Artists for community

During her first few years on campus, Alison Miller never thought about the more than 3 million honey bees housed by the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources on the University of Delaware's south campus. That changed in spring 2024 when Miller visited the UD Apiary for an art project, meeting research apiary technician Dan Borkoski, sampling UD honey and even tasting pollen.

The visit was research for students in Aaron Terry's printmaking class, who were invited by the apiary to create and submit designs for the 2024 honey jar label. Terry designed the 2023 label himself, but this was the first year students submitted ideas.

"It's cool that we're able to connect with the agricultural side of UD, and I got to do something I never thought I would do," said Miller, a senior fine arts major, whose design was chosen and can currently be seen on honey jars stocked at UDairy Creamery.

Terry, an associate professor of art and design, coordinated the honey label competition as part of his ongoing efforts to find opportunities for his students to connect with the world around them.

"I think community is really important for artists," he said. Partnering with the apiary allowed students to learn about the science of how bees make honey and convert that knowledge into a creative project.

Flowering creativity

Miller initially wasn't interested in the competition, as it wasn't a class requirement. But she remembered that her professors often encourage students to work on multiple projects at once.