Virginia A. Spiegel
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The Geometry of Bees Series

The Geometry of Bees series celebrates the women in my family, from my late grandmother
to my youngest niece. Bee society provides a perfect metaphor for this celebration
as bees live in a complex matriarchal society in which the queen bee is the
center of the bee universe.

The Geometry of Bees collages reference the female figure and are composed
from papers painted and screen printed with bee imagery and information.
Just as in nature, instinctive planning gives way to serendipity as the collages
are laid on rice paper without any adhesives and submerged in melted beeswax.
The collage can shift in the beeswax bath and also as they are pulled from the wax
and held aloft to allow the wax-impregnated paper to dry to creamy translucence.

Artwork in this series was published in Breaking New Ground, the
Surface Design Journal Gallery Issue and the catalogue for
Tied Together: Textile Art in the 21st Century, Chandler Center for the Arts, Chandler, AZ

Behind the Scenes: The Making of The Geometry of Bees
Gallery View: The Geometry of Bees

Paint, graphite, paper, thread, beeswax
Each work is sewn to archival foamcore and
mounted in a custom handmade frame with plexi-glass. See gallery view above.

Framed: 17.25 x 14 x 2.25"
$300 each


The Geometry of Bees #24
The Geometry of Bees #35

The Geometry of Bees #36
The Geometry of Bees #37

The Geometry of Bees #41
The Geometry of Bees #42

The Geometry of Bees #45
The Geometry of Bees #48

The Geometry of Bees #51
The Geometry of Bees #53

The Geometry of Bees #54
The Geometry of Bees #59