Inspired by the landscape of Scotland (and it’s bees), this summer I was able to smuggle some budding branches from the trees that line The Waters of Leith before coming back to NY to work on the exhibit for AGAPE LOVE: A NECKLACE STORY TALE. The Honey Tree is symbolic of not only the importance that bees have in our modern world for it’s survival (and ours), but also the significance bees held in ancient times as the gate keepers and links to the spirits of the Underworld. This brings me to the concept of Agape Love and the unconditional love that Mother Nature is constantly giving to us now, and then. We just can’t seem to give it back and as a result, the planet’s bees are declining. 

The Scottish branches for The Honey Tree were reconstructed from their original form into wax and then set in brass. The honey bee and flower are both individually hand carved from wax and cast into gold, symbolizing honey and the golden color that Zeus is said to have granted the bees for their protection of his life in order for them to resist the cold and winds. Finally, I chose to use opals for the gems as opals are known to be the ‘tears of Zeus’ and are recognized for their protective elements despite their tarnished reputation. The Honey Tree was inspired by a poem that has sat with me for a very long time, aptly titled ‘The Necklace’ by Osip Mandelstam, first published in his 1922 collection. 

THE NECKLACE by Osip Mandelstam

Take from my palms, for joy, for ease,

A little honey, a little sun

That we may obey Persephone’s bees.

You can’t untie a boat unmoored

Fur shod shadows can’t be heard,

Nor terror, in this life, mastered. 

Love, what’s left for us, and of us, is this 

Living remnant, loving revenant, brief kiss

Like a bee flying completed dying hiveless

To find in the forrest’s heart a home,

Night’s never-ending hum,

Thriving on meadowsweet, mint, and time.

Take, for all that is good, for all that is gone,

That it may lie rough and real against your collar bone,

This string of bees, that once turned honey into sun. 

10 K yellow Gold, Brass, Opals