Bee Kingdom

Bubbly Sails + zoom	Growth + zoom	Growth + zoom	Growth + zoom
Cog Towers + zoom	Ladder Towers + zoom	Ichtyosaur + zoom	Nautilus + zoom
Squid + zoom	Cozy + zoom	Joobas + zoom	Sophotronic Chibis + zoom
Starling Chibis + zoom	Electrophauns + zoom	Worry Dolls + zoom	Beacon + zoom
Blue Abstract Vase + zoom	Colour Scepters + zoom	Cozy + zoom	Falls + zoom
Figure Eight + zoom	Tripple Encalmo Green + zoom	Pink Cordiceps + zoom	Polka (2 Pieces) + zoom
Red Cordiceps + zoom	Sails + zoom	+ zoom	+ zoom
+ zoom	+ zoom	+ zoom

Bee Kingdom – 2008 Pilchuck Glass Centerpiece Designers

Pilchuck Glass School is located in the small town of Stanwood, an hour’s drive north of Seattle. It sits within a 54-acre tree farm in the foothills of the Cascades. Founded in 1971 by glass artist Dale Chihuly and patrons Anne Gould Hauberg and John H. Hauberg, Pilchuck Glass School has been a primary force in the evolution of glass as a means of artistic expression. By creating an environment with a singular focus on glass, access to resources, and an ever-expanding international community of artists, Pilchuck has become the largest, most comprehensive educational center in the world for artists working in glass.

Every year during pre-session, in May, a group of approximately 40 glass artists work together to complete 150 glass centerpiece designs within a two week span. Glass artists worldwide design a concept for the centerpiece; only one design is selected by the school’s jury to go into production. These centerpieces then go to the annual auction held in Seattle and helps produce 60% of Pilchuck’s yearly running costs.

Bee Kingdom is proud to announce their selection as this year’s Pilchuck Centerpiece Designers! This is an important and happy step in our progression as established and recognized artists in the global glass community.

For more information on Pilchuck Glass School please visit www.pilchuck.com

Biography

Bee Kingdom was reincarnated after the passing of Mecha Glass in 2007. This glass-based studio collective was originally conceived by Ryan Marsh Fairweather, Tim Belliveau and Phillip Bandura in 2004 and has evolved since its birth. The three men graduated from the Alberta College of Art and Design from the glass program in 2005 and decided they wanted to pursue an artistic lifestyle\career and built a hot-glass studio in their backyard garage in the northwest of Calgary, Alberta.

Ryan, Tim and Phil live communally and work collaboratively in their studio home. After a couple years experience, trials and errors the three have a sharper focus, which includes a fine balance between select designs known as "studio series", custom sculpture\installation and fine art. Collaborative works share aesthetics contributed by the three artists and are also informed by the characteristics of their glass studio.

Bee Kingdom is named so for a couple of reasons. Ryan, Tim and Phillip live and work communally at a seemingly constant non-stop pace. When relating the quality of hot glass it is appropriate to describe it as the same as flowing honey. We also run our own glass blowing studio, which we consider our kingdom.

Our attraction to glass is drawn from the natural beauty of glass. Glass as a medium is unique and working with the raw, molten material has limitless possibilities. The process is exciting, team oriented, physically demanding, requires precise coordination and demands your mind's complete presence; it is a richly rewarding medium to work with.

What is your artwork about (underlying concept, focus, themes, intent, etc)?

Our glass practice is inspired by a collaborative approach. The three of us graduated together from the Alberta College of Art and Design in 2005, live in the same home and share the glass studio. Our work is about working cooperatively as a group, focusing on each other's strengths to create the best work possible and striving for and achieving a common goal.

What informs your artwork or what are your influences?

There are a number of influences we're fashioned by. The equipment we use largely informs our work, its limitations force us to think creatively to achieve what we want. A lot of our work is larger than our reheat equipment so we had to come up with some alternative methods to achieve the scale we're after.

Other aesthetic influences include vivid colour and form. We aim to find a pleasing balance or relationship between colours and the shape they carry.

In terms of content we try to refer to a natural phenomenon, these days we're looking more closely at honeybee culture and pulling concepts and reinterpreting them into glass sculpture.

The three of us also have our own individual practice so those elements often get rolled into the collaborative work so we have quite a vast palette to work from and those ideas are always evolving so there's something new to create all the time. It's a really exciting process and it's fun to watch it grow all the time.

What matters to you most about the work that you do?

What matters the most is the ability to keep creating! We want to make sure that we keep having fun and continuously being fulfilled because that's why we're in it, it keeps us motivated and happy, as long as those things are being achieved then we're going to continue with the studio.

Do you feel you need to position your work within the context of art history and if so what's your take on that?

We're children of the contemporary studio glass movement, which is actually quite young, it started in the early 70s. All the historical figures are still around which is pretty interesting and it's exciting to be a part of that "big bang" in its history. We feel that we're evolving into something unique, something that isn't born from the traditional Venetian style of blowing that's had an enormous influence of the studio glass movement.

Is there a trigger or a starting point for each piece?

We live and work in the same place it's important for us to get out so we often have meetings at cafes around town where we discuss concepts, which end up as sketches. Those sketches end up being produced as prototypes where they may or may not deviate from the drawing as a final piece.

Sometimes an idea will be triggered while watching a nature show or reading a passage in a book or something like that and it sparks in image, those are really exciting moments!

Also, we're always looking at evolving current designs; we are always finding ourselves more capable one week than we were the previous so we're naturally evolving our skills as we practice on a regular basis.

How has your work evolved over the last five years?

Our work has evolved a lot in the last 5 years! Our work has grown in scale, complexity and sophistication. We are becoming more recognized as having a distinct style and personality behind the work.

What is currently the central motivation for or conceptual concern in your work?

Currently we're aiming to have conceptual ties to our collective's namesake, the bee. It's a way to make the whole collective package tighter and more aware of itself. We're trying to bring out the inherent bee-like collectivism in our glass art. Nature tends to have strong design so it's definitely worth working from! Our work ethic is also reflective of the honeybee in terms of working together so we try to work that angle into our work; our designs are filtered through our three brains to create something that is truly born from a collaborative effort.

How does your physical/geographical environment inform the work you do?

Our glass blowing equipment informs our work directly because we need it to create our glass. Our equipment has fundamental limitations in scale so you could think of it as collaboration between the three of us and our equipment. We are always looking at new ways to create work by using our equipment differently. It's a constant challenge, it's puzzle solving and it's satisfying when we learn a new technique without the addition of brand new equipment.

What mediums, techniques, or processes are involved in your art making (and why these)?

We're mostly all blown glass. We produce metal stands for some pieces but they act as more of a support rather than a sculptural addition. However, we are beginning to explore other mediums such as metal and wood as compliments to our glass.

Glass is a highly addictive process; it demands physical strength, precise coordination and the comfort ability to work with fire. It can be very meditative when you're having a good day and demands a lot of patience when the glass seems to be fighting with you. Glass has an appealing and unique personality that three of us like to be around. It's a very social skill so the community is tight knit, all of its members are friendly and willing to help out, you get to meet artists from all over the world, it's a special thing to be a part of.

What are your other passions in life and how have these influenced your work?

The three of us have similar and varying passions in life. I believe life is a total holistic experience where everything you do influences something else in your life. Sometimes they're obvious and sometimes they're not. These influences may directly influence the image you're working with or it can contribute to your physical and mental nature that glassblowing demands.

Why are you an artist?

Ryan

I am an artist because it's one of many cravings that live inside of me. There's something special about bringing an object or idea into the world that wouldn't be there if I didn't exist, no matter how great or how minute. It's a tangible path to discovering myself, the changes that go on around me and my outright expression of my explorations.

Phillip

The reason that I am an artist stems from a need to understand the world around me; I find the process of creation gives me time to think about my self and how I fit into the world. One of the things that I love the most about being a full time artist is the ability to do lots of different jobs. As an artist it's never just about doing one thing you have to do it all, that keeps life interesting and exciting but not always easy. I love it!

Tim

Asking questions are a big part of myself and my art. I usually develop ideas from myth and natural history, which are major themes for me. Whether I read it or watch it in movies I try to get that content into a form. I'm always hoping my work asks questions of the viewer and brings in other perspectives so that it's always a learning process about the natural world and the stories we tell with it.

Selected Exhibitions

Education

• Founders and owners of Bee Kingdom, Calgary, AB, 2007 - present
• Founders and owners of Mecha Glass, Calgary, AB, 2003 - 2007
• Graduates from the Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Alberta, 2005

Grants

• Received grant from Calgary Arts Development Agency for the publication of autobiographical book on the history and inner workings of the collective

Commissions

• Commissioned glass appreciation award through Calgary Stampede Board received by Transalta, October 2006
• 30 custom paperweights for The Mount Royal College auction, Calgary, Alberta, March 2006
• 80 small vessels for the Pilchuck Glass School Copper Benefactor's award, July 2006
• Glass sculptures for Brent Yaschuck, CEO of Concept Controls, 2006
• 30 blown glass centerpieces for Foundation for the Hungry Dinner Fundraiser, Suncore Centre, December 2005

Published Media

• Bee Kingdom: the Story of a Calgary Arts Collective, autobiography, 2007
• Calgary Herald, Real Life section, Friday August 10, 2007
• Avenue Magazine, April 2006 issue
• Swerve Magazine, April 7th 2006 issue
• Western Living Magazine, June\July 2006
• Fast Forward newspaper, June 15th - June 21st 2006
• Alberta College of Art and Design newsletter, Summer 2005

Donations

• STARS air ambulance fundraiser, 2007
• Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre, 2005 & 2006
• Venino's Children's Charity, 2006
• Make A Wish Foundation Dinner & Silent Auction Fundraiser-3 blown glass pieces donated, Spring 2004
• Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Calgary Art Auction-2 blown glass pieces donated, Spring 2003
• United Way of Calgary- Dominion Exploration of Canada Fund Raiser Auction-5 blown glass pieces donated, Fall 2002, Fall 2003

Gallerires

• Axis Contemporary Art Gallery, Calgary, Alberta
• Elevation Gallery, Canmore, Alberta
• Artists of the World, Calgary, Alberta
• Galerie Crescent Contemporain, Montreal, QC
• Saffron Studios, Cochrane, Alberta
• Summit Gallery of Fine Art, Banff, Alberta