Recently I ventured back to my homeland of Utah to visit all my wonderful family and friends.  Since I am the youngest of 7, my mom and dad and I had a lot of quality time together as my siblings graduated and moved out.  Coming back home made me feel like I was in high school again (hard to believe that was over 6 years ago!).  Well, after I graduated, my parents were quickly thrust in the world of empty nesthood.

With all this extra space, my mom has always found fun projects to keep her spaces looking fresh and cute.  One of her favorite rooms in the house is her library.  Stacked floor to ceiling with books and trinkets, I feel like this room is a small glimpse into my mother’s creative mind.  She is a pursuer of knowledge and truth, and good writing.  Currently she is making her way through a combination of the books listed in the New Lifetime Reading Plan and The Politically Incorrect Guide to English And American Literature. I truly admire her love of books.  While I like to think I know the difference between good and poor writing and importance there of, I certainly don’t have the passion for writing like she does.  Though I do feel like my love and passion for good design, art and typography are parallel to her love of writing. If anything, I always knew that I wanted to be like my mother when I grew up, in the sense that she was a stay at home mother but also pursued writing, getting published in countless magazines, had her own column in our local newspaper, and eventually published several books as well (some of which I have illustrated the covers)!  So, I always had a strong desire to be a good mother to my children, but also knew it was possible to enjoy my passion for art and illustration.

Anyway, going back to the beginning of this post, when I walked into my familiar childhood home, I found it fun to spend some time scouring my mom’s library and seeing the new additions to the shelves.  It was like the library was telling a story of it’s own.  See for yourself!

I showed mom design-seeds.com I mentioned on the previous “Favorite Things” blog, and we were then inspired to create our own color palette based off the above picture.
(It is called Flannery Hues as my mom absolutely loves Flannery O’Conner, who loved peacocks.)

I hope someday to have enough space to artistically create an outward expression of all the things I love.  Let’s be honest, it would probably end up looking like my room from high school: