Posts in life
Savoring Summer and Embracing Creative Play
Savoring Summer and Embracing Creative Play

Hello my friend!

Summer has arrived in full force and my garden continues to enchant me every day.

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art, joy, life, seasons, sketchbooksAnne Buterasavor summer, garden joy, sketchbooks, summer sketchbooks, summer sketchbook class, flower pounding, butterflies, black swallowtail butterflies, Substack, Anne Butera, botanical art, botanical watercolor, artist gardener, creative play, the joy of creative play, sketchbook experiments, Sketchbooks, why I love sketchbooks, childlike joy Comments
Seasonal Cycles, Sharing Indoor Gardening Inspiration and Why I Grow Houseplants
Seasonal Cycles, Sharing Indoor Gardening Inspiration and Why I Grow Houseplants

Every time I went into the kitchen this week, I visited spring.

My baby* Hoya lacunosa is blooming on a shelf above the sink.

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joy, studio, books, life, houseplantsAnne Buterahouseplants, botanical artist, artist gardener, artist studios, plant filled studio, seasonal cycles, Hoya lacunosa, growing houseplants, growing plants indoors, a studio filled with plants, poinsettia painting, watercolor poinsettia, painting process, art inspiration, painting inspiration, gardening inspiration, gardening books, garden books, houseplant books, spider plants, Thanksgiving cactus, Anne Butera, my development as an artist, my development as a gardener, my favorite garden books, Tovah Martin, Elvin McDonald, James Underwood Crockett, night-blooming cereus, plant stories, connections to plants, sharing plants, growing plants from cuttings, rooting cuttings in water, fiddle leaf figs, pothos, pothos cuttings, impatiens, growing impatiens inside, scented geraniums, growing scented geraniums inside Comments
Beginning the New Year with Stillness and Returning to My Creative Self
Beginning the New Year with Stillness and Returning to My Creative Self

All week I’ve been thinking about what I want to share in my first post of 2024.

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life, seasons, creativityAnne ButeraNew Year, easing into the new year, beginning the new year with stillness, returning to creativity, returning to myself, studio, nature, inspiration from the garden, inspiration from the winter garden, observing nature, creativity, reclaiming creativity, reclaiming inspiration Comments
June 2023 In the Garden: Nostalgia, Growth and Letting Plants Have Their Way
June 2023 In the Garden: Nostalgia, Growth and Letting Plants Have Their Way

Ah, June in the garden. What a beautiful month.

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life, joy, gardenAnne Buteragarden, growing a garden, developing a garden, creating a garden, gardening, joy in the garden, David Austin Roses, The Poet's Wife Rose, The Poet's Wife David Austin Rose, scented geraniums, black and blue salvia, plants as memory conjurers, memories from the garden, connections with plants, progress of the garden, Feverfew Comments
Reminders About Life and Art and Recommitting to Noticing and Savoring Joy
Reminders About Life and Art and Recommitting to Noticing and Savoring Joy

Today on my blog, I planned to share about the Winding Roads Art Tour, but as I was driving home on Sunday evening I realized I hadn’t taken a single photo all weekend.

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art, garden, joy, lifeAnne ButeraWinding Roads Art Tour, garden studio, gardening, savoring my garden, savoring each day, art process, joy, Joy Letter, Savoring life's joys, pausing for reflection, noticing beauty, noticing joy, being present, joy is a choice, creating beauty, mixing colors, mixing watercolor paint, sketching, garden sketching, slowing down, art practice Comments
May 2023 in the Garden: Renewal and Rebirth at the Start of the Growing Season
May 2023 in the Garden: Renewal and Rebirth at the Start of the Growing Season

I’ve been eating asparagus, rhubarb and young walking onions from the garden. I’m also harvesting chives and pinches of my basil seedlings.

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garden, lifeAnne Buteragardening, spring garden, garden tour, garden tour video, life update, tending the garden, renewal and rebirth, spring renewal, spring rebirth, eating from the garden, gardening in Wisconsin, sowing seeds, garden dogs, getting rid of grass, no lawns, gardens not grass, gardens not lawns, plants that multiply, growing peaches, spring perennials, begonias, growing begonias, raised beds, cinder block raised beds, raised bed ga, raised bed gardening, raised beds and containers, container gardens, container gardening Comments
Pausing With My (Uncomfortable) Feelings And an Invitation for You to Do It, Too
Pausing With My (Uncomfortable) Feelings And an Invitation for You to Do It, Too

Yesterday as a gentle rain tickled the windows, I cleaned and organized my studio and thought about what I wanted to write to you.

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lifeAnne Buteraacknowledging uncomfortable feelings, struggles, spring, arrival of spring, awakening nature, art from a place of joy, noticing joy, noticing beauty, sitting with our feelings, pausing for reflection, uncomfortable feelings, being gentle with ourselves, being gentle with yourself, claiming space, returning to creativity Comments
Is Perfection Possible? Contemplating Simple Shifts in Business, Art and Life
Is Perfection Possible? Contemplating Simple Shifts in Business, Art and Life

When I was first starting to learn to make art I thought that if only I could discover the perfect art supplies, I’d be able to create the beautiful, perfect art I imagined in my head.

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business, life, art, art suppliesAnne Buteraperfect schedule, creative schedules, art work balance, life work balance, creativity, art supplies, choosing art supplies, learning how to make art, learning to paint, Artist Dates, Searching for Perfection, Is perfection possible?, Is there a perfect schedule?, simple shifts to make life easier Comments
Ease into the New Year: Welcoming 2023 with New Words, New Projects (Same Me)
Ease into the New Year: Welcoming 2023 with New Words, New Projects (Same Me)

Here we are, two weeks into the new year. How are you feeling?

Have you chosen a word for your year? Are you setting intentions?

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life, art classes, inspirationAnne Buteraword of the year, 2023 word of the year, easing into the new year, new year, welcoming the new year, skillshare classes, Skillshare teacher, skillshare, Skillshare Class, Skillshare, Skillshare classes, block printing, lino printing, lino cuts Comments
Listen to Yourself: a Reminder of the Importance of Rest and Self-Care
Listen to Yourself: a Reminder of the Importance of Rest and Self-Care

My blogging calendar has a different post scheduled for today, but I came down with a bad head cold this week and that other post didn’t get written.

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inspiration, creativity, lifeAnne Buteracreativity, self-care, recommit to self-care, creative self-care, being present as self-care, prioritizing self-care, rest, rest increases creative energy, prioritizing rest, making time for rest, time off, taking time for yourself Comments