happy Halloween

THIS YEAR, I deem Halloween happy. None of that spooky, scary, macabre or twisted stuff for me. I've get quite enough of the things that keep you awake at night on the daily news, thank you very much. It seems there's been a reversal. Could it be that the original intent of Halloween is no longer needed? When our everyday lives are filled with trickery and not treatery? 

THE WORD "Halloween" is actually of Christian origin and dates back to 1745. It literally means "hallowed" or "holy" evening. Hmmm, that's more like it if you're remembering saints, martyrs and all the faithful departed believers. Those truly faithful of yore still might have something to say to us of fore. And I bet their impetus would be a happy one, instead of a scolding one, no?


INSPIRATION comes to me from many different directions. The process is sometimes more interesting than the end result. Such is the case in this year's Halloween tree. Sometimes my vision for a tree doesn't come together quite like I have imagined—taking on a direction of its own—which is fine by me. It is still a fun exercise to make a treat to share.


A KIND OF free-association is what makes the happy accidents happen. My tree ended up with a decidedly subtle demeanor, which renders it incongruent with the increasingly large Halloween celebrations we see today. Or maybe its just a natural transition to the elegant holiday celebrations in the season ahead that carry us into the next year.

THIS TREE's understated Halloween presence incorporates one-eyed pleated rounds (I glued one googly eye in the middle of each for subtle humor), Christopher Radko's Shiny Brite Halloween ornaments and larger ones webbed with glitter (slightly displaced in form, not color—rushing the Christmas season ahead), and graphic tins and containers at the base containing unexpected Halloween treats such as licorice candies (which admittedly, a lot of people don't like, but I know some like me who do).


WHEN THINKING happy, my thoughts went immediately to the generic goblin masks of my youth, which I would love to see a comeback of in a market overtaken by commercial characters and gruesome zombies that saturate the media). I've gathered some photos of them here and present their retro-generic, but scary-fun presence in this photo grid. Altogether, the color palette is pretty wonderfully happy (inspiration for next year?).

WHO KNOWS? Assembling a unique tree always is an experiment in combining disparate, but appropriate things together to  find a fresh expression of the holiday. What's happy about this process is there are no rules—only happy associations and accidents. With my "Happy Halloween" mantra firmly unplanted from my cheek, I salute a happy season ahead!

©2013 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

collecting, photography and styling by Darryl Moland