Saturday, August 23 was a great day to instill summer spirit as the season comes to a close. Busy Bees and Other Summer Creatures was one of the most unique accessible programs to date at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. Classic tactile art activities were produced, but something new was added to the mix: an interactive presentation with a beekeeper.
Toronto-based beekeeper Jared Taylor was our guest program facilitator. Jared and his wife, Melanie, manage bees and produce their own honey right outside of Kleinburg. This year, the McMichael acquired bee boxes to produce local honey. Jared manages the bees, which currently live on the surrounding gallery grounds within the Humber River Valley. Jared led an educational presentation for the participants, discussing how bees produce honey, different hierarchies of the nest and the tools used to manage the black and yellow critters as they create liquid gold.
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- Honey straight from the Humber River Valley.
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- A screen used for bee boxes.
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- Jared shares information about how honey is produced.
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- Honeycombs have an interesting shape and texture.
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- The tactile honeycomb experience.
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- Close up of the bee box screen.
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- Inside the bee box.
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- Jared Taylor: Keeper of the bees.
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- Jared removes a bee from the honeycomb and places it in a viewing case.
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- Making honey!
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- Outside of the box.
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- Jared and Melissa’s honey.
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- The honeycomb ready for taste-testing.
Everyone had an opportunity to try a slice (or two!) of sticky sweet honey, right off the honeycomb. Jared’s beekeeper suit and mask added a fun spin to traditional dress up activities, while he informed the group about the use of a bee smoker and why it is a useful contraption to calm bees in the honey-collecting process.
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- Daniel takes a photo of the bee.
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- Daniel in the beekeeper’s netted hat.
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- A bee smoker, pictured above, is used to calm honey bees when the honey is collected.
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- The tiny bee on display for all to see.
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- James dons the entire bee keeper suit!
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- Waiting to try the delicious honey.
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- Sticky and sweet, Jared slices pieces of the honeycomb for all to try.
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- A tiny bee clings to the mask.
Following the presentation, the group moved inside to produce multimedia art projects. Honeycomb Creations were the first activity, using textured candle wax in different colours to decorate a rock or flower pot. Rocks were transformed into bees, mice and other cute critters. Intricate shapes and designs added character to each insect.
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- A real busy bee!
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- Making “honeycomb creations” using honeycomb wax, stones and colourful pipe cleaners.
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- James, Kevin and Lauren work on their honeycomb creations.
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- Looks like a mouse!
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- James working intently on his honecomb creation.
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- Some participants chose to decorate a flower pot.
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- The finished product: a colourful bumblebee.
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- Close up of the bumblebee
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- Daniel working on his honeycomb creation.
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- Daniel designed a ladybug for his honeycomb creation and used an image on his Nintendo DS as a reference.
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- Reference of a vibrant butterfly.
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- Lauren working on her watercolour art.
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- The first step to the watercolour painting is outlining shapes in permanent marker.
The group also worked on watercolour paintings inspired by the McMichael landscape and summertime blooms. Drawings were sketched onto craft paper with colourful ink markers before artists used a sponge paintbrush to blur lines and shapes with water, adding an abstract feel.
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- Lady bug.
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- “Bugs and other insects” acted as a great reference tool.
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- Markers galore.
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- More reference materials.
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- Natural objects, including small stones, were one of the natural materials used.
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- A paper tissue flower pot.
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- A selection of the program materials: pipe cleaners, markers and tissue paper.
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- Watercolour paintings, featuring “Playing Rainbows” by Ashley H.
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- Perfect in plaid and working on watercolour.
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- Working on watercolour painting.
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- The Chen family working on watercolour paintings.
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- One of the final watercolour paintings
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- Black and yellow in watercolour.
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- A cute honeycomb creation.
Busy Bees and Other Summer Creatures was a full house and great way to end summer programs at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
We look forward to another afternoon of accessible and inclusive art making at Adventure of a Maple Leaf on Saturday, October 18, 2014 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
To register, please visit the McMichael website.
Members of Autism Ontario are free. Please provide your Autism Ontario membership number at time of booking. Attendants do not pay.
Accessible Programs @ McMichael Canadian Art Collection 