Tim Belliveau is an artist currently working out of Calgary, AB. He is a member of the "Bee Kingdom" glass collective which is comprised of two other artists, Phillip Bandura and Ryan Marsh Fairweather. Belliveau (and Bee Kingdom) have received critical acclaim for both glass and for illustrative work. Recently we asked Tim to answer a few questions about his work:

1)Q: what do you consider your most important tool as a designer/artist?
A: Adaptation. It sounds cheesy but I have so many times been in situations where I'm trying a new project or working under pressure in different settings that I have to be ready to work with the best tools and the worst. Its important to learn things with crappy tools so that the right ones, when you can afford them are helpful but not required. If you can make your art with the wrong tools while you're poor and out of time, you can do well. Also my custom made bag that holds my entire studio and can usually fix any situation where I'm unprepared. If we need an object for this question, its that!

- Q: how do you feel illustration aids in your glass work? does it? what can illustration give you that glass can not?
A: Illustration is cheaper than glassblowing so I do a ton more of it. That said, glass naturally wants to make rounded, flowing shapes and over time, my illustrations have picked up on this. Its a feedback loop between the two processes and now most of the things I draw, I can make as glass sculptures, which wasn't always true. The illustration makes the glass better because I can really visualize it in advance and the illustrations have gained a very rounded sculptural quality.
Also making glass is a massive financial and bureaucratic battle where drawing is free, therapeutic and I can lord over it like an OCD tyrant! The balance between them is probably a good thing.

- Q: who are your current working art/design hero's?
A: Judith Schaechter a stained glass artist based in Philadelphia taught me a lot about making art and surviving the inevitable crises that come with it. Jack (John) Bride for similar reasons. Werner Herzog, even though he says he's a craftsman not an artist and that art today is criminal (esp. because of that). Also Keith Tyson, Cai Guo Quiang, Josh Keyes and Walton Ford. I have a pile of art heroes who have helped me out too; more than I can list here.

- Q: complete the line "in 20 years I will be........"
A: ...Aged 47 and far more cynical for sure; that's like a rising stock as far as I can tell. Hopefully its funny by then. I will be past the age where they say fame will destroy you so, I wouldn't mind collecting a lot then, it helps with some things in the arts.

and anything else you would like to say about your work!!!
This is where the art comes from: Whenever I'm out of ideas, I learn a new technique, whenever I'm bored of technique I record dreams. When I can't make any use of those I read. I succeed when any of that connects with a viewer and I have a survey you can fill out if you want to connect with words!
https://beekingdom.dc1.netfirms.com/futureforest.net/information/survey/surveypage.html

Also come to my show:
http://www.beekingdom.ca/

Thanks!
-tim

FreePeople

After you have gone through the Anthropologie catalog go through the Free People catalog. Its almost too much pretty to look at in one go. I'm in love with the Mexican Embroidered shift dress and the buttoned up in pleats skirt!!

http://www.freepeople.com/mar-11-catalog-items?cm_re=110307_hp-_-marchcat-_-marchcat

Goldenrod Fluevog!

I am all over these goldenrod and cream high heels from Fluevog. I am a sucker for shoes but also horrible for wussing out and choosing flats for my day to day wear. I can say with total certainty, Fluevog makes a shoe that I feel I could hike up a mountain wearing, and still look cute as the dickens. http://www.fluevog.com/code/?item=Viardot

Herbert Baglione

I have this crazy love for simple black and white illustration. I think its because I am so fascinated with line quality. I love how a thick black line sets off a stark contrast to fine white lines, creating a dazzling texture and richness to an illustration. This line love carries over to jewellery as well, but we are talking illustration right now. For that matter I want to gush a little about my total love of Herbert Baglione. Baglione is a Brazilian artist who works both inside and out on the street. His large scale, simplistic street work is just as amazing as his gallery quality, detailed illustrations. His pallet of mostly black/white is often times highlighted with flashes of gold or colour, further driving home how stark a contrast there is between the bold black and white of the image. There is something so haunting, and yet to familiar about his images. Look for more on his blog here: http://www.herbertbaglione.blogspot.com/  or his flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/trashisfesch/410331783/

Shaun Tan

I think it was inevitable that Shaun Tan would wind up on here. Recently, Tan won an Academy Award for his short film "The Lost Thing". The film was modeled after his children's picture book of the same name. Tan is after all of our hearts because not only are his children's books breath taking and surreal, but the subject matter is really challenging.

The children's book industry is over flowing with different books on all sorts of genre, but few are able to address themes such as land appropriation, immigration and childhood depression in a delicate way. Not only do his books address topics such as these, they do so in a way that is seamless. I (Alex) recently used his book "The Lost Thing" to talk about geometry to an art class. How wonderful that his works can be enjoyed and used on so many different layers. So here is to you Shaun Tan, a marvelous illustrator and maker of books!

check out the new march catalogue for anthropologie. i particularly love the styling of the shoe pictures....so beautiful.
see it here......
http://www.anthropologie.com/

besty walton

i've been watching betsy walton's work show up on blogs here and there and have become a fan of her work. even though i'm not that into the color pink somehow she pulls it off.......

http://www.morningcraft.com/index.php