The idea for this collaboration came from a dream. In the dream I was a student at university but completely neglecting my art courses. Resolving to take responsibility, I began sorting through my artwork and was startled to discover that in my absence, honeybees had moved in and built honeycomb between my drawings. First the dream motivated me to prioritize art through all life’s seasons. More recently it has prompted reflection on God’s intervention in my life.  

The original artwork, its chosen subject and design, represent my striving to create and accomplish personal goals; to determine the look and structure of my life. Naturally with the passage of time came change, surprises, questions, insight, losses, joys. . . . The artwork yellows, previous artistic choices are rejected, perspectives shift and favoured compositions transform, imagery reappears in new formats, and new ideas emerge. All this change is naturally evident in any artist’s cumulative body of work, but by collaging my artwork and placing it within a hive, the bees have added a layer of nuance which points to God’s grace in my life. Throughout all my life God has covered my experiences with sweetness, erased what is peripheral, and emphasized that which is still developing.