MEAD
Long before cultivation of the grape, bees were sacred to the goddess Demeter, and Mead, or honey wine , was the drink of the Golden Age. Made from honey, water and yeast, fermented Mead was central to the ecstatic Cretan celebration of the Minoan New Year (the summer solstice) and to the ritual sacrifice of the Cretan Bull. Kerenyi, the word for drunk in classical Greek, even translates as “honey intoxicated!” When Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Gallery invited me to create an image for their exhibition about imaginary wine labels, the original libation of choice, bee begotten Mead, immediately came to mind. Link to the exhibit information for Vin Faux: Imaginary Wine Labels & Bottles at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Gallery: www.bacart.org/exh-current.html My mixed media Monotype, MEAD is 21’”x 21”.