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

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Quote of the week…

“Art is something that makes you breathe with a different kind of happiness.”

— Anni Albers

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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

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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.

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

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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

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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Quote of the week…

“Art should be something that liberates your soul.”

— Keith Haring

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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.

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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.

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

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Quote of the week…

“Dear Artists, 

Remember that the opposite of depression is not joy – it’s expression.

So create, create.

For it is the Soul’s medicine.”

— Andy Warhol

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Inspiration of the week: Mary E. Waring

After studying at the South Kensington School of Design, she took over the embroidery section of her father’s company, Morris & Co., in 1885, aged just 23. Throughout her career, she continued to draw inspiration directly from nature, producing numerous botanical sketches and patterns.

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Hand lettering inspiration of the week:

Everywhere I go… I’m drawn to typography!!! I was in Nice, France and noticed a few of these gems!!! Type is everywhere waiting to be noticed!!

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

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Quote of the week…

“Art should be something that liberates your soul.”

— Keith Haring

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Inspiration of the week: Holly Eva

Holly Eva is a contemporary artist celebrated for her minimalist abstract still life’s and abstract figurative paintings, characterized by an intuitive, vibrant approach. Born in Camden and immersed in the surfing culture of Avoca Beach from age nine, Eva, now 48, creates daily from her studio at the Bulli Timbermill. Her work, both calming and exhilarating, reflects a profound connection to colour and an instinctive creative process.

Eva’s work has attracted a devoted international following and has been featured in exhibitions across Sydney and the south coast. Her art has appeared on Channel 9’s The Block Shop, My Kitchen Rules, Selling Houses Australia, and in Belle Magazine. She has exhibited in prestigious venues, participated in five Sydney art fairs, and counts NRL coach Trent Robinson and 2023 Australian of the Year Taryn Brumfitt among her collectors.

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Hand lettering inspiration of the week:

I was in an adorable shop in Charleston last week and noticed all of cute lettered signs on corrugated cardboard. Love!!

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

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Quote of the week…

“What I want in my life is to be dazzled. To cast aside the weight of facts, and maybe even float a little above this difficult world.”

— Mary Oliver

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Inspiration of the week: Sue Maton

Sue Maton, who recently passed away, was a Norwich-based textile designer and teacher on a mission to reinvent crochet for crafters.

Sue Maton owned and ran The Mercerie, a company offering crochet patterns and masterclasses. Sue had a long and storied background in crafting and creating. She said: “I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing, designing and making stuff.

“Crochet just happened to be the craft that required the least amount of prep, equipment and space when my children were very young and I was teaching full-time; it fits into a busy lifestyle.

“I did a degree in knitwear design in the 1980s, and then got a Masters at Norwich University of the Arts (NUA, or Norwich School of Design, as it was then) and a teaching qualification.

I worked in the art and design department at City College Norwich for more than 20 years, and I also taught part-time on the MA Textiles programme at NUA from 2004 to 2010. I eventually took voluntary redundancy to start my own business.”

Sue started The Mercerie in 2012. Initially the company mostly sold wool online, but Sue used to write knitting and crochet patterns as a way of helping to sell more yarn.

She said: “I realised quite soon that I was better at designing and making things than I was at selling wool, so I spent more time developing my products. I also began teaching crochet classes at yarn specialist Norfolk Yarn, which is based on Pottergate in Norwich, in around 2014.”

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Hand lettering inspiration of the week:

I love hunting for lettering examples when I’m traveling! These are a few from a recent trip to Ireland.