Happy Birthday Boys!

Here they are just one month old!  Time passes so quickly...
Babies are born.  Toddlers.  Three Years Old. 
 
When did this "Amma" get so old...

All in all, closing my rubber stamp business was the best choice for everyone. I have had three years of being with them on a regular basis.

Ryan - top left, is fun loving, kind, thoughtful and just full of energy.

Colin - right side, is quiet, a real thinker, book loving, little old man who loves to run.

 Life is good.

Wait - Life is GREAT! 

Being "Amma" to these guys and their cousin, Sean, who will be three in August, is the best job I have ever had.

They are teaching me to truly love life, color outside the lines, run in three directions at once and most of all, to eat McDonald's again!

Today these two turned three.  I remember the sun shining off the newly formed puddles from an early morning rain on the day they were born.  The birds chirping and their parents glowing as they finally got to meet their sons. 
 

I remember holding them and thinking I would break them. They were sooooooo tiny.

I remember the look on their dad's face as he introduced them to all of us as their mother looked on.

TWO!  TWO little dynamos that changed ALL of our worlds with their first heartbeats, their first cries, their first smiles.

Here they are now.  Standing tall at THREE.

I miss ALL my customers.  I miss ALL my road trips and shows.  I miss the friends I made who also had booths at the conventions. 

BUT - I am so thankful I did NOT miss this!

Happy 3rd  Birthday Colin and Ryan!

Amma will see you both tomorrow with your cousin and we will celebrate with cupcakes, candles, and prizes.

Love you to the moon and back!

Amma Laura Anne and Auntie Bella Boo

 

Innovation, Creativity, Perfection and Time

Not so Long Ago...

Oh my....not so very long ago, the very little feet of three very little men, came into my life.

 

It is now 2015 and they are ALL turning three very soon.

 

So, time for "Amma" to get going; tobe creative, to color, to draw, to experiment, to laugh, to love, to enjoy her creative side with these little men and soon to be new addition.

 

I have learned so much from all of them - Colin, Mr. Quiet Patience, Ryan, Mr. Bliss, and Sean, Mr. Twinkle (or I Have a Joke).

 

The next generation of innovation.  The next generation of creativity. 

 

Somewhere in my past, the very idea of creativity and freedom to let the colors or the stictches land where they may was driven out of me by the adults who felt "perfection" was more important.

 

Well, I am 60 now and I realize that without the freedom to express one's creativity, there is no innovation.  Perfection is something that one works on in one's "creative works". It takes time, patience, twinkling sparks of ideas and humor.

 

 

I am stalemated not by my ideas but by the time I know it will take to bring them to fruitation in the light in which I see them. 

 

Therefore, I will make a pledge to myself that I will not get caught up in "perfectionism" that I was taught and rather concentrate on creating whatever it is I see before me while bringing it to a place of bliss and humor with patience. 

 

This will be difficult.  This is not in my nature any longer and I must fight the demons of perfection out of my artwork.  My artwork needs to stand alone as it is and be what it can be.  I need to get out of my own way and begin again. 

 

There are still colors to choose.  There are still songs to be sung (out of key, of course). There are still words to be written that need to be said...and there are still people who will understand whatever it is I need to do to find, capture and live my creative life.

 

There is still time....

 

May you find your spirit renewed this year.  May your colors be bright and bold. Most of all, may your creativity be sparked by the smallest of things, real or not, and that you find the energy and time to bring your ideas to fruitation.

 

Creatively yours in 2015!

 

Laura   Anne, the "3 Amigos" and Bella Boo

 





 

MERRY CHRISTMAS from all of us at Bugawumps!

 

Yes, the fun here is still going strong! 

 

Three little men and another little bundle on the way are making smiles everywhere we go.

 

How Blessed we feel. 

 

Wishing you and those you love, many wonderful memories of holidays past, present and to come!

 

Laura Anne and Bella the Boo, the Christmas puppy

 

 

 



The Beauty of "IT"

There is an inherent beauty in all that touches our lives which gives us the ability to create beautiful, interesting lives, black, mudslinging down in the dirt lives, or worse yet, grey, it doesn't matter anymore or I don't care anymore lives.

The strongest of these lives, is the first one.  It is the one I was born with.  Trust me, I did not come from a "beautiful" place and life has been anything but easy for me.  I was born with a soul that needs the light, the truth, and realistic simplicity.  No sugar coating here, just tell me like it is; let me see you for who you truly are and then my friend, let us go from there to see where we can find some common ground because I truly want you in my life.

I was born to dream.  I was born to create.  I was born to help, to nurture, to heal, to hug, to love, to laugh and to make this world a better place than the one I grew up in for the generations to follow.  I was born an old soul 60 years ago and now I finally fit into my wrinkled, freckled, grey haired body with such ease that I love it more than ever.  I am ready to move forward without worrying about what you think of me, my life or my art.

This has truly been a year of struggle for me.  I have felt like I have been living an out of body experience watching this year pass by as the people I have loved for so long and the world in general, lose their ability to be understanding, much less kind. 

I worry that the path I have chosen will be wide enough for my grandchildren to navigate through  and that the weeds of destruction so many others are sowing in order to create chaos out of the joy and beauty in an ordinary day will quickly cover up all the good seeds I am throwing down. So much jealousy, so many small hearts. 

Is there a hug much less a paintbrush out there that I can purchase that will be big enough to cover all the black mud that I fear is sucking us all into a dangerously apathetic society? 

This year, I have had to let go of those who have never been able to see my colors much less my worth as I pray that they find their way down their own paths without me cheering them on.  I realize they don't need me...

... and maybe, just maybe, I am their problem. 

Maybe I have held them so long and so tight, that they can't stand alone and see how strong they are....maybe I have loved them too much...hopefully someone else is waiting for them who can show them the light, the coIor, the beauty of their life and their own worth as they forge their path into the unknown as I let go and move forward. 

I recognize that I do not have the answers anymore. Or is it that I do not ask the right questions? 

I can only open my arms and my heart wider each and every morning as I hug my children, grandchildren, friends and family into my small world so they feel safe, secure and confident when they leave me to go out and create a world that they wish to live in and also leave behind. 

I wish that on this day and the days that follow both you and I, that we not only see the beauty before us, but also create a better day so that as the sun fades our colors become brighter, our words truer, our love stronger and our hearts bigger.

Open up and come on in for a hug!  There is one waiting for you to step into it!

Laura Anne and Bella Boo, the puppy with the biggest heart and a colorful personality

Teach Your Children...welll...

Art Classes have begun!

3 boys, lots of paint brushes, colors, and energy!


The only way to teach children is with an open mind and an open heart!

DO NOT expect perfection - well at least in the way you saw the project being completed.

Children are like little sponges.  They want to learn.  They want to create.  They want to have fun.  Most of all, they want to PLEASE!

Make sure you have everything ready, set and then GO with the flow.

What you had in mind, may never happen.  What they see, what they are capable of, where the student's ability is, where their maturity is, where they are socially and physically will all play a part in how the project pans out.  It is not up to you to finish it for them.  It is up to them to take part, create, enjoy and then take ownership of their artwork.  There is no right or wrong in art.

My three grandsons had a vision on this wonderfully sunny afternoon that I did not.  They painted their feet, their hands, one another, the dog (poor Bella), rocks, flowers, grass, the drop cloth and finally the paper on their easels.  They ran; they jumped; they hid in the flower beds all while I took photos.

Once I realized that children learn from us and how we perceive the world to be, I learned to giggle with them while I worked with them! I have always wanted any child or adult I have taught to ENJOY being creative regardless of the outcome.  If the student enjoys the process, they will keep working on the product or the projects until they master the concept.

Remember - their artwork is not a reflection of you - it is a reflection of them and what they are learning from you.

Have fun!  Teach your children well and your children will thrive!

Laura Anne and a very colorful Bella Boo