From within the Hive
I offer
Honey and warm propolis.
Within the Dark folds of time and
The murmerations of wing;
wild comb is forming at the edges.
Spinning nectar;
the elixir is made,
together;
one and the same.
This path of pollen
is as old as time;
it weaves the primordial pattern
And generously pours
from an eternal cup of reciprocity.
Each thread woven- a homage to
the Bees and their teachings;
a love letter to the divine.
From within the Hive was dreamt with and created from June- August 2025.
It is my pleasure to offer this collection of woven works. Distilled from my dream work and earthly connections to the Hive, this small body of wild-cloth has been born from the dream-scape of my love for honeybees.
After becoming Guardian to a hive of native black bees in May, with some prior experience of tending to the bees that lead to my love for them, I have become entirely captivated by their ancient, mysterious and deeply reciprocal ways.
They live in harmony with the Land and are beacons of Hope that illuminate the way back into Right-Relation with Life.
Throughout the making of these pieces I received Dreams at night that came directly from the Bees and offered guidance and insight into the Making of the Work.
These works have been created in service and acknowledgment of Women who work with bees. This homage encompasses every Ancestor woman who was ever guardian to Bees, every Mellissa who journeyed with them and every Daughter to come who will work with our buzzing Kin.
Their work is ancient, their work is needed, their work will help us to secure a more harmonious future.
It felt important to represent the Works in the most reverent way- which for me is always by Film Camera. The medium of Film feels so different to digitally captured photographs. I love to see the organic edges where the light has flooded the lens, or where the image is blurred or roughly textured- for me this original way of photography is an Art form in its own right.
And so I worked alongside a Film photographer, Michaela Meadow, who used both a 35mm and medium format camera.
We ritualised the photoshoot and worked with ceremonial practises to invoke the spirit of the bees and the land.
I am deeply grateful to be living a 15 minute walk from where the images are placed, in a small one roomed home, with my looms and spindles soaking up this mythic landscape of Western Dartmoor.
These weavings are in their essence a homage to the Bees, their homes of wax, propolis, nectar, Queens, hexagon-nests and countless pockets of beauty.
May their alien, magical and humble Ways be honoured through these threaded prayers-
May each Wearer come to feel the many gifts they offer us, the service they give to Life-
May each wearer be wrapped in their promise of hope and harmony-
May they serve to awaken the call to reciprocity- for the betterment of All Life.
And May they offer beauty. And may they offer warmth. And may they offer holding. And May they offer courage. And May they offer comfort. And may they offer connection. And may they offer Hope.
And may they offer Sanctuary.
And may they offer Love.
A few threads of word came as I walked my Son up the lane in the half dusk light a few days after receiving the imagery for them.
This is my first collection made as a Mother. I offer it with an open and tender heart;
The bees prophesise
The pathways to pollen
And delectable nectar.
They beat their wings in a wild rythm
To spin that nectar
Into honey;
An elixir,
That can be preserved
for
thousands of years;
Liquid gold.
They move as One
For the Hive,
Dancing out their unique duties
like
singular warp threads
Flowing effortlessly together
To Hum the song of one
Great Loom.
They work in darkness,
Alchemising shadow into
Light.
They need not See
But Feel
their Way.
Cultivating sweet pools of sunny Amber-treacle,
In the warmth and dark
Of a radiant hollow.
We burn their Wax
To make light
at Night.
And They will guide us
If we nurture them
Through this journey
And un-ravelling
Time.