Articles from February 2024

Cynthia James Portrays Otherworldly Pollinators and Plants in Her Dreamlike ‘Bee Series’

White flowers sway in the wind, creating ethereal curves in its petals. A small bird rests on a petal as bees swarm around the flowers' pistils.

“Ambush.” All photos © Cynthia James, shared with permission

In the 1901 book, The Life of the Bee, Nobel prize-winning author Maurice Maeterlick wrote, “If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.” Regardless of determining an exact range of years for such a catastrophe, the insect’s extinction has been a great concern for well over a century. We’ve become increasingly aware of the devastating consequences of living without bees, a dreadful outcome scientists are continually reckoning with.

In her extensive Bee Series, artist Cynthia James shines a light on the human and environmental necessity for the winged pollinators, imagining a botanical catalog of plant forms and insects thriving amongst each other in another world. Describing a seminal experience directly related to this inspiration, James reflects on when she and her partner lived in the lowland jungle of Yucatán, a seminal experience that inspired the body of work. The artist explains:

We began to see the environment change rapidly as global warming increased along with the use of pesticides damaging bees and butterflies. We saw butterflies in swarms in the 1990s, but we never expected their disappearance to occur so quickly. Pesticides and genetically modified seeds permeated with antibacterials are new elements shocking the finely balanced interplay between humans and food sources.

Seemingly dancing or moving in rhythmic trance, bees of varying hues percolate in each painting, assembling in elegant spirals and double helices. Swaying in similar fashion are the plants the pollinators swarm, appearing as almost mutated forms of familiar foliage that allude to 18th century grotesquerie.

James’ work will be on show in The Bird and the Bees and More: Pollinators opening at the Wildling Gallery in California next week. For more updates and work, check out the artist’s website and Instagram.

Against tall, burnt orange plants resembling corn stalks, bright blue bees hover in the form of a double helix.

“DNA”

A purple and yellow sea flower mimics the form of a jellyfish.

“Genetic Murmuration”

A tall pink flower rises against green leaves in the background. Bees swarm the left side of the plant.

“Birds vs. Bees”

An orangutan, parrot, anteater, turtle, and sea creatures ride the back of a bright red heron.

“The Ark”

A tall, trumpet-shaped flower in coral hues stands against wispy golden strokes. Bees hover at the top of the flower.

“God Save the Queen”

A white heron stands and opens its beak wide, a mountain of fruits towering from its mouth. It stands atop a fiery rock, and bees swarm it in a spiral motion.

“The Save”

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Grace Gillespie’s Vibrant Linocut Prints of Flowers and Foliage Tap Into Her Artistic Roots

A linocut print of green flowers.

All images © Grace Gillespie, shared with permission

Grace Gillespie grew up in an artistic household, but she resisted pursuing visual art at first, especially printmaking, because it was something both of her parents excelled at. “I guess I wanted my own ‘thing,’” she tells Colossal, which for most of her twenties was music. Then, during the pandemic, she found herself furloughed, disillusioned with the music industry, and back at her parents’ home in Devon, England.

During her six-month stay, Gillespie had access to a large etching press belonging to her mother, artist Sarah Gillespie. “I decided to try my hand at linocut and was immediately very addicted!” the artist says. “I was also just incredibly lucky that (my parents) had a lot of old lino and tools lying around—a bit ancient and rusty, but they did the trick.”

Gillespie was initially drawn to flowers because at the height of the summer, they exploded in her parents’ garden. She found solace and energy in their variety of colors and textures. “I think that both this newly found love of gardens and plant life, plus the new world of printing, really saved me through some quite tricky times around the pandemic,” she says. “I had left music mostly behind, moved house, and realised I had an anxiety disorder all in the space of a few months, and printing really helped to pull me through and keep my brain inspired to create.”

Reduction printing, the technique of carving away at the surface of linoleum or wood to create surfaces that can be layered, inspired Gillespie to play with color and complexity. “I absolutely love the surprise of when you lift the paper and reveal a print… sometimes a surprise mistake!” she says. “It’s a funny process and a lot can go wrong…. But it does make it all the more satisfying when you peel back the paper to reveal something really juicy and satisfying.”

See more on Gillespie’s Instagram, and check out her shop on Etsy to purchase prints.

A colorful linocut print of flowers.

A linocut print of green flowers.

A series of linocut prints of chrysanthemum's strung up to dry on a studio wall.

A linocut print of blue flowers.   Linocut prints of a vase with flowers hung up with clothes line clips.

A linocut print of a dahlia.

Two images side-by-side showing the process of making a linocut print. On the left, red ink is rolled over a piece of lino. On the right, prints dry on a rack.

A linocut print of three flowers.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Grace Gillespie’s Vibrant Linocut Prints of Flowers and Foliage Tap Into Her Artistic Roots appeared first on Colossal.