#sparkchamber 081423 — Bee Betwee
Keeping up with our prolific #sparkchamber alumni, we discovered a fabulous installation by artist Bee Betwee: Championing Justice: Portraits of Open Door Legal Advocates — a nonprofit organization pioneering the country’s first system of universal access to legal help. “In this art, I celebrate the amazing people at Open Door Legal who work tirelessly to help our community access legal help, no matter their financial situation. Through their portraits, I aim to show their unwavering dedication and compassion. These champions stand by your side, fighting for justice and bringing hope to the Excelsior. These portraits, their presence, reflect their profound impact, evoking emotions and gratitude for those who ensure equality and justice for all in the Open Door Legal community.”
Made possible by the Excelsior Art Initiative which uses art as a vehicle for community engagement, partnering local artists with small businesses to creatively augment venues in San Francisco’s Excelsior neighborhood. The innovative art installations vibrantly redesign the street-facing windows, parklets, and walls of art-supporting businesses, uplifting the community, supporting small businesses and local artists, and spotlighting the vibrant creativity of one of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods.
If you’re in the neighborhood, do drop by. Bee’s installation will be on display until November 2023.
To celebrate, we spotlight Bee’s background and thoughts on the creative process, originally posted October 24 last year.
The word of the day today is bold as #sparkchamber delights in welcoming illustrator, sculptor, and all-around creative force Bee Betwee. Born and raised in the Philippines, living and working in San Francisco, CA, Bee is for bold in every sense of the word — strong, bright, vivid, striking, fearless, memorable. She uses multiple styles and formats, unexpected colors and graphic flair to create fun and lighthearted pieces with just a touch of playfulness and kitsch. “When I was younger, people think being an artist is only for those born gifted, those who can paint like Michelangelo and sculpt like Rodin and only when your art has an aesthetic based on realism can your work be worthy of being shown. Once I broke free of that mindset and accepted that art can be anything I want it to be, I was free to create with child-like wonder, having fun and truly enjoying the process.”
Case in point, her Fine [Fun!] Art series — “a series of self-discovery” — a collection of stunning, acrylic-on-canvas line-drawing-esque “sketches” of nudes, with every kind of twist: color, pose, attitude, to turn “classical” on its ear. Her Paperbag Puppets, made with scrap cardboard and paper, each has its own fun, silly personality. [These were originally created to be embellished and played with by the kids at The Rabbit Hole Children's Theater in San Francisco.] And her Fine Dining sculptures, an ongoing collection of Asian and American pantry staples created out of needle felted wool. “Fine Dining brings back feelings of home, whether home is in the Philippines where I grew up or in the Bay Area. By having both Asian and American food products, this collection makes us see our shared experiences with one another.”
1.] Where do ideas come from?
Everywhere! Which is daunting to me as a creative who wants to dabble in everything. Since I work with different mediums, there is always something that inspires me to create using certain materials. It can be a complicated layering of ideas for a piece of art….or as simple as looking at what’s in front of you.
During the pandemic, I randomly bought some air-dry clay and sculpted some uninspiring shapes. One day I looked down and decided to sculpt my hands. It turned into a whole series of hand figures that I styled using items I had at home. I photographed them, turned them into prints, and sold them. I’m very proud of that series created from my fear of that time.
2.] What is the itch you are scratching?
Creating gives me a sense of pride. It makes me happy. Personally, if I don’t create anything in a long time, I feel restless. There is a lack of purpose and end I up depressed. I believe this is a common characteristic in artists.
But sometimes even if the ideas flow and I do want to create, just starting seems daunting. Creating is a lot of work at times it’s easier to just avoid it altogether. That being said, I try to keep this in mind: in college, one of my classmates asked my professor how to get motivated to work. The professor responded, “Just start.”
3.] Early bird or night owl? Tortoise or hare?
Years ago, I used to work in an office as a production artist in the concert merchandising industry. I did my emails and admin work in the morning so people that I work with are taken care of and I can focus on working on the creative side of the job in the afternoons…most of the time ;) Luckily, that structure has worked for me up until now. I think that flow of working in the morning mentally gets me warmed up for creative work in the afternoon.
4.] How do you know when you are done?
Some factors are a deadline looming, getting sick of looking at the artwork ;). One can easily get lost and keep adding to the art and never get done, or make it worse! But lately, I try to keep it simple and straightforward. If I’m satisfied with the aesthetics and the messaging, I can call it done.
