Interview with Amy Butler
SBR: What are some of your sources of inspiration?
AB:My biggest inspiration comes from travel and my garden, which explains my love of florals! Travel is so influential, it allows me to open my mind and think differently, it also gives me the ” mental escape ” I need to renew my energy. I love to get completely absorbed in a place or culture, to step back and take in great design from architecture to museum collections to the natural beauty in the surroundings. No matter where I visit I'm always scouting out gardens to tour.
My own garden is a never-ending resource for beautiful color and design. Each season I have a different show, from Spring to Winter. My garden is one of my favorite places to spend time. I'm a plant collector and I love the intricate design in different flowers and foliage. The variety in the shapes and patterning offers up loads of fresh ideas. I'm definitely inspired by the natural world as a whole. Our home is filled with natural finds from our property or travels and I'm always bringing the outside in with fresh cut flowers and tropicals. My mother raised me with an appreciation for nature, so spending time outdoors truly feeds my soul and creative spirit.
Broadly, all decorative arts and textiles have greatly influenced my work. This of course includes fashion. I’ve gone through several love affairs with different genres and periods of design. Culturally I’m hugely inspired by ethnic textiles and artifacts. I am influenced by every era of design, from turn of the century to mid-century. To me, design is far more interesting and fun when you experiment with many different elements. There's a common thread that can be found in the details that pulls everything together, when combined with a unifying color palette, they sing with a stylized freshness.
I'm also hugely inspired by my husband David and our life together. He's a true renaissance man. He's multi talented and is gracious about making himself available and sharing his gifts. I admire him because he lives true to himself and his art. So much of what we do together for fun inspires and feeds into our creative work. We both love working on our house, collecting special finds for our nest at flea markets and antique shows. Together we've made a home ( that's always changing! ) that feels warm and intimate. We surround ourselves with our favorite artifacts and collections from travels to nature walks so I'm reminded daily about what I love and what's important to me....... it all comes full circle and seeps into everything I do.
SBR: How do you begin a new art project?
AB:Whether I'm preparing to design new sewing projects, fabrics or papers, I pull from on-going inspiration files that I fill with snippets of things I love, be it style research, color chips, photos from trips or vintage artifacts I've collected. I try to sequester myself in my studio, so I can disappear and focus, really relish the time to dream, sketch and layout possible directions. I can multi task with the best of em, but after awhile it can deplete my creative energy so it's important I give myself time off from the business side of things so my right brain can drive for awhile! I love this process, it's so much fun! My on-going goal is to be sure I remind myself to honor this and not let the demands of the studio steal away this important development time....... and it makes this artist very happy!
I’m always dreaming of future fabrics I’d love to sew with or use in my home which is always the underlying motivation for specific prints. I keep things fresh and lively by keeping my inspiration kinetic. I’m always excited about a new color or colors. My taste and interests continually change and are reflected in my design choices.
For example, when I start working on a new fabric collection I pull my color palettes together by building color "stories" intuitively by making a collage with coloration and textures I love. I then match color chips to my color stories and complete my palettes. I almost always make way more palettes than I need, but I love have as many options as possible to react to. I trust my gut and go with my top 3 -4 favorites. And it's always hard to pick!
SBR: Do you like to communicate anything through your art?
AB:I want people to be creatively inspired by working with my fabric or papers. I do want to communicate the positive vibe I feel when I am making my artwork. I love the process of designing and I believe that that energy passes on to whomever experiences the art firsthand. With fabric and paper being my medium, there is an enhanced joy factor because the material is used in someone else's creative project which is fulfilling for that person. The bonus is when they gift their creation or exhibit it for even more people to enjoy. That's a lot of love goin' round.... it's good stuff.
SBR: Why do you think people like your art?
AB:I think my work is embraced because I put energy into creating something that I love. People like personal voice and desire. I think my projects are unique because I create patterns and fabrics that have crossover appeal. They're at home in the quilting industry and with seamstresses and with crafters that love fashion, home décor or scrapbooking and paper craft. I think we all like to create and make things and my prints are striking a cord with crafters and helping them do what they love to do! This is a discovery that has become apparent over time, I didn't plan on this happening, it's just been a super nice development. I had no idea my prints would effect so many people and I'm thrilled!
SBR:What are the most important things in life to you?
AB:Most important in my world is the company I keep. My friends, family, folks I work with and my cats. They are the reason I enjoy my studio and my life as an artist. What I do is not as important as who I love.
SBR:What has been your greatest challenge?
AB:Striking a balance between creative time and business time. The demands of my studio constantly change. It takes constant work to build the business, do the creative work, handle contracts, lawyers, production, manage schedules and deadlines. I do enjoy the business side as well and it in and of itself is a creative process, it's just that I have to remind myself to keep things in balance. I have to keep my person creatively fueled and well rested so I can be fully available to others and the whole process.
SBR: What do you feel has been your greatest success?
AB: Witnessing the growth in the folks I work with and within myself. I've transformed personally over the past 6 years in ways that have helped me enjoy the process and the end results even more. I feel like the products I create with others make folk's lives better. I couldn't ask for more as an artist! That's why we're all here, trying to figure out how we can contribute to the greater good. We all do it everyday in our own way. The personal connections I make with others is the success.
My work philosophy comes from a personal place. I've always believed that who you are needs to come through what your business stands for and how you run your business. I've always worked at staying true to myself and my vision, believing in myself and supporting others. All of the decisions I make have to run through these filters. Having these filters as a guide keeps me on track and has served me well for the last 16 years.
SBR:What are your goals and plans in life now?
AB:As far as my studio and business goes, I love the creative freedom I have in both working for myself and working on products that allow me to explore my passions and share them with others. I'll be keeping on that track and continue to evolve sustainability in the products I make or work with. It's a step by step process, what we do has an impact on others and today it doesn't make sense to not do everything we can to improve and make greener choices.
Personally I want to keep designing, traveling and enjoying myself every step of the way!
