram or Charis’ Artist page on Facebook.
Like a beehive as it’s own tiny world with different jobs and life cycles, these portraits show a particular microcosm of Long Island: “bee-people” can be found in every ethnicity, economic background, and educational focus. These portraits illustrate diverse relationships between people and pollinators, sharing personal stories, trials, and triumphs through beekeeping.
Every participant in the project is a member of the Long Island Beekeepers Club, with their own story to share:
• A mother unfortunately widowed by cancer found beekeeping was a journey back into her community and back into her own life. • Another ‘keeper holds his hives as living history of the scientific community at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. • Newly wed, and new to beekeeping, a chef and a civic engineer have ties to the “old world” as they grow in Garden City. • Once an engineer, a Queens lawyer raises Queens. • A retired nurse in Middle Island cares for “brood” as well as the next generation of beekeepers. • One of the first female Commanders of a Naval warship cultivates peace and sweetness in her life in Smithtown. • A young biologist who helped develop grassroots sustainability through honeymaking in Madagascar now maps connections through NASA. • At the Long Island Children’s Museum, a photographer builds a fascinating observation hive to illuminate the interior world of honeybees. • A grandfather presents the ABC’s on keeping bees in classrooms, his backyard towering with familiar icons. • Fearless and intrepid, a honeymaker in the Hamptons surrounds herself with swarms and policy-making. • An entrepreneur builds an “apic” empire on the rooftops of NYC.
These portraits bring awareness to caring for bees - in any yard by anyone - and encourage stewardship for a keystone species that nourishes our shared environment.
The work-in-progress portraits “debuted” April 30-May 2, 2021 at the Museum of Contemporary Arts Long Island courtesy of the Patchogue Arts Council.
This pop-up exhibition curated by John Cino invited viewers to do a metaphorical “hive inspection” into every stage of my artistic process: energetic primaturas, build-up of structures, pushing and pulling the paint until the forms tie together. That each stage of my painterly process was pictured helped people to see how my painting process could be compared to the life cycles of a hive.
Artist in her studio. CONTACT CHARIS
I am grateful to the Huntington Arts Council who saw the potential in this project to give me the financial catalyst to start it; to each participant for their willingness to be a part of this ambitious exploration; and to John Cino at MoCA L.I. who provided a beautiful space to debut the project-in-progress.
