If you've ever wondered what goes into painting a giant beehive mural at CoCreCafe in Augusta, NJ? Ill give you a hint, it starts with a ton of caffeine and even more hexagon outlines!
This has been such a fun project to continue working on, and the cafe has a very special vision for this project, as well as their meaning behind it which we will be getting into as the project progresses..
My Time at CoCreCafe
I was introduced to the owners of CoCreCafe through a friend of mine who had told me they had been looking to connect with local artists to collaborate on a mural in their new location in Augusta, NJ. I stopped in to tour the new cafe which was once Roseline' s Bakery and we discusses their vision for the project. In my time working there it was great to meet so many other artists painting various sections of the Cafe (many which are still in the works including mine) and eventually they will all connect in one way or another. Either end to end or with one artist adding details to another artists section.
About CoCreCafe
Set back off the road on 565 in Augusta, NJ the new cafe is in the works of a grand opening in winter of 2023. They also use local ingredients such as maple syrup from Our Woods Maple Syrup, as well as working with other local businesses such as Bruce from Maple Hurst Forge who made their new sign! I look forward to seeing what they have in store for the community as well as working on finishing my part of the mural, and introducing you to other local artists as we all connect our works together
"We are excited to spend August transforming Sussex County's beloved Roseline's Farm & Bakery into our first CoCre Cafes launch. CoCre is short for the word "co-create", and comes with the mission of "CoCreating a Greater World". Cafes are planned to hub collaborations, events, and gatherings for a community center feel, while serving up and educating folks about healthy and enriching sips and bites. We are honored to open in such an incredible location in beautiful northwestern Garden State, and are looking forward to filling your bellies and spirits!" -
Description taken from their Facebook Post
The beginnings of the beehive
The first step was for me to to decide on how the hexagons would layout on the wall and I used chalk to arrange (and rearrange!) them until the position was to my liking as well as visually appealing from the ground below, as there was a small overhang on two of the three walls. I wanted it to still look 'unbroken' from below.
It was then back to the scaffolding the next day to outline them and do a few test areas (as seen to the right) on how the shading should be done to depict the cells and honey.
With lots of base color down, I moved on to details!
Time for the bees!
With over 40+ hours of honeycombs and background painting complete, it was exciting to move on to the bees and adding small pops of colors with flowers and petals.
While the beehive still has a ways to go, we are excited to update you with the progress as well as introduce you to some of the other artists who are working on the other parts of the cafe
Interested in a mural of your own for home or business? Check out our page here for more information and to contact us :)
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