Tilteed

Artist Interview: bsweber

Curator’s Statement:

August is said to be the hottest month of the year, and this year, it has certainly lived up to the humid hype! So while I tried to beat the heat wearing my coolest Tilteed tee, drinking iced tea and eating icebox pie, I found myself attracted to bsweber’s Hot Pepper design. Its poppy blank, for starters, drew me in immediately. I began to sweat. I examined the well-drawn pepper and my heart began to race as if I had just eaten a plate full of atomic hot wings. As I looked at its intricate details, I was blown away by the dragon in the cross-section, roaring flames which pushed me into capsaicin-overload. Once I regained consciousness, I knew this was a tee worthy of Tilteed.

Welcome, bsweber! Please tell us: How did you come up with this fantastical design?

I make databases of people/places/things and list their attributes. In this case, I crossed checked my data for the word ‘hot’ and randomly selected two of the results to combine into one design. Just so happens that dragons and peppers came up. I think we narrowly missed a ‘Jessica Alba Pepper’ t-shirt.

Did you ever dream of dragons or any other mythical creatures when growing up?

Definitely. I used to believe that there were vampires living under my bed that would bite my toes if I let them near the edge.
I always slept in the fetal position.

If you could have a dream collaboration with any artist/artists, who would you choose and why?

I think I’d have to go with either Andrew or NC Wyeth (son/father). They were from my area, and I think they were able to pull off the idea of a fantastic and hidden world in a way that I’ve never really seen duplicated. I’d love to just hang out with those guys.

Your hot pepper is making me salivate! What’s the spiciest food you’ll regularly eat?

I’m not really a regular partaker of spicy stuff, but I recently bought some insanely hot party mix from an Indian grocery.
I take a nibble here and there when I’m feeling brave. So far, I’ve felt about 1/4-of-a-bag-brave.

Of all your designs, which would you say is your favorite?

Not really sure, I don’t think I’ve made it yet! However, I’ve always been a bit attached to starry night!

My randomness shines through: If you were trapped in medieval times, would you rather be the knight who slays the dragon, or the bard who sings of your epic battle?

I would be the young, slightly geeky guy who acts like he wants to slay a dragon, but actually captures, trains it, and
uses it as a life lesson on acceptance for the rest of the villagers. In 3D.

Any links, old or new, you’d like to tell others to check out and any final words you’d like to tell Tilteers?

My flickr! ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/9750135@N05/ )