Color my World with Hope! - Sue Badeau

As a little girl there were three things I really wanted to be when I grew up: a singer, a dancer and an artist</b>. Sadly, for me, I can’t carry a tune, I have very little grace or balance and my artistic skills never moved past the cute kindergarten level. Thankfully, God had other plans for my life, but I never lost my love for the creative arts.

When I began my career working with abused, neglected, traumatized and disabled children, I quickly learned that engaging them in artistic activities helped them to communicate, express emotion and calm down when distressed. In addition, singing, dancing or creating artwork raised not only their self esteem but also their grades in school.

During these same years, my family was growing and God blessed me with many children who are gifted artists, singers, musicians and dancers. There is my youngest daughter Alysia, with cerebral palsy. Doctors thought she would never learn to walk, talk or feed herself, but through dance she gained enough self-confidence to become a successful and poised young woman and mother.

My daughter Trish and my son Fisher sing so beautifully they were chosen for state and regional choirs during their high school years, soloed at family weddings and melted my heart when they dedicated special songs to me, including “Dream the Impossible Dream.”

My daughter SueAnn designs jewelry and dreamcatchers that bring in rave reviews from participants at craft fairs while also providing her with a stress-releasing outlet after a full day juggling work and raising six children. My son Abel creates portraits of family members that not only accurately reflect their physical characteristics, but also perfectly capture the very essence of their heart and spirit.

These are just a few examples of the great talent among my children and now my grandchildren as well. My daughter Chelsea is not only an accomplished artist whose murals appear in places as diverse as a family court building in Philadelphia and a church in Kenya, but she is gifted with the ability to teach art to others. She has taught me so much about how to continue using art as a technique for promoting healing from trauma that we decided to team up and produce a special coloring book for adults.

This book not only builds on the adult-coloring book trend that is popular today, but also includes over 50 pages of tips on caring for children who have experienced trauma. Designed as a companion book to the classes and workshops I teach all over the country, it also stands alone as a unique tool where you can relax and learn at the same time. Chelsea has created dozens of unique pieces of artwork for this book, while also curating whimsical pieces designed by several of my other children and grandchildren. This book is truly a family project and we believe it will bring hours of fun and new glimmers of hope to everyone who uses it!

Titled Building Bridges of Hope: A Coloring Book for Adults Caring for Children Who Have Experienced Trauma, this book will be released by Helping Hands Press in the spring of 2016. You will be able to find it on Amazon and on Sue Badeau’s own webpage, www.suebadeau.com

Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise,dwell on these things. Phillipians 4:8