August Moon Muse

Arianne Reiner

A Conversation on Family, Healing, and Creative Expression

Meet Arianne Reiner (33) - a painter, ceramicist, poet, and mother whose life is a vibrant fusion of cultures and creativity. Born in Colombia, she has lived in Miami, Chicago, New York and now calls Tel Aviv's Neve Tzedek neighborhood home. Step inside her welcoming sanctuary- where warmth, modern design, and familial energy flow through airy living spaces, inviting vibrance and connection. Here, Arianne, her husband Eric (34), and their three young children- Sophie (6), Salomon “Salo” (5), and Jack (9 months) bring art, love, and a deep sense of togetherness to everyday life. 

 In this conversation, we explore how Arianne’s multicultural journey and rich experiences as a mother infuse her art with themes of femininity, creation, and the delicate balance of loss and renewal. As a personal friend, I’m so excited to invite you into her world- a place where creativity and motherhood intertwine in the most inspiring ways.

Your journey as a mother and artist is deeply intertwined. How has this shaped your creative identity?

Becoming a mother completely shifted my perspective on what it means to be alive and to create. Motherhood to me is intrinsically tied to the creative process; from conception, to birth, to breastfeeding and parenthood itself; we are consistently creating. I learned that everything you do has to be woven with love, and that energy is everything. In a way, with each child I was reborn; a different part of me came to life. As an artist, giving myself the freedom to create and re-create without fear or judgement makes all the difference.

 At the same time, it’s hard for me to talk about life and motherhood without also considering death. My father passed away shortly before I became a mother- Sophie and Salo are both named after him- and learning to let go of who I was and coming to terms with death itself became an inherent part of the process of motherhood and art. The duality of life and creation, death and rebirth, is always present in my life and work. 

Your birthing experiences have been quite profound. Can you tell us about them? 

When I first became pregnant with Sophie, I started to educate myself on childbirth. I really envisioned a natural, unmedicated birth, and thankfully I was able to do so. Salo further enforced that for me, and he was my first baby to be born at home. Jack was also born at home; this time in Tel Aviv, on the exact date of my late father’s birthday. That experience was surreal; it felt psychedelic and otherworldly. I’ve breastfed all my babies for extended periods, believing deeply in the power of nature and the rhythms of our bodies.

 

When it comes to your craft, what are your main focuses?

 My work explores the female form, movement, and practical utility. When we arrived in Tel Aviv it rekindled my desire to draw and paint and even introduced me to ceramics. I practice figure drawing from live models and most of my works are still-lives of women and citrus fruits, which are significant to this region. My ceramics feature the woman’s body as a vase or the form of a flower itself as a holding unit.  Writing is another avenue of my artistic expression; postpartum is my most creatively fertile period. It’s fascinating how those hormonal shifts translate into poetry!

How do you curate your home environment to inspire creativity in your family?

The spaces we live in absorb our energy, and there’s no untying who we are from where we live. Having moved often, I’ve noticed how we shape our spaces and how those spaces shape us. Of course I want my home to be beautiful; natural light and air are non-negotiables. So are natural materials inside the home. But first and foremost our home has to hold us and tend to us instead of the other way around. In our living room, we prioritize comfort, natural materials, movement and form. I love finding a good slab of natural stone for accent pieces; it’s surreal that these gorgeous patterns were created from deep inside the Earth over hundreds of thousands of years, and now they sit in our homes and hold our freshly cut flowers. The circle and cycle of life is beautiful to me.

 

And your kids' rooms?

 Sophie and Salo's room is playful and gender-neutral, complete with monkey wallpaper and a natural wood slide. Their rooms are full of their art and stickers, adding to the home’s livability. It needs to feel comfortable and relaxed; when things are too polished, we become intimidated, and that fear can stifle creativity. Jack's room, inspired by August Moon's aesthetic, is a nod to a sense of ease, whimsy, and the beauty of spring- aptly reflected in his middle name, Aviv.

  

What aspects of Tel Aviv inspire your creativity in both your art and family life?

Tel Aviv is such a beautiful city; the sun, the beach, to the casual-ness with which we live our everyday lives. I think coming from New York, where everything is quite perfect and grid-like and packaged for consumption, moving to Tel Aviv has been an incredibly liberating experience. I feel more free to be me, to create without fear, to embrace life’s imperfections, to accept our shared humanity. I love that family is really a central tenet of everyday life here- it’s not just a value we extol but a lived reality. I love that we don’t have to look and behave perfectly all the time- the kids can really be kids, and I can really be me. It’s an incredibly liberating experience, and one that lends itself to real growth. I feel profoundly supported here, and I cherish living in a place that prioritizes process and experience over optics and results.

 What activities do you share with your children that nurture their creativity?

We dance at home all the time. We laugh a lot – thankfully we all have a pretty similar sense of humor and we tend to find the same mundane things uncontrollably funny. We read and write, especially with my two eldest kids. I listen to Spanish music to bring some of my Colombian roots to my home and my kids. My husband loves to cook and he does a fantastic job of bringing our kids into the kitchen. Salo really enjoys being in the kitchen with his dad. Sophie loves to draw and paint and write, like her mama. Jack is a fabulous partner for salsa or reggaeton; he is agile and always laughing. Even riding our bikes around the city gives us an element of freedom that contributes to the creative process of being at home together. I am also very conscious about not over-scheduling my kids. I let my kids pick and choose their extracurriculars, and otherwise we like to come home and unwind together. I think all in all, these factors are really special and important, but even more than that, accepting ourselves and each other as we are is what really makes our family dynamics magical. We apologize when we make mistakes, we learn from our kids always, we bring them into our everyday lives, we listen to them attentively, and I think it’s a really natural and sovereign way to live.  

"I feel profoundly supported here, and I cherish living in a place that prioritizes process and experience over optics and results."

 

 

 

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