From Sweet to Bitter: 2 projects, 2 completely different themes, 2 extremes

I'm currently working on two projects at the same time. One about bees and honey; and the other one about how time pass by for women in jail... From sweet to bitter...oh my! Let's see what comes out from this!!!

Project 1: Beeline: it's all about the bee 

This summer, I'll be participating in the FIFTH INTERNATIONAL ENCAUSTIC CONFERENCE, for which I'm so excited, and one of the benefits for conferees is to be able to enter our work at a special Juried Exhibition called Beeline. This exhibition will be juried by Francine D’Olimpio, director of Kobalt Gallery in Provincetown, MA, and host it in her gallery. Of course, this doesn't guarantee that my work will get selected, but you know how I love a challenge!! 

The guidelines for this exhibition is that one has to incorporate encaustic (or mixed-media encaustic) to paintings, sculptures and works on paper that relate directly or indirectly to the theme of bees, abejas, abeilles. 

Some examples they gave us to get us inspired are: colony, hexagon, hive, honey, honeycomb, industriousness, insect, nectar, queen, skep, sting, sweet; the bees in an entomological sense (order: Hymenoptera),  and a historical sense (apiarists believe that Egyptians were the first beekeepers); and even the overblown hairdo from the Sixties. So, as you can see there is a lot of information to get our inspiration flowing and my brain had already started the creative process, and tomorrow I'll begin putting it down into a tangible reality.

Project 2: Time In: A Collaboration

On the other hand, I was recently invited to participate in a unique collaborative project involving Expressiones Cultural Center, Mitchell College, and the Judy Dworin Performance Project (JDPP). This project is made possible in part by a grant from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.

The staging at Mitchell College of Judy Dworin's compelling work Time In, a signature piece based upon the lives of women imprisoned in the York Correctional Institution in Niantic, Connecticut, that will take place on Sunday, April 17th at the College. Simultaneously, a thematic art exhibition, mounted both at Expressiones and at Mitchell, will explore visual interpretations of the experience and the broader implications of incarceration.

They asked me to create to artworks related to the theme. As I'm sure you all know by know that I can't say "no" to a challenge, I'm already busy, researching on the theme, to come out with two artworks for this exhibition. 

FROM SWEET TO BITTER... Stay tuned, so you don't miss what comes out of these challenges!!!