Colophon: Bee Possibly 1962

This etching of a bee was made by Charles Arthur Wells, Jr. as part of a book. The marks are etched with an exacting delicacy. It's an image born of a painstaking process, and there's a real intimacy in that, like the slow labor of the bee itself. Looking at the bee’s fuzzy body, rendered in the etching's grainy blacks and grays, I'm struck by how it captures the essence of the creature. Each tiny hair seems to vibrate with life. The wings are like slivers of light, catching the sun. It's a simple image, yet it speaks volumes about the beauty and fragility of the natural world. Wells's meticulous approach reminds me a little of Agnes Martin, in the sense of the process being built into the final product. The image invites us to contemplate the interconnectedness of things, and the vital role that even the smallest creatures play in the grand scheme of it all.