Words and Wildflowers Creative Prompts – Issue 98
Posted on June 1, 2026
We LOVE research and learning as a way to get inspired and boost ideas and creativity!! So, Kenzie and I are going to be sharing the inspiration that we collect here in our second newsletter…. once a week!!!
Here’s how it works:
We provide the inspiration. You interpret it however you wish… any medium, any size. It is meant to inspire lettering and floral art combined together. But, you can:
- Just do the florals, just do the lettering, or combine them together.
- Use the provided quote for your piece or select your own.
- Use colors from one of the inspiration images or select your own favorites
- Create the floral art… as a still life in a vase, a single flower, a border, a pattern, a bouquet
Hope you will create with us and post your work at #wordsandwildflowers2026 and tag @lorisiebert.studio and @snippetsofwhimsy
Quote of the week…
“Creativity in this world is the key to survival.”
— Jack Black in A Minecraft Movie
Inspiration of the week: Fujiwo Ishimoto
Fujiwo Ishimoto (b. 1941) is a Japan-born ceramic artist and textile designer, best known for the patterns he created for Marimekko. Ishimoto first encountered Maija Isola’s designs in Tokyo in the 1960s, and they made such a strong impression on him that he decided to travel to Finland to learn more about Marimekko and Finnish design. He began working at Marimekko in 1974. As a ceramic artist, he started at the Arabia Art Department in 1989.
Ishimoto draws inspiration from the surrounding nature and its phenomena. His restrained visual language is paired with lively surface textures and rich ornamentation. He has received numerous awards, including the Finnish State Award for Industrial Art, the Kaj Franck Design Prize, and Honorable mentions at the Finland Designs exhibition in 1983, 1989 and 1993. In 2011, he was awarded the Pro Finlandia Medal. His ceramic and textile works have been exhibited in several solo and group exhibitions, and he has also designed sets and costumes for opera productions.





Hand lettering inspiration of the week: Lynn Whipple
Peter Bankov is a man of many things. Founder and creative director of Design Depot — one of the leading design studios in Russia — that’s Bankov. Publisher and editor-in-chief of [Kak) — the first Russian magazine on graphic design — this is him as well. Winner of numerous awards in Italy, US, and Russia — that is also him. Artist whose art is in private collections and museums in the USA, Germany, Netherlands, France, and Finland — Bankov again.
He is all those things and more, but most of all Peter Bankov is the man of the poster. He is a true proponent of the art. He is almost addicted to posters. So much so that for the last 9 years, he has been keeping a creative diary of sorts — he literally makes a poster a day. This ever growing collection of artworks has now exploded into a treasure trove of over 1000 posters.






Four Findings for Curious Creatives-Issue 190
Posted on May 29, 2026


You can apply to attend a retreat at the Smiley Manse
The Marian Nixon Scholarship Fund at The Smiley Manse is now accepting applications — and a matching donor means every dollar donated goes twice as far. If cost has kept you from attending aretreat, please apply. It’s simple, private, and handled personally.
Join Kenzie and I in Greece next April!!
We CANNOT WAIT to teach together again!!! We will be at a beautiful venue in GORGEOUS GREECE!!


Wearable Art Retreat in Connecticut
Join me this Fall for this FUN RETREAT!! We will be making clay jewelry, painting and stamping on clothing… and more!!
EunJung Kim
Join me this Fall for this FUN RETREAT!! We will be making clay jewelry, painting and stamping on clothing… and more!!



Words and Wildflowers Creative Prompts – Issue 97
Posted on May 26, 2026
We LOVE research and learning as a way to get inspired and boost ideas and creativity!! So, Kenzie and I are going to be sharing the inspiration that we collect here in our second newsletter…. once a week!!!
Here’s how it works:
We provide the inspiration. You interpret it however you wish… any medium, any size. It is meant to inspire lettering and floral art combined together. But, you can:
- Just do the florals, just do the lettering, or combine them together.
- Use the provided quote for your piece or select your own.
- Use colors from one of the inspiration images or select your own favorites
- Create the floral art… as a still life in a vase, a single flower, a border, a pattern, a bouquet
Hope you will create with us and post your work at #wordsandwildflowers2026 and tag @lorisiebert.studio and @snippetsofwhimsy
Quote of the week…
“Be kind to people. Not because they’re nice, but because you are.”
— Stephen Colbert
Inspiration of the week: Fragonard
The Perfumery: Parfumerie Fragonard (Est. 1926)The perfume house was founded in Grasse, France. The company was named to honor the town’s most famous artistic son, celebrating both the region’s historical elegance and the art of fragrance.
Modern Operations: Today, Maison Fragonard is run by three great-granddaughters of the founder (Agnès, Françoise, and Anne Costa). The company operates three factories, numerous boutiques, and multiple museums, and continues to produce high-quality fragrances, soaps, and cosmetics using traditional Provençal methods.
Founding: In 1926, a former Parisian notary named Eugène Fuchs bought an 18th-century tannery in Grasse and established his own perfumery. His vision was to pioneer direct sales to the tourists who were flocking to the French Riviera.
Expansion & Museums: Under Fuchs’s grandson, Jean-François Costa, the company expanded by opening locations in Èze and Paris. An avid art collector, Costa also launched several museums dedicated to perfume, clothing, and the painter Fragonard himself.






Hand lettering inspiration of the week: Peter Bankov
Peter Bankov is a man of many things. Founder and creative director of Design Depot — one of the leading design studios in Russia — that’s Bankov. Publisher and editor-in-chief of [Kak) — the first Russian magazine on graphic design — this is him as well. Winner of numerous awards in Italy, US, and Russia — that is also him. Artist whose art is in private collections and museums in the USA, Germany, Netherlands, France, and Finland — Bankov again.
He is all those things and more, but most of all Peter Bankov is the man of the poster. He is a true proponent of the art. He is almost addicted to posters. So much so that for the last 9 years, he has been keeping a creative diary of sorts — he literally makes a poster a day. This ever growing collection of artworks has now exploded into a treasure trove of over 1000 posters.





What Women Take Home From Our Retreats
Posted on May 22, 2026
People often ask us:
“What do participants really take away from one of your retreats?”
Of course there’s the artwork, the beautiful destination, and the unforgettable meals and scenery…



But what women most often talk about afterward is something deeper.


They leave with renewed confidence in their creativity.








They leave with meaningful friendships.
They leave feeling more connected to themselves.
And they leave with memories that become part of their story.


Kenzie and I care deeply about creating experiences that feel welcoming, inspiring, and personal. We want women to feel encouraged exactly where they are creatively…whether they are experienced artists or simply curious and ready for something new.


Our Zakynthos retreat next April is designed to offer:
• Creative workshops and artistic exploration
• Beautiful local experiences and cultural immersion
• Time to rest and reflect
• Genuine connection and community
• A supportive and inspiring atmosphere
Long after the trip ends, many participants tell us they still think about the conversations, the laughter, the beauty, and the way they felt while they were there. And we have What’s App and text threads and sometimes even meet ups after each retreat.

That’s the real gift of retreat. They never really end!
We would love for you to experience it with us in Greece.
“What participants often tell us they feel after retreat…”
- Rested
- Inspired
- Connected
- Creative again
- Courageous
- Reawakened

With love,
Lori & Kenzie
The Surprising Health Benefits of Art + Travel
Posted on May 21, 2026

There’s something deeply restorative about stepping away from everyday routines and immersing yourself in beauty, creativity, and meaningful connection.
Over the years, Kenzie and I have watched women arrive at our retreats feeling depleted, disconnected from their creativity, or simply in need of space to breathe… and leave feeling inspired, energized, lighter, and renewed.
What we intuitively know is also supported by research.
Researchers have found that engaging in creative activities can reduce stress, improve mood, and enhance overall well-being. Travel itself has been shown to increase happiness, broaden perspective, and create lasting positive memories. And when creativity and travel are combined within a supportive community, something especially meaningful happens.



As researcher and author David Eagleman writes:
“Engaging in the arts strengthens the brain’s resilience and enriches our emotional lives.”
And educator William Damon reminds us:
“The deepest happiness comes from a life directed toward meaningful engagement and connection.”
That’s exactly what we hope to create through our retreat experience in Zakynthos, Greece next April.



Imagine:
• Creating art surrounded by the blue waters and olive groves of Greece
• Sharing meals and conversations with women from around the country
• Slowing down enough to reconnect with yourself
• Making memories that stay with you long after you return home



These retreats are not about perfection or productivity. They are about inspiration, exploration, creativity, friendship, and joy.
Whether you are an experienced artist or simply longing to reconnect with your creative spirit, we would love for you to join.
Zakynthos has a way of opening the heart. We can’t wait to share it with you.
With love,
Lori & Kenzie
Words and Wildflowers Creative Prompts – Issue 96
Posted on May 18, 2026
We LOVE research and learning as a way to get inspired and boost ideas and creativity!! So, Kenzie and I are going to be sharing the inspiration that we collect here in our second newsletter…. once a week!!!
Here’s how it works:
We provide the inspiration. You interpret it however you wish… any medium, any size. It is meant to inspire lettering and floral art combined together. But, you can:
- Just do the florals, just do the lettering, or combine them together.
- Use the provided quote for your piece or select your own.
- Use colors from one of the inspiration images or select your own favorites
- Create the floral art… as a still life in a vase, a single flower, a border, a pattern, a bouquet
Hope you will create with us and post your work at #wordsandwildflowers2026 and tag @lorisiebert.studio and @snippetsofwhimsy
Quote of the week…
“Art is something that makes you breathe with a different kind of happiness.”
— Anni Albers
Inspiration of the week: Birger Johannes Kaipianen
Birger Johannes Kaipiainen (1 July 1915 – 18 July 1988) was a Finnish ceramist and designer. He is one of the most successful and well-known ceramic artists in Finland.
Kaipiainen graduated from the School of Arts and Crafts (later known as the Aalto School of Arts of Helsinki. After that he went to work for Finnish ceramics company Arabia in 1937, and later in 1954 for their Swedish sister company Rörstrand. Kaipiainen worked as a designer for Arabia for over fifty years. As a child he suffered from Polio and was consequently unable to use a pottery wheel. It was said that his illness heightened his artistic sensitivity.
Kaipiainen was nicknamed “the king of decorators”, for his nostalgic, romantic and highly decorative ceramic designs, at a time when minimalism was the prevailing trend in Finnish ceramics. He is known for repeatedly using the same signature nature inspired motifs, such as violets and curlews. His most famous designs were made at the Arabia ceramics factory. For example, the Paratiisi (Paradise) series, designed in 1969, which is still in production. Paratiisi was one of the first silkscreen printed series made by Arabia.Another noted design by Kaipiainen, the Sunnuntai (Sunday) series designed in 1971 was brought back into production by the Arabia company in 2019






Hand lettering inspiration of the week: Fuzi
Fuzi (Stanislas Baritaux) is a legendary French multidisciplinary artist and co-founder of the UV TPK crew. Emerging from the Parisian suburbs in the late 1980s, he gained international fame for pioneering “Ignorant Style” graffiti. He has since expanded into tattooing, publishing, and fine art, bridging street vandalism with gallery exhibitions.






Words and Wildflowers Creative Prompts – Issue 95
Posted on May 11, 2026
We LOVE research and learning as a way to get inspired and boost ideas and creativity!! So, Kenzie and I are going to be sharing the inspiration that we collect here in our second newsletter…. once a week!!!
Here’s how it works:
We provide the inspiration. You interpret it however you wish… any medium, any size. It is meant to inspire lettering and floral art combined together. But, you can:
- Just do the florals, just do the lettering, or combine them together.
- Use the provided quote for your piece or select your own.
- Use colors from one of the inspiration images or select your own favorites
- Create the floral art… as a still life in a vase, a single flower, a border, a pattern, a bouquet
Hope you will create with us and post your work at #wordsandwildflowers2026 and tag @lorisiebert.studio and @snippetsofwhimsy
Quote of the week…
“And yes, this world
is shattered, everywhere
but there is glue
and it is me
and it is you
picking up pieces
of each other
to get through.”
— Donna Ashworth
Inspiration of the week: Victoria MacKenzie Childs
Victoria MacKenzie-Childs (August 26, 1948 – March 4, 2026) was an American ceramic artist who, along with her husband Richard, founded the luxury home goods firm MacKenzie-Childs in 1983. A beacon of Madison Avenue in New York City in the 1990s, their “chic boutique” showcased their distinctly whimsical style that the New York Post once described as “Mary Poppins meets Alice in Wonderland.” They lost control of the company in 2001 following bankruptcy proceedings.
MacKenzie-Childs was born August 26, 1948, in San Francisco. She moved to Madison, Indiana, in 1960 when her father got a job as a sales manager for Grote Manufacturing. She was active in 4-H and an artist, winning a blue ribbon at the Indiana State Fair for one of her ceramics. In 1966, she graduated from Madison Consolidated High School. That year, the family moved to Indianapolis, Indiana.
MacKenzie-Childs earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Indiana University in 1970. She married Stephen Nelson Conrad on April 11, 1970, in Indianapolis. She went on to take graduate courses at Harvard and Radcliffe. She graduated in 1977 from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Before considering enrolling at Alfred, she learned pottery pioneer Wayne was headed to Alfred to teach. Determined to work with him, the school became her prime prospect. Higby eventually became her teacher and mentor, and both she and Richard received their Master of Fine Arts with him. In 2017, Victoria and Richard delivered Alfred University’s 181st commencement address.
Following graduate school, Victoria and Richard moved to Stoke Gabriel in Devon, England, where they worked for a small pottery store and Richard taught art at South Devon College. They also designed and made clothing for stage and evening wear.
In 1994, the couple received a joint regional Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York. She was the mother of organic textile designer Heather Chaplet.






Hand lettering inspiration of the week: Jean Charles Blais
Jean Charles Blais, born in 1956, in Nantes, France, is an artist who studied at the Beaux-Arts de Rennes from 1974 to 1979. He gained recognition in the art world in 1981 after participating in the exhibition “Finir en beauté” curated by Bernard Lamarche-Vadel, which marked the emergence of a new generation of artists who freely expressed themselves across various art forms, cultures, and values.
Blais gained notable success in the early 1980s for his paintings created from discarded materials such as torn posters, newspapers, and other unconventional items found on the streets. In his paintings, he highlights the slightest imperfections and unevenness of the materials, and his works are characterized by a focus on the representation of the figure. It was also at this time that he sparked the curiosity of Catherine Issert, whose gallery, based in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, has accompanied him for the last 40 years.






Words and Wildflowers Creative Prompts – Issue 94
Posted on May 4, 2026
We LOVE research and learning as a way to get inspired and boost ideas and creativity!! So, Kenzie and I are going to be sharing the inspiration that we collect here in our second newsletter…. once a week!!!
Here’s how it works:
We provide the inspiration. You interpret it however you wish… any medium, any size. It is meant to inspire lettering and floral art combined together. But, you can:
- Just do the florals, just do the lettering, or combine them together.
- Use the provided quote for your piece or select your own.
- Use colors from one of the inspiration images or select your own favorites
- Create the floral art… as a still life in a vase, a single flower, a border, a pattern, a bouquet
Hope you will create with us and post your work at #wordsandwildflowers2026 and tag @lorisiebert.studio and @snippetsofwhimsy
Quote of the week…
“Use me, God.
Show me how to take who I am,
who I want to be, and what I can do,
and use it for a purpose greater than myself.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
Inspiration of the week: Bernard Buffet
Bernard Buffet (French: ; 10 July 1928 – 4 October 1999) was a French painter, printmaker, and sculptor. An extremely prolific artist, he produced a varied and extensive body of work. His style was exclusively figurative and is often classified as Expressionist or “miserabilist”. Buffet enjoyed worldwide popularity in the 1950s and was often compared to Pablo Picasso for his fame and talent. By the end of the 1950s, however, the public and art community turned strongly against him due to changing artistic tastes, Buffet’s lavish lifestyle, and his extremely prolific output. The 21st century saw a renewed interest in his oeuvre.






Hand lettering inspiration of the week: Joan Miró
Joan Miró (1893–1983) was a renowned Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor, and ceramicist who pioneered a playful, surrealist style characterized by vivid colors, simplified organic forms, and childlike, poetic imagery. Known for his “dream paintings,” he aimed to “assassinate” conventional painting, blending, drawing, and abstract shapes to evoke the subconscious.Key Aspects of Joan Miró:
Legacy: A major 20th-century artist, he established the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona in 1975, a museum dedicated to his work.
Early Life & Education: Born in Barcelona, he initially worked as a clerk before a mental breakdown led his parents to allow him to pursue art, studying at the Academy Gali.
Surrealist Influence: In 1920, he moved to Paris, where he was heavily influenced by Surrealist poets and painters, joining their movement in 1924.
Style: His work combined Catalan folk traditions with abstract, dreamlike elements—often featuring stars, birds, and women.
Mediums: He experimented widely, creating sculptures, ceramics, tapestries, and over 1,000 fine art prints.






Four Findings for Curious Creatives-Issue 189
Posted on May 1, 2026


Gabriela Joyce
I discovered this artist’s work while traveling in Dublin. Fell in love with her style!
Gabi Goitia
I SO would LOVE to create an embroidery sketchbook. This textile artist is VERY INSPIRING!!!


Severine Gallardo
I am in LOVE with the quirky creations by this artist. Imagine us all walking around wearing her hats!! I’d love that world!
Mabel Johnson
This artist’s creations are STUNNING!!! The details, the colors, the uniqueness… SWOON!



Words and Wildflowers Creative Prompts – Issue 93
Posted on April 27, 2026
We LOVE research and learning as a way to get inspired and boost ideas and creativity!! So, Kenzie and I are going to be sharing the inspiration that we collect here in our second newsletter…. once a week!!!
Here’s how it works:
We provide the inspiration. You interpret it however you wish… any medium, any size. It is meant to inspire lettering and floral art combined together. But, you can:
- Just do the florals, just do the lettering, or combine them together.
- Use the provided quote for your piece or select your own.
- Use colors from one of the inspiration images or select your own favorites
- Create the floral art… as a still life in a vase, a single flower, a border, a pattern, a bouquet
Hope you will create with us and post your work at #wordsandwildflowers2026 and tag @lorisiebert.studio and @snippetsofwhimsy
Quote of the week…
“Art should be something that liberates your soul.”
— Keith Haring
Inspiration of the week:
Thought I would share a few favorite floral pieces from the Musée d’Art Naïf Anatole Jakovsky in Nice, France. I just visited there and this museum was wonderful.





Hand lettering inspiration of the week: Ivan Chermayeff
Ivan Chermayeff (June 6, 1932 – December 2, 2017) was a British-born American graphic designer and artist. He is best known as co-founder of graphic design firm Chermayeff & Geismar. Chermayeff created logotypes for the Smithsonian Institution, New York Museum of Modern Art, and Harper Collins publishing house, as well as numerous poster designs, book covers, architectural sculptures, exhibitions, illustrations, and fine art. Chermayeff is credited with introducing the concept of design as problem-solving and inventing the modern graphic design profession.





