Live Music, Celebrity Art Sale at Honey Hive Launch Party

The sweet creations of Honey Hive owner Rachel Powers won't be the only chocolate on the menu during the bakery's launch party—sinfully delicious, chocolate themed paintings by local artist Michael Bell will also on display and up for sale during Friday's event.

Friday will be the first local show for Bell, who teaches art at Southern High School, though he has shown his work before in Chicago and New York. He decided to display and sell his work locally to support Powers, who is one of Bell's former art students.

He'll be displaying a collection called “Per Amore del Cioccolato." Each piece will have a price tag of $12,000, and Bell will be donating $4,000 from the sale of each painting to Powers, "in order to try and help her secure a solid year of rent income so she can just focus on growing her amazing start of her business career," according to a press release. 

In addition to his larger paintings, Bell will also sell signed prints at Sunday's launch party. 

Powers is thrilled to have Bell showing during her launch and grateful for his support. 

"He’s one of my mentors and he’s been so supportive and he definitely inspired me to use art as a part of my career," Powers said.

And, there will be cake. Though she has not decided exactly what flavor yet, Powers said she's envisioning something chocolate to compliment Bell's collection. 

If a local celebrity artist and the promise of a slice of one of Powers' cakes aren't enough to get you to Honey Hive Friday night, there will also be a live musical performance by Swamp Donkey from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. 

The launch party will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday evening at 155 Mitchells Chance Road in Edgewater. The ribbon cutting will take place at around 7 p.m. and the cake cutting will follow shortly after, Powers said.