Sunday, November 30, 2008

Congratulations to Honeybeads, this week's featured member!!

Congratulations to Honeybeads for BEEing our featured member this week!





Honeybeads is a beekeeper in Central Pennsylvania and finds inspiration in the bee yard and the beautiful Allegheny Mountains surrounded by thousands of busy little muses.


Honeybeads will also be contributing to our blog with posts about beekeeping! How exciting, to get to hear firsthand about everything involved and all about the bees!


I asked Honeybeads some questions about beekeeping and crafting- here are the answers!


How long have you been crafting?

I began working with textiles in high school. I loved combining the textures and colors to elicit a feeling or get a response. I built quite a collection of fabric, leather, embroidered goods and assorted yarns and threads. Folk art and traditional themes inspired me.


How did you become interested in beading?

One night I was watching a shopping channel and they were featuring a set of jewelry tools and glass beads. I got them and loved the way the beads could add another dimension of texture and sparkle to a project. It was an opportunity to work with precious stones and pearls (my favorite) and metals. It is not nearly as intimidating as I expected and I love attending classes, workshops and conferences with skilled artists to get inspired and keep my ideas fresh. A jewelry piece can delight the eye and lift the spirit.



How long have you been a beekeeper?

I started keeping bees in 2005. I have been fascinated with honeybees since I was five years old. My little boyfriend lived next door and his father was a beekeeper. As much as I liked Greg, (we would sneak out behind my swing set and smoke candy cigarettes), his Dad had something in the kitchen that fascinated me: an observation hive. Next to the kitchen table there was a glass window to the world of the honeybees. For hours I was mesmerized watching hundreds of bees tirelessly working together drawing out and filling the comb. The amazing process that changed the blooms of flowers to sweet golden honey seemed mystical. It took nearly fifty years for me don my bee veil and become an assistant to these industrious little ladies. I feel honored to be a part of the queens’ team.

1 comment:

Doris Sturm said...

Congratulations Honeybeads, it's nice having you in the spot light. I'm so happy to find out you're a beekeeper too. That's a very noble and necessary profession. Keep up the good work. Your shop is very lovely.