The half-acre garden, the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven planted last fall at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis, is not only bee friendly but it will be art friendly.

UC Davis entomologist-artist Diane Ullman and artist Donna Billick, who founded the Art-Science Fusion Program and teach classes on campus, are gearing up for spectacular additions to the haven.

At the entrance to the garden will be a two-column sculpture of decorated bee boxes; the first column depicting activity within the hive, and the second column depicting activity outside the hive.

Outside the hive? Think workers gathering nectar, pollen, propolis and water.

A hexagonal block beneath a sturdy almond tree in the garden will hold a giant bee sculpture--yes, let's put the beleagured honey bee on a pedestal! Ceramic art panels will adorn the sides. Billick is creating the giant bee sculpture. The Ullman-Billick classes are providing the rest of the art in the garden.

Bee friendly, art friendly, people friendly.

The haven will be a year-around food source for bees and other pollinators and an educational experience for visitors, who can learn the plight of the honey bee and the importance of having bees in our gardens. Plus, visitors will glean ideas on what to plant in their own gardens to attract pollinators.

The public celebration is in its early planning stages, but the date is set and all systems are green:

Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010.

If you look closely at the colorful ceramic sign at the Harry H.Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, University of California, Davis, you'll see an entrance to a bee hive.

Entrance? Right. There's a hole in the skep, which tunnels to a hive in back of the sign.

And if you look really closely at the entrance, you'll see guard bees guarding their turf. They don't like home invasions or unwelcome visitors. When bees from other colonies try to sneak in to rob the honey stores, the guards chase them out. 

The sign? It's the work of Davis artist Donna Billick, who co-teaches art-and-science classes at UC Davis with entomologist-artist Diane Ullman, a professor in the Department of Entomology. 

Look for their students' "bee art" next spring at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden planted this fall next to the Laidlaw facility. A public opening is set for June 19.

Look closely at Charles Darwin's ceramic face.

You'll see selections from his secret notebooks and images of organisms that most influenced his scientific studies.

His beard is peppered with moths. You'll also find barnacles, iguanas, finches, orchids and other creatures on his face.

It is,  says Diane Ullman,  "a profound learning experience in and of itself."

The ceramic mosaic, appropriately titled "The Face of Darwin," will be among the art work displayed June 3-July 3 in the Buehler Alumni and Visitors' Center at UC Davis.

The background of "The Face":  Ullman, an entomologist-artist, taught a freshman seminar with fellow artist Donna Billick to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birthday.  Ullman and Billick co-founded the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program and serve as the co-directors. The seminar was  part of the Art/Science Fusion Program.

The Buehler art exhibit features more than 50 student photographs from Terry Nathan's class, "Photography: Bridging Art and Science," also part of the Art/Science Fusion Program. The photographs, Nathan said, explore the conceptual connections between art and science and the role of art and science on the UC Davis campus. 

A public reception takes place from 3 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 4.

"The Face of Darwin" is both hauntingly beautiful and a vividly detailed study of the science that engulfed the evolutionary biologist. The eyes plead his passion, begging for  knowledge, understanding and realization.

It is, indeed, as Ullman said, "a profound learning experience in and of itself."

A chimpanzee holds a monarch butterfly in a ceramic art work titled “Darwin.”  

Human hands cradle insects and assorted objects in a ceramic work titled “Analyze This.”

Those are just two of the art works featured in a juried show under way at  the Pence Gallery, 212 D St., Davis. The show, sponsored by the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program and the Pence Gallery,  explores the connection between art and science. The show opened March 10 and runs through April 12. 

You can view the art, listen to music and talk to artists at the free public reception set for 7 to 9 p.m., Friday, March 13 at the gallery. The art is amazing,  said Art/Science Fusion Program co-director Diane Ullman, associate dean undergraduate academic programs of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and professor of entomology at the UC Davis Department of Entomology. 

Among the work exhibited in the show is that of Catherine Chalmers, one of the distinguished series of speakers in the Consilience of Art and Science Colloquium, sponsored by Art/Science Fusion, which is part of the Science and Society Program, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. 

The “Darwin” piece is the work of ceramic artist by Nuala Creed of Petaluma. Of her art Creed says: “As he sits holding butterflies and the jawbone of an animal, the chimp gazes directly at the viewer. His offering to us, his next of kin, is his curiosity of the natural world. His intelligence is shown by his inquisitiveness. His name is Darwin, in honor of Charles Darwin, whose work helped us realize that we humans are not above nature, but are of nature. The chimp may be asking us to observe our natural world, to be the scientists that may help save our planet.” 

The “Analzye This” piece is by Ann Savageau, associate professor of design at UC Davis.  Savageau  explains: “This is Art analyzing Science analyzing Nature.  It makes visible the analytical methodology at the heart of the scientific endeavor. We take our measuring, probing, dissecting, and classifying for granted, as "the way things are".  We forget that these are recent cultural constructs. “   

Another ceramic work, “Twins,” by Marnia Johnston of San Mateo, appears to be twin insects. Johnston says of it: “Much of my work looks at the physiology, psychology and culture surrounding humans and our relationships with other organisms. I research the direct and indirect impact we have on them based on our unconscious environmental decisions. ‘Twins’ suggests the effects of pseudo-hormones produced by industry waste, topical steroids from male hair products, and other cosmetic products, on the physiology of organisms in our environment."

And it’s all a part of the Consilience of Art and Science Colloquium. What is consilience, you ask? William Whewell (1794-1866), who coined the term in 1840, described it as the linking together of facts and principles from different disciplines to form a broad, comprehensive theory that spans the realms of knowledge. 

E. O. Wilson brought consilience into the modern lexicon with his highly acclaimed book, Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge.