Jason de Caires Taylor Underwater Sculptures

Isn't this just gorgeous!!!!!! THIS makes me want to scuba dive!!!!

Golden Elixir

print by John W Golden



Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt a marvelous error;
That I had a beehive here inside my heart.
And the golden bees were making white combs
And sweet honey from my past mistakes.


-Antonio Machado

Found this while searching for more on Simon Buxton's book "Shamanic Way of the Bee: Ancient Wisdom and Healing Practices of the Bee Masters."

Melissae

In researching "wild woman" as the latest art entry for "The 12" (my Women's Archetype collage art group) I found out more about my own name!!!I always nknew my name meant honeybee in Greek and was the begininng of the latin name for Bee balm, but that was all.

From The Blue Roebuck:"Bees are prevalent in the myths of many cultures worldwide. As pollinators they are essential to all life, and seen spiritually as faithful servants of the Goddess, and exemplified in individual colonies by dedication to their queen. They are virtually icons of androgyny, and along with their delicious, healing, and preserving honey are symbolic of eroticism and sensuality, love, death, and lastly, immortality.

At the temple of Aphrodite, priestesses were called "Melissae", which means "bees," and Aphrodite herself was called Melissa, the queen bee. At the Ephesian temple of Artemis, the melissae were accompanied by transgendered priests called "Essenes", which means drones.

Scientifically, bees are classified as members of the hymenopteran order, meaning "veil-winged," recalling the hymen or veil that covered the inner shrine of the Goddess's temple, and the high priestess who bore the title of Hymen, presiding over marriage rituals and the Honey Moon."

And then from the Greek Myth Index:

MELISSA
That is, the soother or propitiator (from melissô or meilissô), occurs,

1. As the name of a nymph who discovered and taught the use of honey, and from whom bees were believed to have received their name, melissai (Schol. ad Pind. Pyth. iv. 104.) Bees seem to have been the symbol of nymphs, whence they themselves are sometimes called Melissae, and are sometimes said to have been metamorphosed into bees. (Schol. ad Pind. 1. c. ; Hesych. s. v. Orodemniades; Columell. ix. 2; Schol. (ad Theocrit. iii. 13.) Hence also nymphs in the form of bees are said to have guided the colonists that went to Ephesus (Philostr. Icon. ii. 8) ; and the nymphs who nursed the infant Zeus are called Melissae, or Meliae. (Anton. Lib. 19; Callim. Hymn. in Jov. 47; Apollod. i. 1. § 3.)

2. From the nymphs the name Melissae was transferred to priestesses in general, but more especially to those of Demeter (Schol. ad Pind. l.c.; Callim. Hymn. in Apoll. 110; Hesych. s. v. Melissai), Persephone (Schol. ad Theocrit. xv. 94), and to the priestess of the Delphian Apollo. (Pind. Pyth. iv. 106; Schol. ad Eurip. Hippol. 72.) According to the scholiasts of Pindar and Euripides, priestesses received the name Melissae from the purity of the bee. Comp. a story about the origin of bees in Serv. ad Aen. i. 434.

3. Melissa is also a surname of Artemis as the goddess of the moon, in which capacity she alleviates the suffering of women in childbed. (Porphyr. De Antr. Nymp,. p. 261.)

4. A daughter of Epidamnus, became by Poseidon the mother of Dyrrhachius, from whom the town of Dyrrhachium derived its name. (Steph. Byz. s. v. Durhrhachion."

So, the soother??? I have been that for that for more than one friend. And I have always had quite an affinity for honeybees. I have wanted to tend bees for a ong time but never owning my own property long enough to warrant keeping hives.... well it just hasn't happened. My brother Joe has tended bees for a bee keeper friend when he went out of town. He said it was very relaxing, almost zenlike work. My mother named me. My father wanted a different name but she won I guess. I am glad. I have always loved my name.

Suncreen is killing coral?!

Well, I guess I should change the title of this blog to Melissa freaking out about the environment! I promise I do make art... and I am not always freaking out. But I guess its interesting to me and my main concern other than my daughter how I am going to survive as an artist. But this morning I read that chemicals in suncreen are contributing to the bleaching of coral reefs. Man should really consider how many synthetic chemicals he uses and their impact.

From National Geographic News:
"Four commonly found sunscreen ingredients can awaken dormant viruses in the symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae that live inside reef-building coral species.

The chemicals cause the viruses to replicate until their algae hosts explode, spilling viruses into the surrounding seawater, where they can infect neighboring coral communities.

Zooxanthellae provide coral with food energy through photosynthesis and contribute to the organisms' vibrant color. Without them, the coral "bleaches"—turns white—and dies."

The Vanishing of the Bees

interesting documentary about Colony Collapse Disorder in honeybees.

Why Handmake?

Break the Shackles of Robotic Slavery: Crankbunny's (of Etsy.com) Handmade Video

Resin Jewelry Tutorial with John W. Golden Part 1

My prolific artist buddy John's instructional video

Prevent Coral Extinction!

This image is of lophelia wanna know more? www.lophelia.org



Speak up to Urge Swift Action
to Prevent Extinction!
A student and I were talking today about her summer plans. She is becoming a scuba diving instructor and is interested in coral reef preservation and hopes to end up in the Phillipines working with coral reef preservation groups there. I told her about how I adore red coral, but have made a personal vow to not use it in my jewelry anymore. She and I talked more and she mentioned the upcoming South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s public hearing the 15th in New Bern. Evidently a proposal is being voted on to protect thousands of square miles of coral reef from the Keys to Cape Hatteras. This is reef area already ravaged by trawling and pollution.

The following is from information sent out by Oceana

Thousands of square miles of deep sea coral habitat in
the South Atlantic is threatened with damage and
extinction, unless the South Atlantic Fisheries
Management Council (SAFMC) votes to protect them.
At the upcoming June meeting in Orlando, the SAFMC
has the opportunity to make a final decision to set aside
24,000 square miles of deep sea coral “habitat of particular
concern” (HAPC). Before the June meeting, the Council
has set dates for public hearings at satellite locations
throughout the southeast so citizen voices can be heard.

“Deep sea coral beds are cradles of marine life,” said
Oceana Campaign Director Dave Allison. “We now
have the choice to either protect these areas as a part
of our natural legacy or to leave these unique habitats
vulnerable to destruction. In just a few minutes, a
destructive bottom trawler can sweep through and
destroy a coral reef hundreds of years old.”

North Carolina
CAPE LOOKOUT LOPHELIA BANKS
AND CAPE FEAR LOPHELIA BANKS
These distinctive reefs are the
northernmost deep reefs in the
eastern US. Over 54 species of fish
have been observed on the Cape
Lookout Banks.

South Carolina
STETSON REEF
Covering the peaks of Stetson Reef
are live bushes of Lophelia coral,
sponges, sea fans, and black coral.
Fish and an abundance of brittle
stars, sea urchins, hydroids, sea
anemones and soft corals have
been identified in this area.

Georgia
SAVANNAH EAST FLORIDA
The Savannah Lithotherms rise 100
- 200 feet tall at 1800 feet deep
just 90 nautical miles east of
Savannah along the Blake Plateau.
This reef system supports large
populations of massive sponges and
over ten different fish species
including swordfish and sharks.

Florida
SAVANNAH EAST FLORIDA
MIAMI TERRACE
POURTALES TERRACE
With the longest coastline, Florida
enjoys three main deep coral reef
sites that provide habitat for an
array of marine life, from commercially
valuable groupers to intricate
sponges.

Dates and places:
Comments may be made between 3:00-7:00pm

May 7, 2008
Key Largo Grande
97000 South Overseas
Highway
Key Largo, FL 33037
Phone: 866-597-5397

May 9, 2008
Radisson Resort at the Port
8701 Astronaut Boulevard
Cape Canaveral, FL 32920
Phone: 321-784-0000

May 12, 2008
Mighty Eighth
Air Force Museum
175 Bourne Avenue
Pooler, GA 31322
Phone: 912-748-8888

May 13, 2008
Town and Country Inn
2008 Savannah Highway
Charleston, SC 29407
Phone: 843-571-1000

May 15, 2008
Sheraton New Bern
100 Middle Street
New Bern, NC 28560
Phone: 252-638-3585