The Resurgence of the Bee

Okay, so here I go. Since I’ve been at H+H, I’ve worked on several client and agency blogs—designing, editing, strategizing. I’ve wanted to do my own blog for awhile, and sometimes with the creative person, something just has to hit you in the right way to push you over the edge and make you do the thing that you want to do. We all have great ideas and good intentions, but follow-through is something that we often struggle with. However, I was lucky enough to be struck by the bug the other day. I got a burst of super human energy and decided that this was the day that I would start my blog. I know…claps, cheers, hoorah, hoorah. Big whoop. There are plenty of blogs out there. Why would mine even matter?

Well, I am hoping to inspire a few, entertain some, and push myself to share my art, design, and thoughts on the creative debacle with you.

“So,” I thought, “what should I call my blog?” I was then reminded of a time years ago when I decided to start my own tiny business in high school. I wanted to paint for people—anything personalized, fun, whatever. So, I came up with the logo shown to publicize myself. I took the first letters of my double name, Sara Beth, and created a SB logo, incorporating a bee into the ‘B’.

I don’t know why, but I’ve always sort of liked bees. They are fun, they are yellow, they have stripes, they like flowers, they make honey (yum), and they flit around. Careful, though. They do sting. They will hurt you if you get in their way, so don’t be completely swayed by all of the bee hoopla I’m currently feeding you.

Several things come to my mind when I think of bees. Remember those flower necklaces that we made at school? The ones that bees love, by the way. The ones that you tie together and give to your friend. The ones that you worked on “all recess” to show your affection. I think of Thomas from “My Girl” and his fatal interaction with a swarm of bees. That makes me very sad. Then I think of my 3rd Halloween, which was also my 3rd birthday. That’s right. I’m scary.

Halloween, 1987. I'm the one on the left.

This is one of my favorite costumes of all time. My mom found this bumble bee suit for me, and I was completely obsessed, to say the least. We paired it with black tights, and I was ready to go. So you see, I have always liked bees…or the idea of them, at least. But, I digress.

I created a postcard with the bee logo along with some information about what I could do and sent it out around town. I actually got some business from it, and the cheerleader moms flocked to me to create personalized things for their daughters at camp. It was a fun time of learning all nighters, working with polycrylic, and perfecting my hand-done curly type, of course. I was somehow reminded of my early days as a struggling artist/graphic designer and loved the idea of revisiting the bee concept; thus “my latest buzz” was formed.

So that’s it. That’s how I got here. I will attempt to bring you my latest buzz—what’s going on in my mind, what I’m creating, what inspires me. And, I hope to give some of you something that is “buzzworthy.”  Okay, I took it too far. That was undoubtedly corny. Until next time…

Sara Beth Parks is a designer, Southern girl, and lover of all things beautiful, currently writing of her journey with art and design, "My Latest Buzz."