Melissa

sculpture & beekeeping

Sculpture and bee hive, the Eco-Luxury-Loft for a bee colony.

 

This wooden sculpture is a living space for a bee colony. Maintained by beekeepers, the Bien lives in the most natural way and in community with other microorganisms.

Melissa is the name of the nymph through whose navel the bees can fly in and out.
The Greek sagas once said: the newborn Zeus was hidden by his mother in a cave, because his father wanted to eat him. There, two adoptive parents took care of him: the goat Amaltheia suckled the child with milk, and the nymph Melissa gave him honey. Some suspect Melissa, herself, was a bee; others claim she was the guardian of the bees. In any case, this story speaks to the idea of this female sculpture, which can house bees in its belly. 

That bee colonies like to live in round tree cavities, a few meters above the ground and at vast distances from each other, so beekeepers revive this knowledge the Zeidlerei practices in forests. In the tradition of beehives decorated with masks or carved as figures, Silke Meyer drew inspiration from works in museums and that of Birgit Maria Jönsson, who has been making figurine hats for 25 years. The combination of carpentry and handicrafts drove this project. The bees will equip their tree trunk with a natural honeycomb construction, book scorpions will follow the living community, and two glass windows will give us curious people the opportunity to peruse their work and disturb them as little as possible. The sculpture was placed in the seminar house Neue Spitzmühle at Lake Bötzsee, where there is a lot of nude bathing and many people can observe it.

The plan: Next sculptures will be carved in 2024. In cooperation with the KulturMarktHalle, mauergarten, Peace of Land, community garden and learning space for permaculture and Haus Erlengrund at Schermützelsee, Buckow. I am looking for a cultural and/or horticulturally active place in Berlin where the second Bhramari sculpture can be located. It should be open to the public and allow and support bee tours. Please send any tips to post@salzundhonig.de

Sculpture und bee keeping project: Silke Meyer, salzundhonig
With support from Mellifera e.V., Neue Spitzmühle e.V., Sparkassen Stiftung Märkisch Oderland and all bee supporters of the project.


9.9.2019 16-19 clock, ” The buzzing in Melissa’s stomach ” 16:30 o’clock Bee guide and visit the bee folk in sculpture  Melissa, with Silke Meyer & Philipp Terhorst · The stories of how the swarm of bees in the carved tree trunk came, the hot Summer spent at the lake and live interview with the bee colony. With information about Zeidlerei, the natural method of beekeeping. Neue Spitzmühle am Bötzsee, Spitzmühlenweg 2, 15344 Strausberg ·  Free admission

workinprogress

A swarm of bees has moved into the Melissa sculpture by itself! A few houses away in Spitzmühle, it took off and found her on sunny Whit Monday 2023. Photo: Philipp Terhorst

Bee swarm, house warming, first day 2019

Melissa, documentation of the development process, arrival of the swarm of bees and interior work in the first summer. Photos: Jana & Philipp Terhorst, Silke Meyer