Art in Collaboration with Bees!
Please hop on over to my new website to see my Art With Bees:
Susan Medyn is a Rhode Island-based ecological artist working on “art in collaboration with honeybees”. Her process involves placing textile-based artworks—woven with linen, embroidery, natural materials like seed heads, and beeswax—directly into her hives. Over time, the bees respond by chewing through, building onto, and reshaping the works, becoming co-authors of each piece. For more information contact Susan at smedyn@me.com or on Instagram @susan_medyn_art_bee_collab.
Winged Reliquary (Front and Back Views) © Susan Medyn
Natural and constructed worlds merge in a mirrored duet. Bees were invited to collaborate, weaving honeycomb into a flowing structure that evokes butterfly wings, seedpods, or sacred anatomical forms. Botanical elements embedded in wax anchor the piece in time and mystery. Front and back view of Winged Reliquary art in collaboration with bees.
Poppy Pods © Susan Medyn
Wooden rings form a geometric framework softened by beeswax and comb. Delicate crystal drops and dried poppy pods float within the piece, speaking to transformation, memory, and the tension between order and organic life. Another of her works on art in collaboration with bees.
The Unbroken Thread: A Tribute to Ukraine © Susan Medyn
This piece began as a hand-embroidered textile. The bees then constructed wax comb directly onto and around the fabric, blending instinct with pattern. The result is a living tapestry—part artifact, part ecosystem—that explores coexistence, transformation, and the shared language of artist and hive. One of her many pieces of art in collaboration with bees.
Although Medyn has moved to environmental art in collaboration with bees she has a long history of making fantastical watercolors for over 40 years. She is inspired by her love of color, a sense of playfulness and whimsy and a passion for painting. She has exhibited at Galerie Spirale in Belgium,L’space 30 in Belgium, Chateaux de Beauregard in Belgium, and recently exhibited at the 7th Annual Festival D’Art Naif in Katowice, Poland, The Artful Heart in Arlington, MA, and via South Coast Artists Open Studio Tours.
Susan Medyn has been called a primitive artist and a visionary artist.
She has exhibited internationally and currently resides between Arlington, MA and Tiverton, RI.
“Medyn is gifted with a color sense as savory as fresh fruit and an imagination capable of setting genetics soundly on its ear. She gives life to an astonishing wonderland of beasties, plants and totemic trees, part vegetable, part animal and part apartment house for a diminutive universe of creatures. At times her work superficially recalls such diverse artists as Paul Klee and Dr. Seuss. Yet her work is decidedly her own; it has remarkable ability to appeal to virtually every level of sophistication.” – Noel Suter, Metroland
“The frozen frolics of Gumby/Rousseau inspired Gardens of Eden, where the noble beasties cavort in perfect bliss amidst their idealized fantasy landscapes, set the premise for a light hearted, airy exploration of Medyn’s work.” – John Tarlton, Times Union
DO SAY I DO, Ink and Watercolor, 10″ x 14″, $600
Her paintings tell stories about life set in landscapes made up of fantastical creatures and fauna.
Watercolors by Susan are enjoyed by people of all ages. Susan is constantly working on new pieces and is available for commissions.
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