By Gregory Haller
Illustration by Nick Carroll
When you visit an art gallery, you are greeted with artworks--paintings hanging on walls, sculptures fixed into place, installations on display. It’s easy to lose yourself in the artworks and imagine the process of the painter soaking her brush in dirtied paint water, the ceramic artist getting his hands into clay, or the sculptor using a blowtorch to construct his towering piece. The meanings of their artworks can be transformative--messages that transcend the barriers of language and culture to foster a universal feeling that’s innate, that people just get. Those messages can lead to change, to people being inspired.
What if those paintings, those installations, those sculptures can be what causes change? Instead of a subtle nudge directed at others to make progressive, needed change, what if we used artwork to directly tackle the problem? It can be done.
In the fall we worked with the Hudson Valley Bee Habitat (HBVH) to create designs for HVBH’s Gross Street Pollinator Garden, located across the street from JFK Elementary School, in Kingston. Our six-week-long task was to create designs for a solitary bee habitat sculpture. The sculpture would be used by bees to safely deposit their eggs. Emily Puthoff and Elena Sniezek, creators of the HVBH, introduced me into the world of pollinators. It sounds clichéd, but I felt I was led into a new world of sorts, a realm I had never paid much mind to. Look, I struggled to get through science classes in high school, but this project instantly engaged me about the alarming situation of the pollinators’ decline in the environment.
Elena and Emily presenting us their plans for growing their Pollinator Garden. I always loved how they made sure to incorporate bees in everything they did, even their cute bees mask.
Erin Dougherty, a former PUGG member and Student Researcher at the Hudson Valley Bee Habitat, talks with me about butterflies. It was really nice being able to work with Erin again because she bridged the two different worlds of the HVBH and PUGG, the only person who was in both, and because she’s just really fun to work with and a great leader in both programs.
Colin, Vera, and I in the Pollinator Garden taking notes about all the different factoids we found out about from the pollinator signs. We all were going through the garden and it felt like a pollinator wonderland with how beautiful it was. I remember I was hungry because I forgot to have breakfast that day. Oops.
Throughout the course of the project, we were designing and cutting out stencils to be used for the sculpture. The stencils represented various types of pollinators, such as moths, bats, and butterflies, plants such as milkweeds and dandelions--and yes, bees. What always struck me during these sessions is that when someone began drawing a pollinator, it would lead to a discussion. For example, when I was drawing a bat that resembled a dog’s face slapped onto a bat’s body—I dubbed it “Batdog” with Nick’s and Colin’s help—Erin began talking about how there was a type of bat, the African Fruit Bat, that resembled a dog. She showed us images and started talking about its behavior, habitat and other kinds of bats. It was a casual discussion, but we learned a lot about pollinators.
Angel working on her beautiful butterfly drawing in chalk. I loved how the red of the chalk went with the red of her hair. We love it when we match our art.
My favorite part about the project was that it was so chill, so easygoing and relaxed. It was a really nice space to talk about the pretty pollinator dudes and our lives as well. We opened up to each other and I was able to talk about stuff going on in my life that I hadn’t gone into detail before. It’s a really nice memory to have, and incredibly personal to me. Love these people.
I felt like I was learning not by being lectured to, but by being engaging in the discussion. We had gone over how pollinators such as bees have begun to lose their homes via pesticides used in crops and the forces of climate change disorienting and, in an increasing number of cases, destroying pollinators’ habitats. Instead of burying our faces in a book, we drew with chalk on the ground. I could see directly in front of me how the problems facing pollinators affect everyone else. A lack of pollinators? Say goodbye to the beautiful flowers that pop up in spring or the sweet taste of honey you pour into your tea. They’re gone, unless we figure out a way to protect these stinger guys.
It was rewarding to work on designing a part of the bee habitat sculpture. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to get out into the world thanks to the pandemic and feel like I was able to contribute to the community. I wish there were more Bee Habitats in Kingston. I want everyone to get involved in some way. Plant a garden if you can and limit your use of harmful sprays and chemicals that are detrimental to the environment.
Chris adjusting a stencil as Emily helps with the lighting. It was really cool to see how our stencils would look on the plates for the sculpture. Everything I drew had smiley faces on them, which made it look like it belonged in the Uncanny Valley.
Myself, Nick, and Erin grabbing the stencils we were going to play around with. Focus on that bat drawing on the table, the big one with the missing eye. That’s Batdog 2.0, such a classy lil dude
Actively making art, drawing and cutting out paper, was special. Art got us talking, engaged in scientific discussions that didn’t feel like a lecture. Through art we engaged with our surroundings: by sketching different types of plants and animals, we learned about the risks to the environment. And through art we were able, even on the most micro of scales, to make our town a better place to live.
Art will lead the way to innovation, to safeguarding our future.
Is making a sculpture that gives bees another place to repopulate going to change the world? No. But it doesn’t have to be world changing to matter: these small acts of progress push us further to protecting our environment and the little critters who fly around—thereby ensuring a better future for ourselves. With a sheet of construction paper, a pair of scissors, some pencils, and a little know-how about the crisis in our environment, we all can make a difference.
It’s a me, posing with some of my stencils. My smiling bee dude was beaming that day with happiness, maybe “buzzing” is a better word. I think my hair is a bit messy here, I should’ve brushed it a bit more. OOPS.
