Sculptures for Bees?

Sculpture for Bees? © 2011 Bo Mackison

As I was walking through the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum last week, I noticed a new sculpture exhibit. Attractive elongated wood sculptures in varying heights decorated the bee area. There was another matching piece that was an inviting bench for a resting place.

A Bench as Sculpture and More © 2011 Bo Mackison

When I investigated further, I learned that these wooden and steel sculptures are the art work of Tucson sculptor and artist Greg Corman, and were made from recycled materials.

This is one of the multipurpose pieces he designed for the Desert Museum. It is a bench for humans, a rock pile for lizards and a habitat for stingless, pollinating bees. (The elongated sculptures have tiny holes that aren’t visible in this photo.)

The artist notes that the front of the bench is enclosed so the lizards enter and exit from the rear space, safely away from feet and other potential hazards.

Sculpture Doubles as Bee Habitat © 2011 Bo Mackison

In this photograph of a sculpture/habitat in the Pollinator Garden, the holes are easy to see in the yellow painted wood. The bees who use these nests are solitary bees, and are found throughout the US and in other countries.

They build their nests in dead wood, however this habitat is disappearing because much dead wood and limbs from gardens and parks are removed.

Rocks and Wood? © 2011 Bo Mackison

Corman’s colorful sculptures provide natural spaces for the bees to nest while adding eye-appealing art to the garden spaces.

A wonderful concept!

Corman’s blog at  Zen-Industrial is well worth a visit. According to his site, he specializes in creating sculptures, bee habitats,  garden furnishings, and functional wood pieces. His blog features plenty of photos of his recent works.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer, owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Even though Bo has never met Greg Corman, she has carefully explored his bee habitat sculptures and she is smitten with his functional art!