The Bees Upon The Flowers

 

A handwrought steel fibula suspends a reliquary fashioned from the pages of an mid-19th c.children's book, sandwiched between two layers of tin reclaimed from a Chinese tea cannister. It is held in place using a marlinspike knotting technique called "mousing," that I learned from Keith LoBue, with waxed baker's twine threaded through tube rivets which also hold the assemblage in place.  Beneath that, a pair of antique mercury glass bugle beads on red silk.  I love the way the beads have patchy mirroring that is highlighted by the silk that shows through the places where it has flaked away; it seems to resonate with the foil on the printed tin.  The reliquary contains an embroidered bee I made, some silver glass beads that move around, and an engraved illustration from the story book.  I layered mica over the chamber and then poured resin over the mica for some magnification.

A beekeeper friend, Alan Hawkins, tells me that yesterday was the feast day of St. Gobnait, the patron of bee keepers.  I'm right on time, for once!