One tablespoon of honey equals the lifelong work of 12 honeybees. One tablespoon of honey equals the purpose in which the life of 12 honeybees were created.
Riley Strong, a senior art major with a primary focus on sculpture, guides me through her studio, soaking in the pieces of art that will be on display in her senior art show in Barefoots from April 15 to April 19. She looks at her five small(ish) bundles of colorful artwork with the same sense of pride that a mother has after a passing stranger comments on the beauty of her child. Hours upon hours of being a creator for the prize of having a stranger enriched by your work for a few seconds.
The work of a honeybee.
“Yeah, the smaller pieces took about 2 hours each. The bigger ones in the other room, though, took about 5 hours each,” said Strong casually, as if I had just asked her how long it takes her to wake up in the mornings.
As an insecure writer who thrives on words of affirmation, it breaks my heart for a lifetime of work to become a glancing appreciation, but as Strong explained the metaphor of her art — the metaphor of her life — she didn’t explain it to me in bitterness. She was proud to be a honeybee and to have her life’s work be able to aesthetically enrich the life of a stranger, even if it meant for only a few minutes.
She said this metaphor has guided her through work as a maker and laughed as she told me she even keeps packets of honey in her pocket to remind her of her identity and calling.
“I kinda just want to cuddle with these pieces,” I laugh as I hold her bundles of art that represent the most vulnerable (and favorite) pieces she’s created in her time at Union.
Covered in soft and colorful materials from a variety of people and places, she hopes to give those who see her art comfort, and she hopes it can be a privilege for those in contact with it.
“These pieces I’m making right now are about some deeply personal and vulnerable moments where I’m in need of comfort, and being able to access those feelings to be as raw as I can with this work has contributed to what I believe is a success,” Strong said.
Four other seniors will be displaying their works in Barefoots alongside Strong, and she said being able to be a part of a creative community these past four years has been one of her favorite parts of being a maker.
A beautiful smile crept across her face as she explained to me the community of fellow creators that she has had the opportunity to work alongside for the past few years. She said this community has changed every moment of her time here, and spending hours on end in the studio with her classmates has deeply enriched every relationship she has had in the studio.
As she looks ahead to her time beyond Union, she knows these hours and hours of hard work were not in vain. She dedicates the growth she has seen in her creative work — the ability of being vulnerable and articulating it within her pieces — to her professors and community within the art department.
“[Art] serves that aesthetic purpose in our lives where we can consume someone’s entire life’s work in a matter of minutes, and it feels strange to think about at the end of my life, my whole life’s work can be consumed in such a short amount of time,” Strong paused as she looked down at her senior sketchbook titled “honeybee,” flipping through the worn pages that hold her creativity and imagination.
She then looked up at me, a soft smile appearing on her face, and continued. “But it’s meaningful — it’s not futile. Just like when you put honey in your tea, you wouldn’t do it if it didn’t mean something to you. I would love to serve that role in someone’s life.”
Though Strong’s career at Union is coming to an end, she said she’s looking at her senior show as her send-off, her commitment to continue creating. The honeybee in her, dedicated to making beautiful art and beautiful vulnerability, knows it has been an honor to enrich lives with her creations, even for a few seconds.
