Bee Mural Art
Featured Mural: "The Good of the Hive"
Hendersonville, NC

"smalti," a traditional mosaic material, and was ordered in 116 colors from a manufacturer in Monterrey, Mexico. This material is made of sintered glass, which is powdered glass that is partially melted under heat and pressure to produce tiles that are all glass but are opaque. The mosaic s glass tiles were mounted individually on a wet mortar base, a few square inches at a time. Polevoy s intricately designed and executed image was inspired by the mountains, rivers, flora, and fauna that the Polevoy family, then recent immigrants from the USSR, saw around them in their new home in Hendersonville. The work was commissioned by Don Gladieux during renovations to the building he had purchased (a former Belk's department store) at the time.

America in 1990. A graduate of the Higher University of Art and Science in Leningrad, Vasily's work can be seen throughout the former USSR, and his underground paintings from the pre-glasnost era have been shown in art galleries in Italy, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Israel, and USA. A graduate of the Moscow Institute of Advanced Art, Julia s mastery in mosaics, murals and stained glass can be seen in airports, public buildings, schools, and restaurants across the USSR. Their work garnered recognition in artistic circles, but often sharp criticism from Communist Party officials for non-conformity with Party lines. In 1970 the Polevoys moved from Moscow to Vasily's homeland of Ukraine, believing that there they could practice their religion more freely. Many of the rich folk customs still survived there, along with many churches. Due to having evangelical thoughts , the Polevoys lost their membership in the Artists Union. They suffered great hardships afterward, financially and emotionally, and found they could show their art only in underground/unofficial exhibitions. Even so, they continued giving private art lessons and painted icons for Eastern Orthodox Churches in Greece and Romania. Mikhail Gorbachev s "perestrojka" began making inroads in the Soviet Union, however, it was infiltrating much too slowly in outlying areas, such as Ukraine, Polevoy said. Ironically, when the family finally decided to emigrate in 1989, Vasily's art regained official acknowledgement: 200 paintings were eagerly purchased by the Museum of Western Art in Cortilia, by the Ukrainian Museum of Art in L viv, and by other galleries. In addition, the Polevoys were invited to return, to the Artists Union of USSR. By that time, however it was too late. When they left Ukraine, the Polevoys were not allowed to bring any paintings with them. Vasily's sister, Lyudmila, immigrated to the USA in 1992 and joined the Polevoys and their daughter in Hendersonville. She assisted Vasily with the mosaic installation on Main Street.