Plight of the Humble Bee

A London Street Artist Paints Swarms of Bees on Urban Walls to Raise Awareness of Colony Collapse Disorder Street artist Louis Masai Michel is on a one-man mission to raise awareness of the plight of the humble honey bee through his Save the Bees mural project. After learning about colony collapse disorder, the artist immediately set out to paint a series of murals incorporating bees on walls around London in May of last year, but the endeavor proved wildly popular and has since spread to Bristol, Devon, Glastonbury, Croatia, New York, Miami, and New Orleans.   Custom Glass Planets Containing the Cremated Remains of Loved Ones Merry Coor produces ethereal designs from cremated remains within custom glass beads. Coor crafts each bead by hand, first melting glass into a round bead, then spiraling the design out of ashes on top, and finally sealing the design with an outer layer of clear glass. For each bead she not only requests a 1/2 teaspoon of ashes, but also a picture, letter, or story of the deceased so she can develop a personal connection while forming the piece of jewelry.     Hyperrealistic Depictions of a Fictional Mouse-Butterfly Species by Lisa Ericson Multihyphenate artist Lisa Ericson's newest series depicts the journey of intrepid mouse-butterfly hybrids through forest brush, forgotten tin cans, and—in mouse-butterfly terms—mountainous mushrooms.   A Black and Blue Life: A Coal Miner Becomes a Photographer of Exquisite Waves and Seascapes Australian photographer Ray Collins first picked up a camera in 2007 and used it to photograph his friends surfing around his home after long shifts working in a nearby coal mine. His attention quickly shifted from his friends to patterns and forms he noticed in the waves. Collins, who is colorblind, was also drawn to the interplay of light and water, perhaps more attune to contrast than the nuance of color. He poetically refers to this switch from coal miner to fine art photographer as a balance between his "black life and blue life."   A New Series of Water-Activated Illustrations and Games on Seattle Sidewalks Only Appear When It Rains Famous for its notoriously rainy weather, Seattle is the perfect home for this new series of water-activated interactive artworks, illustrations, and hidden messages that only appear when wet. Titled Rainworks, the invisible pieces by Seattle-based artist Peregrine Church started popping up last year. Each installation is made from an environmentally safe, water-repellent coating that lasts anywhere from 4 months to a year.   Old Books Transformed into Imaginative 3D Illustrations of Fairy Tale Scenes Seattle-based artist Isobelle Ouzman creates 3D illustrations from discarded books found in dumpsters, recycling bins, and local thrift stores. She adopts these forgotten books as a way to give them a second life, cutting and pasting the books into layered fairy tale scenes instead of letting the novels collect dust or fall prey to the elements.   Delicate Pressed Fern Leaf Illustrations by Helen Ahpornsiri Artist and illustrator Helen Ahpornsiri creates incredible pressed fern illustrations from her studio in East Sussex. Tiny bits of stems and leaves are arranged on paper to create butterflies, dragonflies, and birds scarcely larger than a coin.   From the Colossal Shop: Inner Peace Keepers Created by yoga practitioner Dan Abramson in an attempt to get more people interested in yoga, these Joes are here to keep the inner peace. Each set includes 9 Joes in various yoga poses. Get ready to be all that you can be in the yoga army!