I heart my mom! She’s a designer and artist herself and I’m so thankful that her artistic aesthetic and passion has rubbed off on me! When I was younger, she would take me with her to showrooms and art supply stores and I would help her pick out everything from swatches of fabric to foam core. She was always very encouraging of any and every artistic pursuit I had. As a result, I’ve dabbled in everything from glass mosaics to watercolor and silk painting to pipe cleaners and googly eye collages! Ohhh, not to mention, enjoying lanyard bracelet making in second grade! Thanks mom for supporting my creative spirit!

So, I’m very excited for Mother’s day coming up on Sunday, May 10th. My mom is the most important person in my life, a constant support and infinite supply of knowledge and wisdom. Gotta love, honor, and celebrate mom!

I’m offering a special deal for Mother’s Day. Take 40% off your online order by entering discount code “iheartmom” at checkout. This code is valid through 5.31.09. I think that jewelry is the perfect symbol of love because every time a person wears it, or even sees it, it is an instant reminder of the person who gave it to them. A reminder of their love, which like the jewelry, will last forever.

Featured painting: Pink Peonies in the style of Japanese Nihonga art by my Mom.

I am mystified by the creative process. I recently watched a speech on the website for the TED conferences (an incredible site, but more on that later!) by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of “Eat, Pray, Love”, who posed the question: “What is it specifically about creative ventures that seems to make us really nervous about each other’s mental health in a way that other careers kind of don’t do?” According to her, in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, the people believed that creativity came not from people, but from some disembodied source. I love that. I definitely believe in divine creative muses. I know that for me, creative inspiration always comes in spurts, and usually shows up when I least expect it. Gilbert believes that the pressure of “being a genius” rather than “having a genius” has been killing off artists for hundreds of years. As an artist, you’re constantly being asked: “Aren’t you afraid? Afraid of failure / afraid of success / afraid of running out of steam or going dry on ideas?” But the thing about any creative person is that their faith in their art is stronger than any fear.

For me, being a creative person is not a choice. It is who I am. I can’t change the musical phrases that pop up in my head all the time or the waves of color and swirls that flash in my mind. I’m sure plenty of musicians and writers and painters and directors feel much the same way. I think that a lot of the time, you just need to turn off all the noise around you, both figuratively and literally, so that you can capitalize on the creative inspiration in you. Turn off the pressure and the expectations and the deadlines and just let the creativity flow. There’s nothing that makes me happier than sitting down to create something at 2 am when the energy of the city has quieted down and my ‘crackberry’ is napping for a while. When the only thing I have to be afraid of is the wind whistling at the windows, which in comparison to all the other fears people assume are in my head, is almost like a lullaby.

I was definitely not cut out to be a sailor. Or a pilot. Or anything involving much motion. But I’ve learned some tricks to combat motion sickness, because although I don’t travel for a living, my life does involve a good deal of jet-setting. Dramamine is the classic antidote, but I try not to use medication too much: it always makes me feel a little funny after it wears off. What I do love, however, are these sweet and spicy ginger candies made by the Ginger People (notice the ambiguity of the gender, as opposed to GingerMAN??). The burst of spicy, sugary, ginger goodness not only keeps me feeling queasy-free, but it also lifts my spirits a little and helps me fight off sleepiness. Not to mention, the flavor is so refreshing that it gives any breath mint a run for its money. Needless to say, these ginger chews are pretty much a God-send for me! As the Ginger People say, this is “the only candy that bites you back”. And, don’t worry, that IS a good thing!

*photo credit: http://www.gingerpeople.com*