Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Art will open "Hive"--an exhibition of hexagonal shaped paintings made with beeswax, resin and pigment infused with heat--with a 3 p.m. artists' reception on Saturday, Nov. 13, at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House, 329 E. Main St. in downtown Nacogdoches.
The reception will be followed by a 3:30 p.m. panel discussion on the importance of bees and Colony Collapse Disorder. Panel members are Marie Kocyan, president of the Pineywoods Beekeepers Association; Melinda Brakie, a soil conservationalist from the East Texas Plant Material Center; Gwendolyn Plunkett, president of Texas Wax Houston (the organization responsible for the exhibition); and Dr. David Kulhavy, SFA professor of forestry and a contributor to PollinatorLIVE, a national program on pollinators and public education.
The 10 artists whose works are included in the exhibition are all from Texas. In addition to the paintings, the show also includes painted three-dimensional forms created with the same medium of beeswax, resin and pigment (called encaustic).
According to Lufkin art teacher Denise Stringer-Davis, whose work is included in the show, the artists are exploring the importance of bees to our society along with the threat they are experiencing through Colony Collapse Disorder.
The exhibition will open for viewing on Friday, Nov. 12, in the Upstairs Hallway of The Art Center and will run through Friday, Dec. 10. Continuously playing on a television in conjunction with the exhibition will be the film by Laura Tyler, "Sister Bee."
"Hive" is sponsored in part by Nacogdoches Junior Forum and the SFA Friends of the Visual Arts.
Admission to the exhibition, opening reception and panel discussion is free. The Cole Art Center is open 12:30 to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, please call (936) 468-1131.