Last week, during an unsuccessful web search for vintage honeybee images, I found myself gaping at a strange, robotic-looking honeybee on a cool site called Vinyl Pulse. Was this monstrous cherub a sculptural comment on the sorry state of the ecology? A (f)risky blow-up doll? A kachina from a hyper-pollinated planet in search of new ground to forage? A religious lawn ornament from a near-future cult of mutant-honeybee worshippers?
Whatever it was, I had to have it come and pollinate us over here at GlobalSwarming. The artist, Thuy3, responded graciously to my request to share in the glory that is “HONEY-B”.
Thuy3 was also kind enough to talk a bit about her inspiration for HONEY-B:
“When TWEEQIM was asked to customized the "HONEY-B" toy, I was excited because Bees are one of my favorite creatures on earth. I've always been fascinated by the nature of the BEE. The process of pollination and making honey is amazing to me. I like its contrasting color of bright yellow and dark black. So instead of just painting anything on the toy I decided to do a Bee.
“I’ve always enjoyed watching nature and am inspired by all the beautiful plants and flowers. I enjoy watching plants and flowers grow throughout different seasons. I like the different shapes and curves of them. So I painted the body with shape of leaves, plants and flowers.
“Many people are afraid of Bees because of their sting, which in some instances has caused death. I painted the skull on it, because of his dangerous aspect, yet gave him a smile, because it is not his nature to harm.
“I was quite pleased with the result and am looking forward to it being returned. It has been traveling throughout different art shows in Asia, and it wants to come home.”
Thuy3's baby boy is nicknamed BEEBAO, which means storm of bees. (In Vietnamese, Bao means storm and powerful.) Bee-storm, Bee-power; I like it! So much so, I might have to rename myself BEEBAO—or at least give the name to a future hive. Here’s a painting of the original BEEBAO by Thuy3. Amazingly, the real BEEBAO is even more adorable than the painting!
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