Sips of Inspiration: an Interview with Misty Olsen

After a bit of a break, Sips of Inspiration is back!

I’m so excited to introduce you to Misty Olsen. Misty is an artist who’s working toward her dream of creating children’s books.

How to Keep Going When You Feel Insignificant

Last week I wrote about committing to self-care during the month of September. As I sat down to write to you today with the intention of expanding on the idea, it seemed so silly.

Why Committing to Self-Care Is Important (Especially Now)

September is here. How did that happen?

During this month we often get our first killing frost, turning my garden to blackened mush and ending its season of painting inspiration. Is it any wonder that I mourn the coming of the fall?

Collecting Everyday Joys

What a week it’s been.

Although I think they’re a good idea any time, when life feels heavy or dark, I find it helps to write a Joy List.

Late Summer Garden Update

Won’t you join me in the garden today?

As slowly as 2020 seems to be progressing, the summer is certainly speeding past. I can’t quite get my head around the fact that it’s already late August.

fabric, garden, joy, life, seasonsAnne ButeraAugust 21, 2020garden, garden assessment, late summer garden, butterflies in the garden, monarch butterflies, tiger swallowtail butterflies, red spotted purple butterfly, monarch butterfly on verbena, tiger swallowtail on zinnias, garden harvests, gardening, garden joy, gardening for wildlife, gardens, garlic, zucchini, summer squash, cube of butter summer squash, cube of butter yellow zucchini, eggplants, herbs, tulsi, holy basil, japanese beetles, japanese beetle damage, japanese beetle damage on roses, skeletonized leaves, plum tree, raised beds, cinder block raised beds, hog panel trellis, small gardens, urban gardening, container gardens, growing tomatoes in containers, Stellar tomato, Tasmanian Chocolate tomato, Roadster tomato, geranium kiss tomato, purple poppies, lauren's grape poppies, breadseed poppies, poppies, bachelor buttons, calendula, saving seeds, tomatoes, patio gardening, cosmos flowers, sunflowers, surprises in the garden, verbena bonariensis, Spoonflower Design Challenge, Wallpaper design, climbing vines wallpaper challenge, spoonflower climbing vines wallpaper challenge, botanical wallpaper design, botanical fabric design, surface pattern design, fabric design, Spoonflower, spoonflower wallpaper, Spoonflower contest, spoonflower fabric designer, spoonflower fabric, watercolor, watercolor paintings, botanical watercolor paintings, clematis paintings, clematis, clematis wallpaper Comments

Why Sharing Encouragement and Inspiration is So Important

Today marks the half-year point for Sips of Inspiration, but instead of going ahead with my next interview, I wanted to do two things.

First I want to revisit my WHY. And second I want to check in with you, my dear readers.

I am so grateful you are here!

Summer Adventures in Your Botanical Sketchbook: a New Online Class

Last Friday I mentioned I was working on a new online class.

It was my focus for most of July, never far from my thoughts even when I wasn’t working on it.

In Celebration of Butterflies

Last week a package arrived on my doorstep. I thought it was going to be some backordered art supplies. But the box was bigger than I was expecting. And it was heavy.

When I saw the label I couldn’t wait to get the box opened. It was my Minky Couture blanket!

My Favorite Books for Watercolor Inspiration and Instruction

In our interview last week, Laura Ashton mentioned being inspired by the books of Edith Holden. Today I wanted to share some of the books that have inspired me on my creative journey.

books, inspirationAnne ButeraJuly 24, 2020Flower Fairies, Cicely M Barker, Cicely Barker's Flower Fairies Books, Books, book review, books, botanical art, In and Out of the Garden, In and Out of the Garden by Sara Midda, A Growing Gardener by Abbie Zabar, Abbie Zabar, A Growing Gardener, Sara Midda, Mary Woodin, The Painted Garden, The Painted Garden by Mary Woodin, The Painted Garden Cookbook, The Painted Garden Cookbook by Mary Woodin, Books by Mary Woodin, Drawn to the Country, Drawn to the Country by Mary Woodin, Vivian Swift, When Wanderers Cease to Roam, When Wanderers Cease to Roam by Vivian Swift, Susan Branch, Books by Susan Branch, Susan Branch's Illustrated memoirs, The Fairy Tale Girl, The Fairy Tale Girl by Susan Branch, Billy Showell, Books by Billy Showell, Billy Showell's Botanical Painting in Watercolour, Anna Mason, Books by Anna Mason, Anna Mason's Watercolour World, Botanical Sketchbook a Guide for Any Botanical Artist, Mary Ann Scott, Society of Botanical Artists, Distance Learning Diploma Course, watercolor instruction, watercolor books, watercolor instruction books, art instruction, art instruction books, instructional art books, Geninne Zlatkis, Birds in Watercolor, Birds in Watercolor Collage and Ink by Geninne Zlatkis, Birds in Watercolor Collage and Ink, Local Colora, Mimi Robinson, Mimi Robinson's Local Color, Lorene Edwards Forkner, artists, inspiration Comments

Sips of Inspiration: an Interview with Laura Watson

This month’s Sips of Inspiration interview was really fun for me. Today I’m chatting with Laura Ashton who is also a gardener and botanical illustrator.

inspiration, Sips of InspirationAnne ButeraJuly 17, 2020Laura Ashton, watercolor artist, botanical watercolor, botanical illustration, inspiration, inspiring people, inspiring women, interviews, artist interviews, Sips of Inspiration, Laura Watson Comments

Lessons in Slow Living

Last week I pulled out all my spinach plants. They’d bolted (begun to flower and go to seed) a few weeks earlier. I’d been harvesting leaves from the stretching stems nearly every day, but it had gotten to the point where the plants had toppled over and were no longer producing new leaves.

lifeAnne ButeraJuly 10, 2020slow living, slowing down, lessons from my garden, Ellie Beck, Mindful Thoughts for Makers, mindfulness, lessons from laundry, garden salad, gardening, growing food, garden harvests, watercolor paintings, Garden Harvest watercolor painting Comments

Growing Roses in my Zone 4b -- Now Zone 5a --, No-Spray, Wisconsin Garden

This is my seventh summer in my current garden. It’s a bit hard for me to believe it’s been that long already. I’ll have to do a general post about creating this garden, but today I want to talk about roses.

Treading Gently

This week is National Pollinator Week, its purpose to celebrate pollinators and bring awareness to how important it is to protect them. I spent a little time reading a bit more about pollinators (there are many more species of pollinators than just bees!) and paying attention to all the visitors in my garden these last few days.

Sips of Inspiration: an Interview with Ishrat Khawja

I’m delighted to be sharing another Sips of Inspiration interview with you today. This month’s conversation is with Ishrat Khawja. Ishrat hand-dyes beautiful yarns in her home in the UK.

Sips of Inspiration, joy, inspirationAnne ButeraJune 19, 2020inspiring women, inspiring people, yarn, yarn dyeing, interviews, Sips of Inspiration, joy, handmade joy exchange, inspiration, creating connections, creative community, blogging Comments

Paint. Garden. Repeat.

These are my favorite days, dividing my time between my studio and my garden.

I’ve been unplugging as much as possible. And it feels good to be so focused. I’ve fallen in love, again, with my art. There’s so much to paint! Some flowers come and go in the blink of an eye.

Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate

I struggled all week with what to write to my Joy Letter subscribers, as I usually send my notes at the beginning of the month.

I’ve also been struggling with what to write to you, dear blog reader.

lifeAnne ButeraJune 5, 2020love, sending love, beauty Comments

10 Ways to Lighten the Darkness

Hello, my friend. How are you? Are you hanging in there.

I had a rough week. I’m fine. I’m safe. I’m healthy. My family is healthy. My business is doing fine. Matthias’ business is doing fine.

And yet…

May in the Garden and the Studio

May is steadily marching by and spring is unfurling a little bit more each day. The nest of baby grackles in the bushes behind our fence has already been vacated. And yet I’m impatient with spring’s progression this year. Maybe every year. But this year, especially so. Mostly I just want nice weather. Sunshine and warm air so I can walk barefoot in the garden and plunge my hands into the soil.

garden, paintings, artAnne ButeraMay 22, 2020garden projects, gardening, spring, studio, art practice, art studio, art evolution, style evolution, artist style development, bee skep, diy bee skep Comments

Sips of Inspiration: an Interview with Ruby Josephine Smith

It’s been a month since I shared my chat with Melanie April. What a month it’s been. In some ways it feels like that time has flown by and in others it feels like much more than a month has passed since then.

Regardless of the strangeness of time, I’m delighted to be sharing another Sips of Inspiration interview today. This month’s conversation is with Ruby Josephine Smith, a dancer, choreographer, podcast host…

creativity, inspiration, Sips of InspirationAnne ButeraMay 15, 2020Sips of Inspiration, podcasts, dancing, dancers, inspiration, inspiring women, Ruby Josephine Smith Comments

Flower Stories

One of the things I love most about making and sharing art is forging connections around the beauty and joys of flowers. Over and over again my customers have shared their personal stories of certain plants or flowers.

notes from the studio