Author: bbbeecreative

Well? Have you delivered yourself fearlessly into February full of feisty Va-Va Voom or are you still snuggled up in the warmth of a cozy Magenta mohair cardigan? In all honesty, I’m all about answering the call of the couch and the chocolate at this time of year, but that’s not what 2023 is all about, is it? So I decided to throw myself into the “#21daysinmyartworldchallenge”. It was a great way to keep motivated through January and kept me accountable.

Each day was a prompt to share something about life as an artist from sharing favourite techniques to favourite drawings. One of those days asked for a selfie which is so far beyond my comfort zone, but for the sake of completing the challenge (the keeping me accountable part) I carried on, sharing tiny pieces of myself and my art with the world.

Day 21 of the challenge ended on ‘Big Dream’. I decided my Big Dream was to create my own garden studio so that I can take part in open studios and continue to build this fantastic community! One of the highlights of last year was collaborating with Kim from @leafnaturalfoodwraps – a maker with top-notch eco credentials. I thought what a great idea to end on a challenge that invites us to look forward and focus on a goal for ourselves. It’s important to keep growing and evolving – it keeps things interesting, even if it does mean pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone.

So it led me to wonder. What would your ‘Big Dream’ be if you took part in your own 21-Day Challenge? What have you always wanted to do but you’ve just been a little bit nervous about? It doesn’t have to be a huge life-changing ‘dream’ but why not do something that calls for you to push yourself beyond your normal day-to-day. Perhaps you could put yourself out there on YouTube or Social Media, sharing or teaching something you’re good at. Or start something completely new – like drawing or learning watercolour. You never know where it might lead. Maybe that should be the theme for this month – Fearless February. I’d love to hear how you get on.

Well, that’s about it for this month. The good news is Spring is just about around the corner, though there is still a winter chill in the air. Which reminds me. Where’s my chocolate?

Happy New Year everyone! Here at Bumbumbee Creative we hope this year is – an unconventional one – filled with vim and vigour, inspiration, boldness, exuberance, joyous optimism and lots of Magenta.

This year’s Pantone Colour of the Year is… drumroll please… Viva Magenta. We love a splash of Magenta here as it has such a rebellious spirit – it’s self-expression without restraint (yes Rosie and Adam I’m thinking about you as I type this).

Given the hardships so many of us faced over the last few years around the world, it feels like Viva Magenta exudes an upbeat strength and confidence. It’s the strong motherly hug combined with the push out the door that says, ‘come on now – you can do it – get out there in the world – the time is now’.

So instead of New Year’s Resolutions – let’s think about our Themes for 2023. Let’s look at life through the lens of Viva Magenta. Let’s celebrate humanity at its best with compassion and connectedness. Let’s be fierce but fun.

If the last three years have been tough for you, but the prospect of getting out there in the world again feels a bit too raw – it’s time to draw comfort and confidence from Viva Magenta. Maybe it’s time to create a new narrative – a new story – or if that’s just a step too far right now – perhaps at least new décor or a bold new hair colour.

Whatever 2023 is all about for you – we are here for it – and we are here with you. I’ll be back in February to let you know how we managed to weave the Viva Magenta spirit into our lives.

In my last post I shared the three swallows I’d been working on. Well, the number three has popped up again – and this time it’s in the shape of a special birthday. Little wild child Rosie was three this month which can only mean one thing – we made it through the terrible twos – relatively unscathed.

In typical Rosie style, she managed to celebrate with three birthday cakes across her three-day celebration.  At this point, I want to say – ‘outdoing the Queen who has two birthdays’ but as most of us know, the Queen passed away on 8^th September 2022. The State funeral was held on Monday the 19^th but we managed to squeeze in a soft play party on the Sunday before. We are sure the Queen would have approved and agreed that a three-year-old has every right to feel like a princess on her birthday –complete with crown – even if it does land within a period of national mourning.

There’s always a little sense of sadness as September draws to a close because it means the outdoor days are getting shorter and the temperatures hint at the colder days to come.

On the upside, here in the Northern Hemisphere, we have thoughts of Christmas to keep us warm. I have been in creative mode, working on turning an existing drawing into some festive wrapping paper. I am at the stage where I triple-check that the repeat is seamless, I can still see mistletoe when I close my eyes!

But enough of that. Let’s not wish away the last days of Summer just yet. Still plenty of time for beach visits to collect shells and pebbles and soak in the colours of the sky and sea. After all, we’ve got to work off three birthday cakes and an excess of three-year-old princess energy somehow. In the meantime enjoy a picture from last year showing Rosie rocking a crown and little angel wings (of course).

See you in October…

You may have heard the famous proverb, “one swallow does not make a summer” meaning – a single fortunate event doesn’t necessarily mean that what follows will also be fortunate. In France and Italy they say the same phrase but swap Summer with Spring. Other variations on the theme include: “One swallow does not a summer make, nor one fine day; meaning one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy. Similarly, this from the proverbs of Erasmus in the 1500s “It is not one swalowe that bryngeth in somer. It is not one good qualitie that maketh a man good.” Anyway, you get the idea. It’s basically a proverb that cautions against too much optimism or getting carried away in any given situation.

Well, here at the Bumbumbee studio we have any number of swallows making their appearance. We are throwing caution to the wind because we most definitely have the Summer ‘feels’ here so plenty of reason for optimism and all good things.

Here in the UK, the swallow is a welcome visitor, arriving in April and leaving us in October. On migration or after breeding they can be observed in large numbers, chattering away on overhead wires, or roosting in reed beds. It’s quite an incredible feat when you realise they migrate 6,000 miles all the way from southern Africa and over the Sahara Desert to reach our shores.

These beautiful birds are glossy, dark blue-black above, white below with a dark red forehead and throat and a black band across the chest. One of their most distinctive features is their exceptionally long forked tail.

There’s a lot of symbolism around swallows. They represent breaking out of your comfort zone to experience different things in life. Overall, the free-flying bird represents mindfulness and faithfulness, which people can bring into their commitment to family and loved ones. The Celts saw the swallow as a connection to ivy, making it a wise bird that drew knowledge from plants, animals, and trees.  I love the idea that I felt compelled to illustrate this group on a flight of fancy – perhaps there is a message in here for us all.

At the start of 2022 I remember when the Pantone of the Year was announced, ‘PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri’ invited us to be courageous and bold – to step out of our creative comfort zones.

I haven’t quite decided what I’ll do with these swallows yet, but perhaps they would make an excellent motivational card or artwork. Do you have any thoughts, dreams or plans that would require you to step out of your comfort zone? Have you achieved something this year that meant you experienced or learned something completely different?

Well, I’ll get back to work on these swallows. Keep a look out for them making their appearance in the online store or at the Market soon.

In the meantime, if there is something in your life you have been umming and ahhing about – take the message from the swallow – be bold and step out of your comfort zone. You never know where it might lead.

Nothing says Summer in Burntisland like the return of the annual Highland Games and Fair. The community here is justifiably proud of the fact these games have been running since 1652, second only to the Ceres Games which have been running since 1314.

The Games used to be more about choosing the strongest or most able-bodied men for the clan chieftain’s household and less about Scottish culture and Candy Floss but no Highland Games would be worth its salt without the ‘Tossing the Caber’ event. The caber is just short of six metres tall, lifted, balanced and completely flipped by the competitor. The highest scores go to those who land the caber straight ahead, in the 12 o’clock position. Aside from these shows of brute strength, there are dancers and music and all manner of athletic competition.

In Burntisland, the Games are also accompanied by fairground attractions which stay in situ long after the high energy of the Highland Games has dissipated. Being next to the beach during the long summer days, you can see why Burntisland was the high point for Glaswegians going on holiday ‘doon the watter’ during the Fair Fortnight.

My sister remembers hot days when the black tarmac was too hot to walk on barefoot, and everyone was sunburnt and happy eating ice creams. The roads were closed so visitors could wander unhindered and there was always an air of excitement and frivolity as all members of the family joined in the celebrations. These days some of the ‘family’ tradition has been lost, but it’s still a much-anticipated summer celebration.

A staple favourite has to be the Big Wheel though. What better way to see across the Fife coastline or feel the wind in your hair or whistling around your ankles? Whatever you are doing this summer, I hope you have fun and I hope you are making memories that you’ll still be talking about many years from now. If you are looking for a souvenir of your time at the Burntisland Games or you’d like a reminder of the summer vibe in Burntisland, why not treat yourself (or someone you care about) to Bumbumbee’s unique Burntisland Map (Click the link to purchase). That way, if you ever get lost in life, you will always be able to find your way back to Burntisland.

It’s 5.22pm on the 22nd of May and the year is 2022. You could say the number 2 is a bit special to me right now. Numerically speaking the number 2 is a positive number, a whole number, and the smallest, even prime number. Spiritually and symbolically speaking the number two is all about duality, relationships, harmony and partnerships, while personally speaking, well little Rosie is 2 and … incredibly … Bumbumbee Creative is also 2 years old. That’s right this week we reached the terrible two’s – oh wait a minute – no that’s Rosie – Bumbumbee has reached Tremendous, Terrific Twos.

As I look back over the milestones and achievements over the past 2 years, I feel incredibly proud. Just as our wee ones must grow, take their first tentative steps, find their feet and find their voice, so too we must take out first tentative steps in bringing our creative dreams to life. I have nurtured ‘the dream’ and had hopes that those early steps were just the start of something even bigger.

To study for years, then teach the arts and design is one thing – to step out from behind that and create designs for paying customers is quite another. It can leave you feeling slightly vulnerable. There’s always that little voice inside nagging away, ‘is it good enough?’ or ‘am I good enough?’ Those of you who suffer from ‘imposter syndrome will know exactly what I’m talking about. But you know what they say – ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’. Luckily, I have a whole bunch of supporters around me – cheering me on – particularly on those days I feel the fear or the demands of work and family threaten my creative time. There’s so much to be grateful for, but amongst the things I appreciate the most are those of you who have bought my illustrations and those businesses who have stocked my work. A big thank you to you all. It’s because of you we’re turning two!

Unwrapping some birthday love

Still on the theme of all the two’s, I mentioned that the number two is symbolic of partnerships and relationships which is quite appropriate since we have some exciting news to share. News I’ve been keeping ‘under wraps’ so to speak.

Leaf Natural Food Wraps is a Markinch-based business specialising in wax wraps and other eco products. They approached me some time ago with the idea of collaborating on a local wildflower pattern that could be used on their organic unbleached calico fabric.

Creating patterns of this nature can be quite intricate to get right as there are so many considerations, particularly when transferred to fabric – but I was excited and up for the challenge. In a project like this there is a lot of thinking time before concepts come to the fore. A partnership is a blend of many ideas, visions, briefs and evolving concepts – each of us bringing our respective strengths to the table. Ultimately, I think the magic was there and we worked together to create something unique that we can both be proud of.

The design features poppies, pansies, St John’s wort, forget-me-nots and elderflowers, interlaced with birch leaves to tie in with Leaf Natural Food Wrap’s logo in vintage tones.

The first batch of fabric is going to be used across a full range of products in the next week or two, and they’ll make their debut at Balgove Larder Night Market on Tuesday 7th June 2022, so do let me know if you spot them and what you think of the design.

Well, no self-respecting 2 year old birthday celebration is complete without some cake, so on that note, I am going to see what crumbs the Bumbumbee family have left me. My birthday wish for all of you who have creative dreams is to be brave and courageous – feel the fear and do it anyway. Until next time …

How many of you feel you have managed to achieve the perfect work-life balance? As someone who is feeling a little frazzled around the edges of late, I have been giving the subject some thought.

Life has been a little hectic, a continual balancing act between keeping the little bumbumbees fed, cleaned and watered, childcare arrangements and demands at work, all conspire to squeeze my creative time.

If you are up for a mini history lesson, the idea that working hours should be limited to create the fabled and mythical ‘work-life balance’ goes back to the 1800s.  Manufacturing laws were passed to restrict the number of hours women and children were working and by 1938 the Fair Labour Standards Act established a 44-hour work-week. It’s such a shame I can’t put Adam and Rosie to work just yet, but laws are laws I suppose.

The Women’s Liberation Movement brought work-life balance back to the forefront in the 1980s to accommodate women in the workforce who were also mothers or primary carers in the home.

Throughout the decades we’ve seen progress and backward steps in equal measure. Rising prices mean that both partners generally have to be working to own a house and even then, it’s a stretch. Everyone is too busy, too stressed with too little time for the important things. The story is the same in the majority of homes.

The big rethink
COVID was an opportunity to rethink how we could do things since it became apparent people were as productive if not more so, working from home and employers were forced into looking at new models of employment. You may have seen the term ‘hybrid’ appear on the likes of LinkedIn – meaning the option to work remotely and/or at home. I have been quietly hoping ‘the good’ in spending more quality time with loved ones could be retained from that experience – but the nature of some employment makes that tricky.

The idea of the 4-day week has been floated by New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Arden as a way to help with work-life balance while still improving productivity. A 4-day week would mean clocking up around 30 hours instead of the minimum of 40.

So with all these great strides in the name of progress, I do wonder why it is I feel frazzled as I write this? The work-life balance feels more like a fantasy than ever, and I’m sure I’m not alone in that.

So why is ‘work-life’ balance so important?  Achieving and maintaining a work-life balance isn’t just important – it’s imperative for creating a healthy, balanced life. Apart from anything else it significantly reduces stress and helps prevent burnout. It’s vital for mental health and that’s something we need to be especially careful of through such unpredictable times.

Being content in the moment

If you are wondering what the optimum work-life balance is, you may be forgiven for thinking it’s all about splitting your time equally between work – and the rest of life. Most of us think of it in terms of ‘time’ – when what it’s really about feeling ‘content’ or ‘being in the place we would prefer to be at any given time’.

That’s quite an eye-opener when you think about it that way. Yes, it is about ‘time’ to some degree because we all have so many things we ‘have’ to do … like pay bills – or feed the hangry ones – but if we start thinking about work-life balance as setting some boundaries around how we prioritise our time, perhaps we would start to create our own work-life balance – rather than have it dictated by mounting stress levels.

With this in mind, it makes sense that I’m feeling work-life balance is out of whack. It’s not simply down to the hours I’m working (many people are unaware of just how many hours teachers put in outside of the classroom – but I’m not starting that discussion here). I’m generally happy in the moment at work and I’m happy as a mum, though undoubtedly would love more time to cuddle my babies while they still let me. The clue was right at the beginning of this article. My creative time is being squeezed and that’s when I start to feel things are off.

So what’s the answer? If you have a passion or a hobby in life, something that clears your mind or lifts the stress of the day, you HAVE to make time for it – no matter how busy you are. It’s good for your health.

Feeling work-life balance is out of kilter?

1. Plan, book out – schedule some time to do ‘your thing’ each day or each week. Put it in the diary or set a reminder on your phone – guard that time. Protect it. You would block it out if it was a meeting at work – isn’t this just as important? More so?
   Set time in your schedule – even if it’s only 20 minutes.
   
2. You may find the above helps you identify where you may need to set some boundaries.
   
3. If you have LOTS to do, prioritise your tasks – remembering to factor in ‘your time.’
   Work out what absolutely HAS to be done – and move the rest a bit further down the list.
   
4. If you are a creative type, keep a handful of your art supplies (or your journal) set up on a table where you can pick up a pencil without having to drag everything out – and put it away each time.
   
5. Make sure you are getting enough sleep and looking after yourself in all the other ways you have control over, so you have the energy to enjoy your work-life balance.

These may seem like basic things to start working into your day, (and they are) but it’s amazing how much resistance we feel to carving out time for ourselves. That is a story for another day – when I have more time (cough cough).

To conclude these thoughts, I’ve been having on work-life balance, I would say creating (and maintaining) it is partly down to having the luxury of time, but more significantly it’s down to our mind-set and the ability to define boundaries (without the guilt) and prioritise the things that really matter in life.

All good advice that I am determined to follow for myself – if I don’t fall asleep on the couch after the kids have gone to bed that is.

Until next time …