Hi! I'm SarahKate, welcome to my Blog!

My Speciality is honoring motherhood with Henna Tattoos, but I adorn women and their daughters for all kinds of reasons - birthday parties, rites of passage, even weddings. I love to adorn pregnant and breastfeeding women with henna then make beautiful photos for them. I live in Lafayette, CO and travel the front range from Colorado Springs, Denver and as far North as Fort Collins to find my living works or art. I am also the creative director of Artfull Mother magazine - a local magazine devoted to the interests of mothers and the art that empowers them!

Mother's Day Henna Celebrations

10 May 18 SarahKate 0 Comments

Hi! Here's an in progress photo during today's henna session. I am putting the final touches on this lovely mama, and I am wearing henna for Mother's Day. Last night I sat at my desk and applied the thick paste, doodling my way up my arm. There is something liberating about giving yourself tattoos! After a little over an hour it felt complete, so I blow dried my hand and arm and settled into bed. The next morning I removed all the henna to reveal this light orange natural henna stain. I really love this color! I had adorned this sweet mama for her last pregnancy so it was great to catch up with her again. I'm really looking forward to this weekend, it's going to be a marathon of art celebrating mamas!

Posted by SarahKate
Nursing Beauty

09 May 18 SarahKate 0 Comments

The request for this nursing henna involved paisley, and I incorporated several. It was really wonderful getting to know this Denver mama. She returned a few days later with her daughter for breastfeeding photos ... how I love to witness this sacred act of nourishment. Wishing this mama & child a bond that deepens with love through the years.

Posted by SarahKate
Breastfeeding body art

07 May 18 SarahKate 0 Comments

Breastfeeding body art is such a unique and tender form of art to create. This mama was feeling the moon energy, and this was the design that unfolded. It took about 2 hours and involved several layers of henna - the thinnest layers are the lightest orange/brown. She returned a few days later with her little daughter, and was feeling the color RED. I love how these things just come together so beautifully. I am in awe of the wonders of a woman's body - the ability to grow and nourish a dear one.

Posted by SarahKate
Spring Maternity Session

03 May 18 SarahKate 0 Comments

Pregnancy henna galore! This mama was open to having both her belly and breasts adorned as a celebration, and I spent about 2 hours covering her in flowers and leaves.

She returned with her family a few days later when the henna was peaking in color and we got some lovely shots with the first spring flowers in Colorado! I am so grateful that the weather is warming up.

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Empowered Birth Year

01 May 18 SarahKate 0 Comments

I love meeting women like Paith, who are bringing so many empowering elements together for their birth. Zinnia was requested for the henna design and wove its way into the design, and I heard about how she wanted to create something special this time - this was her 2nd pregnancy. The henna would be peaking for her blessing, which was coming up.

She had blogged: “When I was going through the thick of my HG nausea in pregnancy I had to dig deep to find out what empowerment meant to me in such a trying situation that felt and was out of my control. The message I got in meditation was sisterhood, celebrating my womanhood, and gathering a tribe to accompany me in making this pregnancy a rite of passage, with ALL that it was for me: painful, beautiful, divine, scary, profound and transformative.”

Paith found some amazing women to support her in this process, including Dakota Hindman of Matrescence Doula Services, who has been involved in women’s circles since high school (in Boulder!). During rites of passage like this (even it’s the 2nd or 3rd or 4th baby!) it’s wonderful to have a woman there to facilitate the circle, a woman who knows the song for the spirit of the sage, who can guide the group through the process of pregnancy ritual. Cultivating sacred space is a gift that Dakota holds with love.

JJ Hastain www.jhastain.com led a powerful, sacred ritual dance for the group. I have been to one other blessing where there was dancing like this, and it is one of the most powerful things to do to embody our prayers/intentions in this way.

Tanya of Eden Photography captured this ceremony in an incredible video [watch it here!]. If you’ve ever wondered how a Mother’s Blessing can look, this is a great example! I love how many rose petals are involved!

Paith’s maternity photography was also done by Tanya of Eden Photography… isn’t this underwater shot gorgeous?

Paith new she had to write about this and share her experience, to light women up to how they can love the woman they become through motherhood. This free guide is full of inspiration, affirmations and empowering images. Check out Paith’s The Empowered Birth Year Resource Guide

Posted by SarahKate
10 years ago I adorned her for pregnancy!

24 Apr 18 SarahKate 0 Comments

10 years ago I started an art project to honor pregnant women with henna, and it has grown into involving over 700 mamas! This mama was from the very first year I started. Here she is with her daughter that was in that belly, who turns 10 this year. It was really fun to create the art and of course I love taking photos.... aren't they adorable?

This year marks 15 years of using henna as my medium and I love that each year my art grows. Contact me for all kinds of rites of passage and other fun gatherings, like mother daughter dates. I mix my henna fresh with all natural ingredients and create custom designs that reflect each person's visions/feelings.

Posted by SarahKate
Volume 6 of Blessed Belly Blessed Baby by SarahKate Butterworth

24 Apr 18 SarahKate 0 Comments

These hard cover artistic table top books are part of a series that I created from 2011-2016. This volume was published in 2013, here's a sneak peak of the pages. The print copy of this book is not currently available.

See my other books here, or check out our magazine Artfull Mother here.

Posted by SarahKate