JUNE 26, 2023 GRACE EBERT

Detail of “Blue and Gold, Ithra,” encaustic, Japanese paper, gold leaf, embroidery floss, glass beads, natural honeycomb, local Ontario maple frame, 17.5 x 17.5 inches. All images © Ava Roth

Working with bee colonies for the last several years, Ava Roth creates encaustic works emphasize the allure of organic aesthetics.

Artist Ava Roth (previously) continues her lavish honeycomb-laden works made through ongoing interspecies collaboration. Working with bee colonies for the last several years, the Toronto-based artist creates delicate encaustic pieces that emphasize natural processes and the allure of organic aesthetics. Set inside wooden frames augmented by rounded forms evocative of embroidery hoops, the mixed-media compositions begin with Roth’s carefully stitched motifs and beaded embellishments. Once she’s finished her portion, she inserts the works into the hives of her six-legged collaborators to build their waxy forms.

Detail of “Beaded Circles, Indigo,” encaustic, Japanese paper, embroidery floss, glass beads, natural honeycomb, local Ontario maple frame, 17.5 x 17.5 inches

Many of Roth’s most recent pieces involve “bridge combs,” which are segments of the prismatic cells that flow beyond the areas the artist designates. As shown in “Beaded Circles, Indigo,” these constructions add more dimension and visual intrigue to the compositions as they swell and surge above the base. […]

Detail of “Beaded Circles, Taupe,” encaustic, Japanese paper, gold leaf, embroidery floss, glass beads, natural honeycomb, local Ontario maple frame, 17.5 x 17.5 inches

More: Honeycomb Swells Across Ava Roth’s Embroidered Works Made in Collaboration with Bees — Colossal