I seek to undermine the stereotype of textiles as a decorative and applied medium for women’s handiwork by using it as a medium for contemporary art. There is a kind of playful simpatico between tiny human-made stitches and tiny honey bee cells.
Encaustic embroidery, honeycomb and birch bark (2020)
12 inches diameter
Japanese tissue, encaustic medium, birch bark, honeycomb, thread, gold leaf in embroidery hoop
Starburst, Yellow and Gold (2020)
19 x 19.5 inches
beeswax, Japanese tissue, water paint, embroidery floss, beads, embroidery hoop, honeycomb in custom Langstroth hive frame
Encaustic Embroidery, Birch and Moss (2019)
8 inches diameter
Japanese tissue, encaustic medium, honeycomb, birch bark, glass beads, thread in embroidery hoop
Gold and Cream Encaustic (2018)
19 x 19.5 inches
encaustic, Japanese tissue, birch bark, seed beads, gold leaf, cotton thread and embroidery hoop embedded in honeycomb.
this piece was made in collaboration with a colony of bees and is framed in a traditional Langstroth hive frame
Canadian textile artist Ava Roth’s Honeycomb collection consists of an unusual yet brilliant collaboration with honey bees. Her mixed media pieces are put into a hive and the bees encase it in their honey comb with incredible results.
Where are you from and where are you based now?
I was born and raised in Montreal, but am currently based out of Toronto.
What is your background in textile art?
I am entirely self-taught as an artist, although I have taken a few workshops over the years to hone specific skills, such as embroidery and encaustic. I have been sewing and experimenting with textile, thread and a variety of other materials since I was a child. It has been well over a decade since I developed a full-time practice.
Can you tell us about your work with honeybees?
This collaboration started as a natural outgrowth of working with both beeswax (as a medium in my encaustic work) and thread. For many years my encaustic painting and thread work were separate endeavours, and I jumped back and forth between the two practices. Eventually my work became more holistic and the two worlds came together in unexpected ways. Initially I incorporated thread into my encaustic paintings, but I soon found myself adding pieces of honeycomb to my sewn work, and also making encaustic collages in embroidery hoops. The leap from taking wax and comb out of the hive to use in my “embroideries” to just putting my work directly into the hive was almost inevitable at that point.
The use of thread and hoops are not incidental to this project. My work has always explored tensions between traditionally ‘male’ and ‘female’ art. Honeycomb is made entirely by female bees so this project is not just an inter-species collaboration, but an entirely female one.
Because I view this project as a real collaboration with honeybees, the project has developed slowly and reflexively, based on how the bees respond each season. This season I am using beautiful custom made frames out of local wood, and featuring embroidery much more. There is a kind of playful simpatico between tiny human-made stitches and tiny honey bee cells. I hope to have an exhibit of this collection in the coming year.
Do you ever get stung?
Honey bees are not aggressive, and not really interested in humans. I have gotten stung a few times, but every time it has been due to my own carelessness in the apiary.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I would like to add that this project would not be possible without the guidance and help of Mylee Nordin, a Master Beekeeper who is an integral part of this work.
It’s also important to note that the well-being of the bees is of upmost importance to me. Each piece is made with non-toxic materials, and placed inside traditional beekeeping hives. I don’t introduce any dangerous materials, and I don’t manipulate conditions of the hive, such as the structure of the hive, the temperature, the feed, or the time it takes bees to naturally build their comb.