Toronto-based artist Ava Roth is unlike other collaborative artists: instead of working with people, she works with bees. As a painter, embroiderer, and mixed-media artist, she has spent the past decade experimenting with the unique medium of beeswax.
In her latest collection, Roth employs the help of a local bee colony to create stunning encaustic pieces that perfectly represent the intersection of human beings and nature. Her works juxtapose various man-made materials—from Japanese paper and beads to ceramic shards—with the intricate pattern of a raw honeycomb.
During the collaboration, Roth’s portion of work comes in the form of collages suspended in embroidery hoops. Using her mastery of embroidery techniques, she creates designs with thread and beads while incorporating found materials, often foraged locally, such as wood, birch bark, vegetation, and horsehair. After she arranges these elements to her liking, the bees come in to add their geometric touch.
Roth then attaches the hoop to custom-made beekeeping frames and places it in a beehive. Over time, thousands of bees fill the frame with honeycomb, converting the piece into its final, fascinating form. The artistic collaboration between the bee colony and Roth manifests as the honeycomb created by the hive naturally integrates with her creativity, resulting in a unique and original work of art.
Her direct collaboration with bees is just one aspect of her work. Roth also incorporates beeswax honeycomb in other collections, including encaustic sewn paintings, embroideries, and works on paper.
In her work, Roth embeds the theme of the human relationship to the natural world, reflecting on how people shape nature to meet their needs. With the role honeybees play in pollinating many of the world’s crops, the species is vital to food production.
Despite their essential duty, honeybee populations have been facing a growing decline worldwide, caused by factors such as climate change, habitat destruction, pesticides, and invasive species. Roth raises awareness of this extraordinary species’ depopulation through her unique practice, exhibiting their exceptional architectural abilities and integral role in sustaining human life.
In her latest collection, Ava Roth collaborates with a local honeybee colony to create encaustic pieces adorned with beeswax.
