After graduating from Carnegie-Mellon University, Buttons taught art in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.   She then obtained her Master in Fine Art from Carnegie-Mellon.  After stints in Michigan and Texas, she eventually settled in Wisconsin.  While in Racine, an exhibition of posters of small US museums included Buttons’ poster design in its national tour.

For eight years, she worked at Western Publishing (Golden Books), developing coloring, paper-doll and activity books.  For twelve years, she owned and operated Snowstar Ltd., fine stationery stores in Sturgeon Bay and Fish Creek, which were featured in Pen World International (March/April 2000) and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (December 22, 2002).

She began to pursue painting several years ago by attending workshops in Wisconsin and Arizona, studying with Milt Kobayashi, Nancy Chaboun, Bonnie Paruch, Ken DeWaard, Raymond Everett Kinstler, Dawn Whitelaw and Michael Shane Neal, among others. In 2006 and 2008 Buttons was invited to exhibit in the Hardy Gallery’s Collectors’ Choice Show.  In 2007 and 2008 her work was juried into the Hardy’s Annual Juried Exhibit as well as the Miller Art Museum’s Annual Juried Exhibit.     

About her Name(s)

Buttons has been known as Buttons since “preemie” incubator days when she was red and scraggly.  Family visits weren’t to see the new baby, but to see the “button-nose,” which soon became shortened to “Buttons.”    She signs her work with her given name, Archelle.