Design of the Month · February 2008

"Marionette"

I created this stained glass panel, representing two characters from Cirque du Soleil, using the Tiffany method. After researching the Cirque's fifteen year history, I made preliminary sketches of some of their best characters. Here I used the Cirque's logo as a background; that way, I didn't have to add additional break lines. (This is something of a trademark in my stained glass work.) Once the drawing was finished, I imported it into Glass Eye 2000 to add the final touches, color and texture.

This stained glass panel was created as part of a project to help kids living on the streets. It is important to have these kids involved in projects of this magnitude because it gives them a chance to be proud of themselves. It is with this in mind that I use themes from Cirque du Soleil. This is one of many projects I have initiated that help to reinsert people into society. In Trois-Rivières (a city in Québec) I have designed historical and cultural artworks and "my kids" do all the work. These projects teach them to pay attention to detail and to be thorough. Our success is that no one can tell the difference between these pieces and the ones I make entirely on my own. Their pieces have included one of Jean Béliveau, the renowned hockey player for the Montréal Canadians, and Rita Lafontaine, a famous Québécois actress. They are also revisiting the history of Québec City for its 400th anniversary in 2008, and in Montréal they are doing pieces based on drawings made by sick children from the Sainte-Justine Hospital. All these projects help bring hope and pride to these wonderful children.

~ Jean Beaulieu (translated from French by Marie-Hélène Bourbeau)

About the artist

Jean Beaulieu, artist and creator, painter for 27 years, has exhibited in a dozen cities worldwide. He started doing stained glass fifteen years ago and decided to use the glasswork in the service of a cause dear to him: troubled youth. He is the founder of the MargiArt project which for the last four years has provided stained glass instruction for these young people. This project inspired him to found Les Ateliers ART-GO, an organization that oversees community groups in Québec City, Trois-Rivières, Montréal and eventually Vancouver and Toronto. For more information (in French) on Jean Beaulieu and the ART-GO organization, click on the ART-GO logo. There you will also find more Cirque du Soleil images by Jean as well as pictures of historical stained glass panels made by street kids. You may also send him an email.

Click Jean's image to see him in front of two historical panels at the Parc Portuaire de Trois-Rivières.

see the previous month's design