Honey Bee Hive
Hidden Message

     We are inspired by the message from the honey bee hive where all community members work together for the well being of the whole. Many of our mural members worked as a community to create murals that tell the story of their town. Some of the murals hold the brush strokes of dedicated townsfolk, both young and old. Mural artists rendered the sketches and communities helped paint the works of art. What has been realized is that the communities involved had a rise in local pride, the town upgraded itself more throughout and the economic impact was felt by everyone.

     The Good of the Hive is an artistic initiative founded by Matthew Willey on a personal commitment to hand-paint 50,000 honeybees in murals around the world.

     Matt says "The Good of the Honey Bee Hive Initiative begins with the struggle of the honeybees, but it also views the hive as a metaphor for communities of people. Honeybees within the hive 'think' collectively; their immune system is collective: the health of the individual is based on the health of the collective. Whether that community is an actual honeybee hive or a community of human artists, kids in a school, military veterans, women with cancer, marginalized people or the American people as a whole, the health and success of the individual relies heavily on the connections within the group and consequently between the groups within the greater society. When we connect, we thrive." This is the message of The Good of the Hive Initiative...   Full Article Here

       Other murals had individual artists that were commissioned by a concerned town or townsfolk to beautify and show respect for their community. Some of these amazing murals are blocks long or hidden in bathrooms.

Enjoy your journey into the Appalachian Mural Trail!