Why Laurel Burch loved cat designs Why Laurel Burch loved cat designs come from her quest to find comfort to offset the pain of her rare bone disease. Laurel could not be as active as other children and the petting and cuddling of cats in her lap brought her much joy as the other children would play. Her bones were so fragile she remembered when bones would break while simply walking or being bumped by a person passing by her. This was an inherited disease of which there is no cure.

What surprise most people about Laurel Burch was that she had no formal education in the arts or even a high school diploma. Her adaptation of cats into her work was purely inspirational from the strays she would encounter in her travels. Some people have speculated that the main reason for the cats was their ease of creating happy images with them. Laurel was stubborn and determined but had limited movement of her body due to the bone disease. The cat paintings and designs were original but also easy for her to create.

The big heads and wide open eyes of the carts in many different colors and shapes would bring joy to her heart when she created them. This is how she expressed her pain, by creating the opposite, happy cheerful pictures with many bright colors. This way joy can be had be any that might view them.

Laurel Burch had a way of transforming the cats in her creations into mystical proportions. The big eyes can almost peer down into the souls of those admiring her work. The colors the cats would be painted contributes to making a person feel better about themselves and life itself.

As anyone who has ever seen her cats would observe most of them are in the sitting or laying position. This is how Laurel sees them in her mind. It has come with years having restricted movement herself. To help comfort her, Laurel would at time group many cats sitting together. This is one of the mechanisms she would use to chase the loneliness away from her life while her bones were healing.

When a pair of earrings of cats would be closely looked at, one will notice that they are in most instances they mirror images of each other. There are also pieces of art that would physically the same but only painted differently. This expression would help Laurel reveal her inner thoughts and feelings so joy could be felt by all around her.

It is for the purposes the joy and happiness that Laurel Burch uses cats in her creations. It is her expression of the great deal of pain she has had to endure in her life in a positive way that is truly inspirational to all that know her and her work. Her cats are warm and welcoming without a hint of fear, pain or discomfort in any of them. For many the eyes just say, “can I jump in your lap and purr for you”. by Douglas Gray Back to the Articles menu page Copyright © 2013 by Colorful Crittters - may not be published without our permission

Did Laurel Burch have any Children

Laurel Burch had children from her first husband. They include her daughter, who was named Aarin and her son was Jay. This was when Laurel and her husband were street musicians in the San Francisco area. This was a short lived romance that ended with Laurel being a single mother on welfare at the age of 20.

After Aarin was born, Laurel was advised by her doctor not to conceive another child. The doctor was worried about her pelvis and the stress that having another child would put on it. In order to have her children Laurel had to wear a brace to help support her pelvis and keep it from splintering. Laurel Burch had a love of life and ignored her doctor’s advice.

Being in a strange town with no family at the age of 20 is hard enough. She then also had to support two infant children and deal with her crippling bone disease as well. While welfare did help, this was a time before food stamps. It was not in Laurel’s character to just sit back and admit that life had gotten the better of her.

One of Laurel’s strong characteristic traits was her natural charm and sense of making people happy when they were down. This began when she was a child being laid up in the hospital wards with other children. She would take what was near her and create a simple piece of art. This cheered the other children up and helped them to find the secret happy place inside of themselves.

This same trait was still with Laurel when she was a single mother. To help keep herself busy she would take pieces of scrap wire, metal, bones, old coins and buttons she would find lying around in the streets and craft them into jewelry. She was able to do with a pair of pliers, a hammer and the back of a frying pan.

At first she would just give them away to help others be happy. Eventually she realized this jewelry she was making could still bring happiness to others while helping her to support her children. She began as a professional jewelry maker by sitting on street corners and selling her wares out of an old fishing tackle box.

In time the local stores took notice of her and began to place her jewelry in them. This helped Laurel Burch considerable since she could now spend more time with her children at home instead of on the streets. This support and income from the selling of the jewelry eventual helped Laurel to get her and her children off of welfare.

Eventually Laurel Burch succumbed to her bone disease and passed away at the age of 61 but her legand lives on. The Laurel Burch Artworks Inc is now run by Jay, her son. He is still granting license to vendors that wish to produce and sell Laurel Burch products.

Aarin today is a successful film producer and runs her own film company. One of the films that are being produces is the Life of Laurel Burch. It will become available in the next few years.

by Douglas Gray Back to the Articles menu page Copyright © 2013 by Colorful Crittters - may not be published without our permission

Describing Laurel Burch's Designs

Describing Laurel Burch's designs is not something that would take a rocket scientist to do. Laurel’s career began in the 1960s, when self expression and awareness of the human mind was reaching it maximum level of influence. This had a great effect on Laurel and the way she could create her art objects.

The category that many art critics place Laurel Burch and her creations would be impressionists. While you can distinguish the objects in the art, it is not how they would appear in the real world, especial the colors Laurel would paint them. This is one of the things that have set Laurel’s art objects apart from most other in the world. She would use soft, comfortable animals and other items in the art that were colored with a multitude shades and patterns.

Laurel Burch created her art for much of the same reason many artists have done so. This is so they can express themselves in a visual manner. Many artists use this as a portal so they can express their feelings in a way that is safe and imaginative. Some show signs of pain or anger they have experienced. Laurel did not use her art in this fashion, to express her pain. She did it only to bring joy to the world.

As with all things in this world, each individual express themselves at the way they react to pain, pleasure joy and happiness differently. For Laurel Burch, her art was a way for her to find the happy place she had created. This is how Laurel dealt with the crippling pain she has had to endure all of her life. She was born with a rare bone disease that would cause them to harden and become brittle.

Laurel Burch had to be careful with her body her entire life. She would break bones by completing simple task such as eating or walking. She had even broken bones because someone would inadvertently bump into her. Each time she would be sent to the hospital to have the bones reset and a cast placed upon her body. In her lifetime she broke over 100 bones. Each one needed time to heal. This is the reason for her happy place, so she could go to keep her spirits up.

This is the magical place where all of the bright colors and designs were imagined. When she had recovered, she would then infuse these ideas into her art. In the early days all she made was jewelry. This was the easiest and least expensive to make, since the materials were free from items she would find. In time, she had money to purchase materials so she could create her art that made it easier for her to expand her line of items she would sell.

The main animal Laurel Burch placed in her art was cats, but she also used horses, butterflies and fish along with countless flowers. These would then be colored with a wide variety of bright colors in happy designs that would bring a smile to anyone, even when they were in pain or full of sorrow.

by Douglas Gray

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Copyright © 2013 by Colorful Critters - may not be published without our permission

Are there any expensive Laurel Burch items sold at auction

Expensive Laurel Burch items sold at auction are the original works of art created by the lady herself. These creations were made by Laurel in the early years of just trying to make a living and support her children.

 As time went on, Ms. Burch developed a following for her art work. This helped her to expand the materials and items she would create. The original paintings and figurines are the most expensive items that can still be purchased today, when they are available. Some of the lower cost sculptures can still be found for only $200

The most widely available works of art created or signed by the lady herself appear to be the coffee mugs. There were original sold for just a couple of dollars. Today an original cup created by or signed by Ms. Burch can sell for upwards of $50. This increase in value is over 200% and will continue to grow as time passes on.

One of the rarer items that can be found is the necklaces Laurel made back in the 1980’s. While the theme was mainly cats and felines, it is the fact that they are necklaces and not earrings that has helped to increase their value. Today this type of item can be found at a few auction houses, but the price can reach up to and beyond $100. Most of these along with the many earrings that can be found had Laurel using the cloisonné method for applying the enamel to help bring out the true beauty of the objects while ensuring they would also have a long life.

Many of the figurines created by Laurel Burch were sold to the public as cast resins. These were also finished using the cloisonné process. Most of them are made in the shapes of cats, Laurel’s favorite animal and focus for her art work. To be considered an original work of Laurel’s, it must be signed by her. Most are less than 1 foot in height and have lasted the years without scratches and nicks. This is contributed to the finish that was applied and the way the owners have treated them.

Many of the original paintings are still available for sale to the public. Most of the prints for these works of art can be found for only $20. The originals in sharp contrast have an increase value and can cost the buyer up to $125 or more. Laurel Burch passed away in 2007. Since that time, her originals have done nothing but increased in value. Just like most artists, their creations can be admired for years and centuries after the artist has passed from this earth. What is a constant is there will be no new creations made and the reason for the increase in rarity and price of these items.

For those of you looking for expensive Laurel Burch items, the price is relevant to your perspective. As compared to a Rembrandt or Picasso, the price is relatively low. As time marches on, the true value and price will become more competitive to the greatest artists in history.

by Douglas Gray

Copyright © 2013 by Colorful Crittters - may not be published without our permission

Today in the world there are more people that share their homes with cats than there are dog owners. The differences can easily be summed up in the description that compares the two types. There are cat people that have cats in their lives and there are dog owners who own their dogs. 

Cats are not considered property by those they live with or who feeds them. On the other hand dogs have always been considered property and are traded and used as such. This is a very large distinction between these totally separate and different types of people. It is the way each mind set works and views those in their lives. 

Cat people do not look at members of their family as possessions that can be traded off or used to benefit others. Cats are free spirits with a mind of their own and they are respected as such. They are generally allowed to roam free and never have to be called when it is dinner time. They also clean up after themselves. This is in both cleaning and burying their waste along with keeping their fur clean. Because of this cats are considered to be very clean animals.

As for dogs, it is a totally different story. Owners of dogs now have to obey laws that were necessary to be legislated because dogs defecate in public when and where they want to. The new laws now require the dog owners to pick up this waste and dispose of it appropriately. This had to be done since dogs and their owners did not do it by themselves, they had to be forced to do this. As for the smell a dog has, especially when they are wet is an unmistakable bad odor that not even dogs like but they still do not clean themselves. Dogs wait to be bathed by their masters; yes owners of dogs are called masters. No one has ever used that term with a person that lives with a cat. 

Cat people and dog owners are very distinct and different types of people. It mainly is based on their perception of the world they live in and how they view those in their lives. Dog owners like to control things and people in their lives while cat people are more laid back and pleasant to be around. The world is becoming a better place as evident from the increase in homes that have cats living in them around the globe.

1. Bella

Now this one is a no brainer. Some people might say it’s because it is such a pretty name, but the vast majority have gotten this name from a little book/movie franchise called Twilight. With how much popularity this series has gotten, it’s no wonder there are tons of cats out there sporting the same name as the main character.

2. Tigger

Unlike Bella, which only became a popular cat name over the last couple years, Tigger has always been close to the top of popular cat names. Winnie the Pooh has been an iconic household name nearly a century. Of course Pooh’s fun-loving, springy-tail tiger companion is the one who first brought the name Tigger to us. Ever since cats with orange stripes seem to be given his namesake.

3. Chloe

I am going to chalk this one up to just being a pretty cat name. The name brings words to mind like “dainty”, “cute”, or “graceful”. All of which can be characteristics of our loving pets. This name has taken over in place of the name “Princess” which was a much more popular cat name in the 90s.

4. Shadow

Admit it, sometime in your life one of your friends had a pet named Shadow. Whether your cat is black or smoky grey, Shadow is always one of the first names that come to mind. The name makes us think of our cat as a quiet stealthy ninja who sneaks around our house at night to attack bad guys and the occasional shoe. And if none of these things are true, at least he’s the coloring fits the name.

5. Oliver

This is the male version of the name Chloe. It’s just one of those names that seem perfect for a cat. Now this name could be used because a person like Oliver Twist, or maybe the little orange cat from Oliver and Company, or maybe it’s because they like the nickname Ollie. There really isn’t a bad name for a cat (except maybe Chubtastic Meow-Meow), but remember no matter what name you give your cat, they’re probably not going to answer to it anyway. And even if you do end up giving your cat an absolutely ridiculous name, they’re your cat, and they’ll forgive you eventually.

We all know that Cat People are a great group of folks to be associated with, but in that huge group of fun and loyal people, are their different personalities that are apparent?  Our totally unscientific observation of this happy assembly has resulted in a compilation of 4 main categories that Cat Lovers fall into.

The Cat Owner is the tolerant owner. Typically, this is the person who inherited a cat from a failed relationship or is the reluctant spouse of the true cat lover who is in the house.  They are mere tolerators of the cat, and the cat is totally indifferent to the presence of this person, barely giving him or her any recognition besides a swipe now or then to remind them that they are on a lower level than the cat is.  Viewed from the cat's perspective, the Cat Owner is a slave to the feline needs and whims, to be tolerated - barely.

Cat Momma is typically a woman who is a cuddler, and loves having the cat draped across her shoulders or stretched on her lap snoozing together in a purring bliss.  She enters a room, and immediately calls for Kitty, snuggles with him while whispering about her day into the cats ears. Constantly scratching under his chin or between his ears to the delight of the Kitty.  Viewed from the cat's perspective, the Cat Momma is heaven sent to earth. She is totally subserviant to the cats whims: what the feline fancies, she will fulfill.

The Cat Therapist is similar to the mother of a fun teenager, equal part love and frustration. While wishing she had a different life's role, she will place on the cat her own goals and foilables, and get frustrated with the cats behavior, while excusing to all the playful errant ways of the little one.  A staunch defender of all things cat, she is a bundle of frustrated tolerant energy. Viewed from the cat's perspective, the Cat Therapist is someone to be toyed with. The cat will maintain an attitude of detached mischievousness with a mouse placed in just the right place, a twitch of the tail over that cake that is on the counter or a bounding up on the sleeping human in the middle of a nights rest.

Cat Woman is a jump off of the BatMan character, where the owner is sleek, detached, and superior. This Fashion Feline loves the sleek mysteriousness of her cat and tries to emulate the strut like a model walking the fashion runway. Viewed from the cat's perspective, this Cat Woman is her twin, haughty, arrogant and perfect, they compliment each other with their haute look. 

One of the coolest gift ideas that anyone would enjoy is a Wine Bottle Stopper. This is a cute and inexpensive gift idea that will be used by anyone that receives it. Not only can it be used to help seal a wine bottle but any type of beverage whether it contains alcohol or not. I have also seen one on a bottle that was filled with a sand decoration to help accent a bar. 

The number of cat themed coffee mugs is another ideal choice to be given as a gift. With several dozen to choose from, picking the right one to fit the personality of the receiver of your gift will be easy and fun. Not only can they drink their morning coffee from it but it can also be used as a pencil holder on their desk if they are so inclined to do so.

A gift item that will add color to anyone’s life is a cat themed glass suncatcher. Even when the receiver is not a cat person, the color that fills the room when the sun hits a window and the rays piece the stained glass will be appreciated. Most of these cat themed suncatchers have a romantic theme to them but there are many others that are just plain cute with kittens on them

For the ladies on your list there is a great deal more items to choose from if you include the Laurel Burch collections. This can include earrings, scarves, hand bags and totes along with purses and cosmetic bags. All of them are reasonably priced so giving a gift that has meaning and is beautiful does not have to cost a lot of money.

If you know the person you are giving a gift to is a cat person, then your job of picking the right items is easier. One item that is a great idea is the wooden cat photo frame. This makes it possible for the cat lover in your life to have their family member on display for all to see. Everyone can use another frame around their home or office and one in the shape of a cat is perfect for a picture of the feline member of the family.

It is even possible to give a dog person a cat themed gift. It can be serious or as a funny gag gift. It is all depends on the mood and personality of the person receiving the item.

My Clara always had a way of making me happy and comfortable in the manner of which she would look at me. No matter what is was, like opening a cupboard door or just washing my hands, she would appear to look at me with approval or confusion with my actions. The happiest I would see her was when I was preparing her dinner or just petting her while she lay resting on my lap. That expression was the same and the one I like and remember the most.

The Pewter Cat Angel Tokens that I get from Colorful Critters, are just the sweetest little memory boosters of Clara that I have. It's always humorous when I mistakenly try to pay for my vending machine purchases at lunch break with my Cat Angel token. This is just another way that Clara is continually bringing me smiles. She has been such a wonderful part of my life, and memories are precious.

The memories and tokens of my Clara are some of the fondest memories I have of our life together. She passed on when she was 12 years old and we had such a wonderful life together. I am glad that I have the pictures and memories, and the Cat Angel Tokens to bring this joy to me.

There are also the types of man that loves the king of the jungle, which is a large cat the lion. They are manly and ferocious. So yes there are men that prefer cats and at both ends of the spectrum from the little soft lovable house cat are in there along with the full mane vicious lion of Africa are also included. 

The many cat coffee mugs that were created by super fun cat lover artists are at the one end of the spectrum that only includes the soft furry lovable and cuddle cats of which most have a mind of their own. One of these mugs that come to mind that really express this with the saying ”It’s a cat’s world” and on the opposite side it states “I’m just here to open cans”. To help accent the mug there are numerous cat paw prints scattered all around the exterior surface of the mug in black. Another popular coffee mug on this theme is one that states “Dogs have owners Cats have staff”, and the one that states how a cat thinks perfectly by saying “cats make perfect pets out of their owners”. 

For the cat man that is constantly on the prowl for a feline mug there is the Crazy Psycho Kitty Cat mug. This is a yellow based mug with a saying of “Sleep all day Pawty all night” and it fits perfectly for many men with this mind set. There is also the man that does not want to be bothered. This attitude is visually expressed with the action and saying of “Talk to the Paw” coffee mug. Or “What part of Meow don’t you Understand”. 

There are also men that love a lady who is a cat person. They have a choice, learn to love or like cats or always be an outsider. This coffee mug is in blue just for him. It says ”the cat likes me best” and on the reverse side “It’s all about Meow”. Best of all inside the mug so you can be remembered of this fact it says “I’m Purrfect”. What more could a man asked for in a cat themed coffee mug.

While there are a few men that do not like or prefer cats around them, there are still many that do. It all depends on the nature of the man and his attitude towards animals and the type of lady they love. There are a few that just will refuse to admit they like cats. For those men the coffee mug that reads ”Dogs are people too“ with bones plastered all over it could be the perfect fit for your man to drink from.