Bee Box

March 14, 2023 – A 5″ x 3 1/2″ x 6 3/4″ clay bumblebee box that is functional. The objective was to choose an animal or insect that I liked and place it somewhere on the box. The bee sits on the top because of how large it is. The lid line has a divot that replicates honeycomb.

I had made this in one of my studio art courses in college and this was the first time I thoroughly used clay. I built the box from slabs and slip & scored them together. The bee is hollowed out yet still contains hidden air holes in order for it to not explode or crack in the kiln. The glaze of the bee ended up being a different color than anticipated but the end result made the box look earthy and organic.

Originally the bee was supposed to be brown, black, and yellow but glanze can be unpredictable. As a result, I went the safe route and just used brown and yellow. Unfortunately, the yellow did not show up as strongly as I had wanted to.