Jen Rose ('99, '02 M.F.A.) says she was a bit of "an oddball" while studying for her Master of Fine Arts in ceramics in UNT's College of Visual Arts and Design.
Back then, the program's curriculum was "very vessel- and production-oriented" with a focus on functional ceramic pieces, she says, which contrasted with the more conceptual, sculpture-style works that she favored creating.
More than two decades later, Rose continues to birth innovative artwork that -- in a nod to her CVAD days -- also embraces functionality.
A former art professor, she's now a full-time artist, entrepreneur and inventor of Bee Cups. The small, handcrafted and hand-colored porcelain funnels help home gardeners and others keep bees hydrated as they go about their vital work of pollinating plants.
The cups, which hold about a teaspoon of water, have a textured surface to provide a better grip for bees. The funnels are coated with a special UV-reactive "Bee Vision" glaze that Rose also invented. Its pink glow is only visible to pollinators and, like the cups' painted bullseye inner design, attracts them to the vessels.
Rose produces Bee Cups at her West Dallas art studio with the help of 10 employees -- most of them UNT students and alumni. The cups, which are available online, also are a popular item at UNT's CoLab, the downtown Denton art gallery, boutique and event venue that's run through the College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism.
Rose says, "I love the support that I've gotten from UNT," which was named the first Bee Campus USA institution in Texas for its efforts to conserve native pollinators. "It's really nice to have that connection."
Rose credits late CVAD Professor Emeritus Elmer Taylor for instilling a strong work ethic in her. In a recommendation letter, he once described her art as "very intellectual."
"I hadn't thought of myself that way, but I decided to claim that and really go for all of those super nerdy interests that I had and see how that could influence my work."
Following graduation, Rose worked as an adjunct professor at Dallas College Richland Campus, where she later taught full time and oversaw the ceramics program.
In 2015, she and colleague Marian Lefeld created an exhibition titled "Blood of Heroes Never Dies." Inspired by a similar 2014 London exhibit by artist Paul Cummins, with the help of the college's community members, the pair created 5,171 red ceramic poppy flowers -- one for every Texas soldier killed during World War I -- that were displayed on campus.
Rose and Lefeld also co-created the 2016 installation "In You We Trust," which featured 2,000 ceramic gold coins representing child sex-trafficking victims in Dallas. It was shown at the Richland Campus before being exhibited in Northern California.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rose devised the idea for Bee Cups after seeing insects drink water that had collected in sculptures decorating the back yard of her Dallas home. "I thought, 'Do insects need water?' and it just kind of evolved from there," she says.
Following numerous "weird Google searches" -- to learn the length of honeybee tongues and whether they have toes -- Rose developed a design for the cups and the Bee Vision glaze.
In 2021, exhibits featuring 3,000 Bee Cups were displayed at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and the Houston Botanic Garden, where the funnels also were sold at the gift shops. "People came to see the cups and then said, 'I want the cups,'" she says.
The following year, Rose stepped away from academia to become a full-time artist and entrepreneur. "I'm really excited about the fact that I've been able to reinvent myself into something different and launch this other side of myself that is incredibly fulfilling."
Bee Cups have continued to grow in popularity -- so much so that low-quality knockoff versions are being sold online using Rose's image and videos without her permission. She was featured earlier this year in a Wall Street Journal article about tactics scammers use to impersonate small businesses like hers.
"It's terrible because they're not safe for the bees and it's ruined a lot of the trust people had in my company," she says of the fake products. "Since we're making Bee Cups by hand and they have a human touch on them, it makes it difficult to copy them."
Rose recently expanded her product line to include the Bee Nurseries -- reusable handmade porcelain tubes in which native bees can lay their eggs and keep them safe from predators during gestation.
Bees obviously have a special place in Rose's heart. "I think drawing people's attention to the smallest creatures creates empathy, and that is important in a world where I don't think empathy is high on a lot of people's lists right now."
