The Honeycomb Collection was created by Canadian artist Ava Roth in collaboration with local honey bees. Bees are often considered a harbinger of the health of our planet. This project explores the boundaries of where humans collide with the natural world, and proposes a beautiful outcome of our encounter. Each piece celebrates the bees’ delicate and intricate work, while Roth offers her own tiny stitches and brushwork in exchange for honeycomb cells, in a playful inter-species concert. 

The interior wood frame and embroidery patterns draw inspiration from traditional Islamic art motifs, as the geometric pattern of honeycomb. The use of sapphire and gold colors pays homage to the jewel tones commonly found in Islamic art, and beautifully complements the deep gold of the organic comb.

Roth is a Toronto-based encaustic painter, embroiderer and mixed-media artist, and works mainly with local beeswax, foraged wood, birch bark, foliage and horsehair.