Bzzzzzzzz...The Ox-Bees Have Landed!

Photos by Lenora D. and friend of Oxbow Allison Watkins

The Oxbow gardens are an integral part of the school--they beautify the campus, provide food, and serve as a platform for artistic inspiration and scientific study. For the last three years, they have been undergoing a face lift. Each spring we've incorporated a major new element into the garden program, each one a step towards enhancing the program's main objectives--to sustain a closed-loop ecological system, to create a lab for the science course, and to provide lots of healthy, fresh, and delicious food to the dining hall. OS24 welcomed the Ox-Chix, which have since become one of the campus's most beloved features. The eggs go directly to the dining hall for breakfast, and the chix provide an important source of soil fertility. OS26 constructed a beautiful  greenhouse (generously donated by Oxbow board member Katie Wheeler), which has enriched the garden program in more ways than we ever could have imagined--namely by allowing us to start all of our own seedlings and to beef up our production of greens during the cold months. Bees were the missing link in our overarching vision for a sustainable garden program at Oxbow. Now, after over a year of planning, the gardens are host to a thriving new colony of honeybees.

 3lbs of bees!

The bees (approximately 10,000 of them!) arrived as a "package" -- a small screened box with a can of "bee food" (sugar syrup) attached. 

Worker bees covering the queen cage

Inside the package, the queen was isolated in her own little cage. To install the bees in their new home, we first removed the queen cage from the package...

The queen cage with candy plug

Her Royal Highness

...and attached it to a frame. Then we released the rest of the bees into the hive and put on the top cover. The little black tube you see on the queen cage (above right) is filled with candy, which the worker bees eat their way through. This takes a day or two, and during that time the hive acclimates to the new queen. When all the candy is gone, the queen crawls out of her cage and settles in for a lifetime of egg-laying.

The Ox-Hive

In a couple weeks, we'll look inside the hive to make sure that everything is going smoothly. For now, we'll keep our fingers crossed that our bees like their new digs. We've heard that other folks who install bee colonies on their property see an incredible increase in fruit and veggie production within the year, so we're very excited for that possibility. And, of course, there will be honey! 

An added bonus of beekeeping: bee suits make us look like aliens

Preliminary Research

Final Project is officially underway! After conducting some preliminary research over spring break, students turned in their project proposals on Wednesday. OS28 is now deep in the process of exploring and solidifying ideas for both research topics and artwork. We'll report back soon on what that process looks like. In the meantime, we'd like to invite you to engage in an activity that the students completed over break--the Final Project Brainstorm Scavenger Hunt! This activity is designed to get the brain juices flowing, and to get students into the mode of identifying and exploring topics that interest them. 

If you were designing a Final Project, what would you investigate? 

Meet Raven

How did you find out about Oxbow? And why did you want to come here?

I found out about Oxbow through one of my classmates at school who came here last semester. I wanted to come here for the simple fact that Oxbow seemed like an awesome place to come and explore within myself abilities that I didn’t think were there.

How has it been adjusting to life away from home, and a totally new school environment?

This is a totally new environment but I feel comforted and safe between the faculty, staff and students. I think that the hardest part is waking up on my own in the morning… that’s something that was new for me because my mom always did it! Ultimately being here has tested my independence. 

What aspect of the Oxbow experience (curriculum element, art project, community life, etc.) has been the most impactful for you?

The curriculum is something so different and impactful for me because I never really was in tune with myself. I think one thing, since being here, that has helped me is channeling my feelings and writing personal essays. I was always so used to analyzing that I never really thought about me. 

What is your favorite color and why?

I love the color red because its so rich, and I personally think that I look the best in the color red.

What kind of music do you listen to when you’re making art?

I tend to listen to Beyonce mostly. I think that’s because she has different genres of music. Some is pop, some is techno pop, some is rhythm and blues…I listen to it all, on FULL BLAST.

What kinds of things inspire and inform your artwork? (Where do you look for inspiration?)

I think that my past experiences inspire me. I tend to personalize my artwork so that it applies to me directly, or to something that has affected me negatively or positively. I hadn’t really realized until recently that I tend to use more of a dark pallet of paint colors. I don’t know why that is.

Are they are any artists whose work you are particularly excited about right now?

I don’t have anyone in specific but Larry Thomas’ art is one that really opened eyes for me. I think that his intentional lines embroidered within text is something that I would love to try doing. His passion for helping others work with ink and other mediums was just really inspiring and special to me.

Do you have any special or secret talents?

I can sing and dance real well!

Meet Jose

We've decided to launch a series of student interviews as a way to showcase the dynamism of OS28. Jose from Emeryville, California (via Mexico) has offered to be our first interviewee. Thanks Jose!
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How did you find out about Oxbow? And why did you want to come here?

In my freshman year, Jordan Felling came to promote Oxbow to my school. When I saw videos, I really got inspired to apply. I decided to come because I wanted to expand my artistic abilities as well as become more independent and meet new people.

You are more than half way through the semester already. How has it been adjusting to life away from home, and a totally new school environment?

It’s surprising to realize that I’m almost done with this amazing journey. It has been that, an amazing and beautiful journey. Since day one, I’ve loved my new home, but in the first days it was really difficult to be away from home. However, as I got comfortable with my roommates and all the students, I began to feel a sense of family with everyone and my experience became a lot better. 

                                    What aspect of the Oxbow experience has been the most impactful for you?

The most impactful project for me was writing my personal memoir book for English class. I remember writing at around 1:00am while everyone else was asleep. When I began to write about my mom I got a little emotional and it reminded me of all the reasons why I was here, which gave me an extra push to stay up even longer and finish the entire book. 

Do you have a favorite Oxbow meal?

Oxbow for me has been a place of discovery. An example is the variety of new foods that I've tasted. At Oxbow I discovered that I do not hate all salads, and I finally found a salad that I like--Caesar salad. However, even though I find the Caesar salad delicious, there is no better meal at Oxbow than when there is Mexican food. 

What kind of music do you listen to when you're making art?

When I make art I love being the only one in the studio because I can play my own music loud on the speakers. My favorite music to listen to when I make art is rock in Spanish, salsa, cumbia (which almost nobody in this school even knows about) and sometimes hip-hop.

Tell us a little bit about this painting on the left.

My Narrative project painting made me discover many things about myself. Before this painting I felt really uncomfortable using paint. I personally did not like painting before this project. However, when I decided to paint the Mexican flag and a reflection of myself, I got really into it and I began to have a personal relationship with the paint. I got so attached to it that I did not even want to leave the painting studio. I was in there every single minute of open studios and I was even late to lunch because I wouldn’t notice the time. This painting made me realize that I can enjoy painting and that it is really interesting for me to make art related to Mexico. Even though I was not born in Mexico, I feel 100% Mexican. I feel good learning about the culture and even better making art about it.