Four Findings-Issue 153
Posted on February 28, 2025


Isabelle Gougenheim
I am in LOVE with the color and layers upon layers in this artist’s work!! I am alsoVERY inspired by how she applies her paintings to fashion!!
Beth Snyder
I had the opportunity to meet Beth, the creative force behind the delightful brand, Handker, about a year ago. I just LOVE the bandanas, robes and everything else she creates!


Junk Assemblage
Want to make junk assemblage birds and more with me this July in Vermont?? I’m heading back to the beautiful Smiley Manse!!
Art is Love retreat… April 22-27
Once again… I’m teaching with my friends, Carrie Schmitt and Jessica Swift!!! There are 3 spots left.



Mexico City retreat registration goes LIVE today
Posted on February 27, 2025
Registration for my Retreat to Mexico City next Feb. 26-Mar.1 2026 goes LIVE at 3:00 pm EST TODAY!!! Woohoo!!!
Reminder… there are only 8 EARLY BIRD SPOTS available at the discounted price of $1899.00
The full price is $1999.00
(you can put 25% down and pay the rest overtime.)
We will create together… go on fun excursions… eat great FOOD… laugh… maybe dance?? And gather incredible inspiration!!!
I PROMISE you will go home VERY INSPIRED!!!
Come join me!!!!


I’m teaching in Mexico City next Feb. 26-March 1, 2026!!!
Posted on February 24, 2025
I ADORE all of the colors and patterns of Mexico!!!
Let’s experience a quick getaway in Mexico’s capital where food and culture wait around every corner!
We will get to see the work of legendary artists like Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, try our hand at mezcal mixology, stroll historic city streets, and enjoy tacos & tequila like a local! And… we will do some travel journaling together!!!! Whether you’ve visited before or it’s your first time, this itinerary is designed to pack a lifetime of memories into just 4 colorful, exciting, enriching days!


The trip will launch this Thursday at 3 pm EST!!!
There are 8 early bird spots available at a discount… first come, first serve! You can leave your info at this link to be the first to know!!
Note… if you book, Trovo Trip asks for 25% initially and then, you can create a payment plan! Takes the pressure off!
Here’s what you will experience:
We will be staying at Hotel Ibis Style Zona Rosa in Mexico City. We will have with us a trip guide and a local who speaks the language… no worries… just FUN FUN FUN!!!
Day 1
¡Bienvenido! Please be prepared to meet in the lobby at 5:30pm to depart for your welcome dinner. The reservation time will be finalized closer to your trip date. If you plan on arriving today, we recommend flying into Mexico City International Airport (MEX).


Day 2
After breakfast, it’s time to explore Mexico City! You’ll start with a transfer to the historic city center for a walking tour, before visiting a local market where you’ll have the opportunity to try various snacks. Then, after lunch in the market, you’ll take a 45-minute transfer back to the hotel. Please wear comfortable walking shoes, and bring sun protection and a water bottle.
Mexico City Historic Center Tour
Take a 45-minute private transfer to Mexico City’s famous ‘Zocalo’ – officially known as Plaza de la Constitución – one of the most recognizable locations in Mexico. From here, your Guide will lead a walking tour of the historic city center’s greatest sights, including murals by Diego Rivera at the Palacio Nacional, the Metropolitan Cathedral built on Aztec ruins, and the Palacio de Bellas Artes where notable music and art events are held. Expect to walk around 1.5-2 miles on paved and cobblestone streets.
Mexico City Food Market Visit
Walk approximately 1 mile (20 minutes) from the city center to a local food market filled with family-owned stands, local flavors, and beautiful crafts. During your visit, you’ll have the opportunity to try samples of a few different fruits, a couple of mini tacos, and (for the truly adventurous) some spicy crickets! After exploring, you’ll sit down for lunch at one of the establishments in the market. After lunch, transfer 45 minutes back to your hotel.


Day 3
Following breakfast, you’ll transfer to the Frida Kahlo Museum to explore not only her works but the neighborhood where she once lived, Coyoacan. You’ll return to the hotel in the early afternoon, then transfer to a local bar in the evening to make your own cocktails. Finally, you’ll all head out on foot with your Guide to eat and drink like locals! Please wear comfortable walking shoes, and bring sun protection and a water bottle.
Frida Kahlo Museum & Coyoacan Tour
Visit Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul for an intimate look at her house, life, and art. Then explore the nearby Coyoacan neighborhood – Mexico City’s oldest – on foot for about 30 minutes to see its quaint cafes and colonial architecture. Between the museum and the tour of Coyoacan, you can expect to walk 1.5-2 miles on paved and cobblestone streets. You’ll have time to get lunch on your own in Coyoacan before transferring back to the hotel. Entry to the museum is included, however permission to take pictures must be purchased on-site at an additional cost. Please be aware that the museum is closed on Mondays, so this itinerary may need to be slightly reorganized if this day would otherwise fall on Monday.


Day 4
It’s time to say goodbye for now! After breakfast, you’ll be free to embark on the next stage of your journey with our warmest wishes for happiness and safety. If departing directly from the hotel, we recommend flying out of Mexico City International Airport (MEX).
Mezcal Mixology Masterclass
Take a 5-10 minute transfer, then learn the art of crafting cocktails using one of Mexico’s signature spirits: mezcal. You’ll discover how to layer flavors as well as the cultural significance of the ingredients, as you mix and enjoy two different drinks. After enjoying your cocktails, you’ll return to the hotel.
Tacos & Tequila Night
Beginning from your hotel, your Guide will take the group to some of the best taco stands in the city, to enjoy your favorites with tequila or beer…the perfect match! 5 tacos, 2 shots of tequila or 3 beers, and a water are included. You can expect to walk approximately half a mile on paved and/or cobblestone streets.


Giveaway!!!
Posted on February 21, 2025
Gudrun Sjoden is hosting a very exciting GIVEAWAY on Instagram!!!
They will be selecting one winner and a friend to attend our upcoming Live Courageously: Rebloom Experience!! May 5-8 2025!!! Read the details here and head to the Gudrun Sjoden feed below to enter!!

Attention our American followers!
We’re so excited to be part of the Rebloom Gathering from 5th -8th May! It’s an opportunity to pause and reflect, and perhaps find a new direction in life or career – all while embracing courage, creativity, and community.
And now for the exciting part – we’re giving one lucky winner and their friend the chance to attend for free!
How to enter:
- Comment “Rebloom” on our competition post on Instagram.
- Tag 1 friend in the comments.
- Follow us @gudrunsjoden and @livecourageouslyretreats
Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. The prize includes conference fees for both you and a friend of your choice, as well as a shared hotel room. The giveaway ends at midnight EST on March 5th 2025. The winners will be announced on our Instagram and competition page on March 11th. Read more about the terms and conditions in the link to our profile.
Let’s rebloom together and good luck!
And learn more about this celebration here…
Words and Wildflowers Creative Prompts – Issue 34
Posted on February 17, 2025
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 #wordsandwildflowers2024 and tag @lorisiebert.studio and @snippetsofwhimsy
Quote of the week…
“There is only one map to the journey of life and it lives within your heart.”
– Willie Nelson
Inspirational designer of the week… Lesley Evers
Lesley Evers has been making dresses since she was eleven. She was born in Oakland, California, and her family moved to Charlotte, NC when she was in second grade. After spending ten years in Charlotte, she moved to Philadelphia at 18 to study Architecture and Art History at UPenn. In her 20s, Lesley was an artist who sold to Madison Avenue galleries; she has also been an artist for corporate business presentations. In 2008, she founded her dress company. In 2012, she opened an Oakland store, and as her online business grew, she eventually stopped selling wholesale. She aims for easy, graceful clothing with a nod to the ’50s and ’60s.





Hand lettering inspiration of the week… Misty Lindsey
Misty Lindsey is a Chattanooga-based artist that has been represented at the Outsider Art Fair in NYC. Her work is filled with expressive characters that reveal a commentary of universal hopes and dreams, fears and worries. Her text-based work is confessional and represents the voice of the last, the lost and those that have the least.





Four Findings-Issue 152
Posted on February 14, 2025


REBLOOM Celebration
Use Discount code REBLOOM305 and join us this coming May 5-8 for an amazing networking event! Cara, Colleen and I have been planning this gathering for over a year!!! Our goal is to pamper and inspire you to lead your BEST LIFE!!
Words and Wildflowers Art Retreat
Only 2 SPOTS LEFT!!! For our retreat on the coast in Portugal this October!!! Hope you can join Kenzie and I!!


Playing for change
If you need a little pick me up( don’t we all these days??) check out this uplifting feed!!!
Leonora Carrington
I just discovered this artist on my trip to Mexico. I love the surrealist storytelling in her work. And she is fascinating!!



Words and Wildflowers Creative Prompts – Issue 33
Posted on February 10, 2025
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 #wordsandwildflowers2024 and tag @lorisiebert.studio and @snippetsofwhimsy
Quote of the week…
“Tree of Hope… stand firm.” (Árbol de la esperanza mantente firme.)
-Frida Kahlo
Inspirational Artist of the week… Marilo Carral
Marilo Carral is an internationally recognized artist, dedicating her entire life to painting since childhood. With the use of her bright color palette and the invention of her own mixed media, her paintings embody pure joy. Color is a key element in her work, whether representational or abstract. Her paintings, full of passion, evoke tangible emotions. Recognized by famous critics and international collectors, her art has been exhibited around the world for the last 40 years.




Handlettering inspiration of the week… signage from San Miguel de Allende




Words and Wildflowers Creative Prompts – Issue 32
Posted on February 3, 2025
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 #wordsandwildflowers2024 and tag @lorisiebert.studio and @snippetsofwhimsy
Quote of the week…
“Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.”
~Twyla Tharp, dancer, choreographer, and author
Inspiring artist of the week… Sunae Sugimoto
Sunae Sugimoto is an illustrator based in Kyoto, Japan. Her work uses traditional Japanese orange and black inks and fine pen work to create beautifully detailed illustrations.
Growing up surrounded by sea and mountains, Sanae was born in Tottori, Japan in 1975. Having attended art college in Kyoto, she now lives and works there as an illustrator working commercially for packaging, logos and magazines.
More recently, her interest has turned to using Japanese traditional black and orange inks. This process uses fine pen work to create beautifully detailed pieces.





Handlettering inspiration of the week…outsider artist, August Walla





Four Findings-Issue 151
Posted on January 31, 2025


Live Courageously: Rebloom Celebration-May 5-8 this year.
Use discount code REBLOOM305 when you sign up for over $300.00 off!! The list of presenters and all details can be found here!! Hope you can join us!
Helen Dealtry
I’ve been binge watching this show on YouTube tv. Loving her lessons. I’m learning some good new tips!


Brandi Hofer
Just discovered Brandi. She has some great hacks and tips for art making!! And I love her murals!
Ode à Primavera
Loving this project… the creation of large painted sparrows from all over the world. Very cool!!!!



Words and Wildflowers Creative Prompts – Issue 31
Posted on January 27, 2025
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 #wordsandwildflowers2024 and tag @lorisiebert.studio and @snippetsofwhimsy
Quote of the week…
“Every small, unselfish action nudges the world into a better path.”
– Robin Hobb
Inspiration of the week… Károly Reich
Károly Reich (8 August 1922 – 7 September 1988; also written Karoly Reich) was a Hungarian artist, best known for his children’s books illustrations and for his original draughtsmanship. His illustrations were popular among Hungarian children throughout his 40-year career, during which he illustrated around 500 books. He was also a graphic artist and poster designer. His style is child-like, charming, and irresistible. You just have to smile when looking at his pictures.





Hand lettering inspiration of the week… Paul Klee
Paul Klee (German: [paʊ̯l ˈkleː]; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented with and eventually deeply explored color theory, writing about it extensively; his lectures Writings on Form and Design Theory (Schriften zur Form und Gestaltungslehre), published in English as the Paul Klee Notebooks, are held to be as important for modern art as Leonardo da Vinci’s A Treatise on Painting was for the Renaissance. He and his colleague, Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, both taught at the Bauhaus school of art, design and architecture in Germany. His works reflect his dry humor and his sometimes childlike perspective, his personal moods and beliefs, and his musicality.






