The answer is both, of course. Just ask artist Seyburn Zorthian. Her abstract design has graced the label of Buttonwood Farm wines, both white and red, since our wines were introduced in 1989.

     In creating the label, Seyburn cut some vines from our vineyard, arranged them in her studio and produced a series of brush designs. Although the subject for those black ink strokes was grapevines, Seyburn says the brushwork is not so much a realistic portrayal of the vines as much as an abstraction reflecting her feelings about the vines. Once the artwork was complete, Seyburn, Betty and Bret together chose the design that would become the Buttonwood label.

     Much of Seyburn's work, including the Buttonwood label, is inspired by her study of Shoudo, the expressive brushstroke technique of Chinese and Japanese writing. According to Seyburn, the brush and ink are the perfect tools to convey both the inner and outer aspects of our lives. By internalizing music, thoughts, feelings or visual objects and holding a sense of the subject in her body, she expresses the feeling with the brushstroke on paper, canvas or linen.

     Seyburn developed an interest in art at a young age watching her father, L.A. artist Jirayr Zorthian. Her formal education includes study at the San Francisco Art Institute, Chouinard, the California Institute of the Arts, where she earned her BFA, and a year of study in Japan with Morita Shiryu, a master of Shoudo. In addition to brush and ink, Seyburn's work focuses on abstract color compositions and study of forms of the natural world such as the human form, animals and plants. She works in her studio here at Buttonwood Farm as she has since the early 1970s.

For more information about Seyburn and to view her art, go to www.seyburnzorthian.com