Bees are the theme of this year's mandala, which a record 600 community members helped paint this past week at the end of Roberts Creek Road.
"Last year we had up to 500 people come out and take part, so we've been really conscious of that, and that's why the canvases have been smaller and artists have been encouraged to work on small masterpieces this year," said Erica Snowlake, who organizes the mandala project along with John Marion and Pamela Messner.
This year's design of a honeycomb with three bees circling it provided many small spaces for people to make their artistic mark, and the community came out in force to get involved between July 19 and 23.
This is the 16th year the mandala has been painted in Roberts Creek, and while it used to be tied to the Mayan calendar, the calendar's end in 2012 signalled a shift for the public art project.
"We feel that now in 2013 we are in the new paradigm," Snowlake said. "There's new money in the world with bitcoin, there are new ways of respecting the earth with technology, and the bees are very significant because they've been here 20 million years. So they are like the ancient creation template and they're telling us by their disappearance now that we have got to look to the Earth and respect the Earth more than ever."
Bee populations are being negatively impacted by environmental changes, habitat loss, pesticide use and the waves emitted by things like cell phone towers. If all the bees were to disappear, the David Suzuki Foundation estimates 75 per cent of the world's food would disappear too.
Marion is the artist behind the mandala design. He knew it would be all about bees when one landed on his hand at the end of last year's mandala painting, Snowlake said, noting she also had a "bee experience" this past summer.
Snowlake worked in Hawaii to help restore bee populations there, and Messner works on a farm dependent on the pollinators for survival.
"It was neat how we all had those experiences that helped form the spirit of the mandala," Snowlake said.
The organizers spent five days prepping the pavement for the new mandala design, which was laid out on July 17 and 18, over top of all previous years' art. Once complete, they invited the community to come out with paintbrushes to put their artistic mark on the masterpiece.
The public art project is made possible by many volunteer hours and donations from the Roberts Creek Community Association, Sunshine Coast Credit Union, the Sunshine Coast Regional District and general donations from the public.
"We are always grateful for everyone's support," Snowlake said.
The new mandala was sealed on July 24 and a public party to celebrate its culmination was held on July 25 after Coast Reporter went to press. Organizers expected a huge turnout for the Mannafestival held from noon until dusk and boasting dance performances, music, crafts and booths set up around the mandala offering things like information about how to help save the honey bee.
See more photos of this and past years' projects at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Roberts-Creek-Community-Mandala/132864961112
