Congratulatory Trophy Cups designed by Canadian artists' collective Bee Kingdom—Phillip Bandura, Tim Belliveau, and Ryan Marsh Fairweather—are the visual focal point of tonight's Annual Auction. The Poleturners, a team of twenty glassblowers, created more than 120 glass centerpieces, in three forms and a host of colors, at Pilchuck this May.
A jury of local artists, curators, and designers chose Bee Kingdom out of a pool of nineteen applicants for the colorful exuberance, celebratory spirit, and collaborative approach of the collective's designs. Like the busy bees they're named for, these young designers live and work communally at a seemingly non-stop pace. Attracted to the natural beauty of glass and the complex challenges the material presents as an artistic medium, Bandura, Belliveau, and Fairweather have been working together since 2004. They met while students at the Alberta College of Art and Design and have taken classes and volunteered at Pilchuck in the past.
