Bee Queen

Having spent the first 15 years of my life living next to a beekeeper, you could say that I have an affinity for bees. We had them swarm on our screen door one summer and instead of panicking, my response was to go out the other door, walk next door and say, "Mr. Kolb, would you come get your bees please?" I think I was 12 or so at the time and I'd already learned that as long as you don't panic, bees will never hurt you. I've managed to teach the boys this and it's interesting to watch us at a picnic or campout, calmly watching other people freaking out just because a bee has landed on the table.

When ~wdh61 was cleaning out his shop, he tossed this slice of mulberry in the trash. I think he carved the rest of the wood up for pen blanks or something. I liked the look of it so I saved it. I used a woodburning tool to burn in the design and then I colored it with a combination of Chartpak wood stain pens, Sharpie oil-based markers, Prisma pencils, and the wings I did with Perfect Pearls pigment. It's a pearlescent powder that's commonly used in scrapbooking and stamping, but I found out that out that you can mix it with a little water and it makes a nice shimmering transluscent glaze.

I'll probably post a better picture later. Bill suggests putting a wood finish on it but it's too cold this weekend to use the stuff.

Size: 4 3/4" x 17 1/8"