Today is a BEEautiful day!
I am installing Swarm A, an installation made of hundreds of folded paper bees, at the Better World Museum in Minneapolis.
Made entirely of repurposed paper ads and junk mail, Swarm A is a celebration of diversity within unity, as well as an exploration of variation within repetition.
Although all the bees were folded from squares of the same size, following the same sequence of folds, slight variations of folding angles created a huge variety of wing span and shapes.
I just can’t wait to install them on the gallery walls, in a vibrant, colorful swarm where no two bees are alike!!
As always, the cutting and folding process was a highly meditative experience for me.
Thinking of the resources wasted by the advertising companies printing and sending those ads made me angry at first.
However, I didn’t want to fold from a place of anger. I deliberately focused on the incredible diversity of colors, patterns, lettering… found on these ads. It encouraged me to be always mindful of the efforts unidentified artists and designers put into them.
While never forgetting my environmental concerns, I was able to find the energy necessary to fold from a place of joy. Let’s hope that it will show in the final product!
The Folding Bee 