There's no better celebration of any season than the decorated tree adorned with the rich symbolism of nature—my ritual to inform and inspire you in the journey called life.
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Newest Press!
ARTIST + AUTHOR | My friend Catherine Hamrick re-fashioned and re-blogged her Southern Coterie post about The Decorated Tree here .
CHRISTMAS PAST | This past season's Cottages and Bungalows magazine contains an 8-page feature entitled "Shimmering and Small" on The Decorated Tree's blog and book. Buy your very own copy here.
Who Makes This Blog?
ARTIST PROFILE | Not one to toot my own horn too much (even though I played a mean trumpet long ago in high school band), the recent interview by Darian Glover of The Tree Topper blog got me to talking about what makes this blog tick. If you've always been curious about the method behind the madness, here's what drives The Decorated Tree.
King of the Forest?
KUDOS FROM MATTHEW | Matthew Mead , noted style expert with his own inspiring holiday titles , which I've been lucky enough to be included in two years in a row (2012 and 2013), highlights my top ten trees on his beautiful blog while creating a new moniker for me: King of the Forest. Think it fits? Check out the post on my top ten trees here .
The Decorated Tree's first tree: The Alpine Feather Tree now here!
NEW WINTRY TRADITION | Introducing The Decorated Tree's Alpine Feather Tree, now available for purchase! Two versions of this heirloom-quality goose feather tree are handmade stateside by Dennis Bauer for Hometraditions.com. Have a gander at all the many feather and tinsel options on the Hometraditions site here, Order yours now, as each tree is made as orders arrive. See it decorated in this post.
BLURB.COM STAFF PICK | The Decorated Tree book gets decorated! Click the cover below to peruse a thumbnail of the whole book!
ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE | Matthew's newest holiday bookazine is available now and The Decorated Tree's Alpine Feather Tree makes its decorated debut within its pages! Matthew Mead is a stylist, writer, author, photographer, lifestyle editor, and noted style expert. You can also find an abbreviated magazine version on newsstands everywhere, but t.d.t. recommends buying the expanded bookazine on Amazon.com .
Ornament Finds
STOCKING FEAT | My friend David Schump is a consummate folk artist who creates these tramp art stocking ornaments paying homage to the age-old tradition. They are stained and washed with metallic gold and hung with antique German tinsel garland with care. A vintage Dresden star at the top completes it. This is a limited edition of 12 pieces, so hurry and get yours. Available through his website The Art Tramp, alongside other beautiful masterpieces. Be sure to poke around his site for other wonderful handmade gifts made from the heart.
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SWIFT AND SURE | This swift bird ornament is sold at the East Village John Derian Dry Goods and Company stores In NYC (also at his New England store in Provincetown, MA). His shops take you back in time and have a a small collection of beautiful hand blown glass ornaments that give his most iconic découpage images a festive treatment for the holidays. Available online at John Derian Company, Inc..
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VINTAGE GLAMOUR | For the person who means the world to you, Eliot Raffit creates this beautiful vintage globe, now in four color schemes (original, ivory, noir and sage). With the fine craftsmanship of European workrooms, his collectible ornaments are created to last for generations to come. Using the finest glass glitter, beading, metallic threads and chains, his ornaments include snowflakes, globes, hearts, and more. Each ornament is tied with double-faced Italian satin ribbon, ready for hanging. Available in stores at Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys New York, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Available online at Eliot Raffit's website.
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HEARTMAN | Tintown in South Africa makes delightfully well-designed "hanging decorations" that will bring a smile to anyone's face this holiday season. If you bend over backward for love's song, this is the one for you. Poke around their website for lots of wonderful creations, but you'll find your very own "Heartman" here.
THE GIVING TREE | I recently rediscovered this book a thoughtful friend gave me a few years back. Author Shel Silverstein's poignant tome about the life-long relationship we all have with trees is a classic parable of the selfish versus selfless choices we all make throughout our lives—a true classic, first published in 1964 (Harper Collins).
LIVES OF THE TREES | Diana Wells, author of Lives of the Trees has written an uncommon history of 100 types of trees. It's fascinating reading that writes our long history and sometimes unusual connections with our most stately earthly friends (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill).
THE TREE SHOW | "Arcadian Gothic" artist Mark Ryden's fascinating exploration of the arboreal world is layered with references ranging from Renaissance landscape and Neoclassical portraiture to pop-culture kitsch. Several of his paintings are finished with elaborately-carved wood frames that extend the narrative beyond the canvas. "The Tree Show" series of art is reproduced alongside Ryden's meticulous research on the tree as myth. This book is available here on Amazon.com and a Special Edition Exhibition Book is available at Porterhouse Fine Art Editions, Inc..
THE PHRASE "ring in the New Year" has a new resonance for 2015. Literally, Juan and I have new rings. He surprised me with one for Christmas and I, of course returned the favor as an engagement promise. Since we live in Georgia, the legal significance of these rings is yet to be determined, but in our hearts they mean what they always mean when any couple wears them. Mr. and Mr. will soon (hopefully) become a real possibility, now that 35 states, plus the District of Columbia have marriage equality laws in the books for same-sex couples.
MR. & MR. | This bottle bag from Crate & Barrel contains the bubbly for a sparking new year.
THE NEW YEAR is always about change. It's about leaving the past behind and embracing the future. Just the fact that products are appearing in the market that tout same sex togetherness such as this linen mr. and mr. bottle bag from a forward-thinking business (Crate and Barrel). These products make a toast to a reality that we are embracing ahead of the fact. We are using it here to hold our New Year champagne.
RINGING TOGETHER | This ring dish from Crate & Barrel will give our rings a resting place that we can always find as we are both constantly misplacing things (especially cell phones and remote controls).
THIS MEANS A LOT to both of our futures. And we have begun building this future together in earnest. It's exciting to know that our partnership might one day soon be recognized by the world we live in . . . just like everyone else. Our rings are the only tangible commitment we have to that right now, aside from what we hold in our hearts. As soon as we got our rings, we talked about a centralized place to keep them when we weren't wearing them. Crate and Barrel also helped us out with that dilemma with this Mr. & Mr. ring dish.
DEER IN THE FOREST | Made in Germany by Ino Schaller Bayern, a family tradition since 1894, is famous for their paper mache candy containers. The company also makes glittery bottle brush trees and the doe figurine seen here (as well as the stags).
IT HAS BEEN and eventful 2014 for both Juan and I. And we are looking forward to a long future together. We don't really need a marriage contract for that, but it will greatly help us in the eyes of the law. All of the benefits that most people take for granted with a legal marriage will be rightfully ours . . . finally. As an animal totem the deer symbolizes Juan and I exploring our own magical and spiritual nature together. The deer is a definitive symbol of grace and an appreciation for the beauty of balance.
BRUSH, BUBBLY, AND POP | Champagne served in these Edge Champagne Glasses from Crate & Barrel have a decidedly modern sensibility. Confetti Mini Crackers from West Elm pop apart to reveal surprise gifts.
OUR TOAST FOR 2015 is to continue along our trail to a future we can only dream of together. The crackers included in these photos are traditionally a Christmas favorite in the United Kingdom. Since we're planning on spending Christmas in London in 2015, that future is looking bright already! Happy New Year!
IF IT'S TRUE what is said about the number 13 being the unluckiest number, then this year has played out the way it should. It has been one of the unluckiest years on record, in my life anyway, as well as a number of friend's lives. The New Year's holiday can be one of trepidation, but since 2014 can only get better than 2013—in my book—I give the new year a whole-hearted and welcoming embrace. That's what the New Year's celebration has always been about—setting intentions for the future.
THIS TREE signifies a celebration of the best that has yet to come. And it will be colorful, fiery and bright. I know that if I can create a magical tree such as this, then I surely can muster some of that magic in my own life. Let it be so. That is my wish for the New Year. Although I'm not particularly religious, I am spiritual, and my God is found in nature and the cosmos, so I'll share the best-known form of the serenity prayer to push my intent to the universe on this New Moon New Year's Eve:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
THE GRACE of a deer is also significant. Ever alert and at one within its natural surroundings, the beautiful symbol of a deer is a poetic metaphor for leaping ahead to the new year. May the original form of the serenity prayer be a comfort in the New Year, no matter whom or what your God embodies.
The original words, attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr:
God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, Taking, as Jesus did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it, Trusting that You will make all things right, If I surrender to Your will, So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.
THE YEAR 2012 has been a year of transition, which always uncovers something new. Also, what is seemingly old can be renewed with a fresh perspective. A lot of exciting things (along with the bad, of course) have happened this year, both personally and with the world at large. That's what the New Year's celebration is always about—looking back at where you have been, while looking forward to where you are going. It's necessary to gain perspective from what we have lived through to move forward with any new endeavors we dare to dream.
THIS "TREE" is composed from my snow globe collection is arranged on a galvanized three-tiered stand, trimmed in white crepe paper and dusted with faux snow. It embodies time and memory. I related my feelings about the resonance of the miniature worlds of snow globes in a previous post in January 2011 titled "Frozen Memories," which you can read here. Ancient druids believed that woodland spirits hid themselves in holly branches to wait out the harshness of winter, so I've included them as a forward-looking talisman for a sunny and warm new year. ON A BROAD SCALE, a great way to recap the year's events is to look at what people have searched for.Google's Zeitgeist 2012 video does just that. Watch it (embedded below). More on Google's "most searched" can be found at this link. This inspiring video compiles the things people are looking for under broad inspirational themes in relation to the events of2012. The word "zeitgeist" actually means "spirit of the age/time."I'm also using these themes as a way to relate the significance of the snow globes that decorate this "tree."
LOOKING FOR FIRSTS | This tree snow globe represents acknowledgement—surrounded by curious fauna. A personal first for me this year in a career of working as a designer in publishing, is actually being the subject matter of something that was published. Matthew Mead generously granted an eight-page feature about my blog and book in his Holiday/Christmas magazine available here. And Ben Ashby published a two-page excerpt of my book in FOLK, his magazine celebrating the made-in-America movement, which is available here. Blurb.com honored my book by selecting it as a staff pick! My book published through Blurb.com is available here. All this can only mean I'm gaining momentum with my pursuits (I have a scheduled surprise coming in the spring of 2013 that I'll reveal later). Now that I have some attention beyond the blogosphere, I hope to find a way to make my passions a way of life, rather than it being a sideline. Of course I give a lot of credit to my friends, blog followers and buyers of my book who have supported me along the way with their encouragement and inspiration.
LOOKING FOR RELIEF | Aren't we all? This polar bear snow globe represents a planet in distress. When the polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate, it's time to change course in the way we live. The biggest relief for me this year was when Barack Obama won his second term as president and was forced to address this issue because of Hurricane Sandy—the October Surprise in this year's election. The palpable effect of climate change is evident in bigger and badder ways than ever before. We are finally being forced to recognize that our way of living needs to change, not the climate. We're realizing that a more biocentric way of life includes keeping the diversity in the natural world intact. Sustaining Mother Nature will, in turn, sustain us, as it always has. It's a beautiful cycle not to be tampered with.
LOOKING FOR A CHOICE | The owl snow globe is a warning message. The right choices are always informed by the proper balance between the intuitive and the cognitive. We live in a world where information is at our fingertips like never before. We should be smarter for it, rather than misinformed. Our attention spans need to somehow lengthen again, now that we realize the end of the Mayan calendar wasn't theend, but rather, a new beginning.The Mayans considered the white owl a powerful messenger from the spirit world. This animal spirit warns us that a world out of balance is life out of balance. The white owl is a guardian that allows us to see clearly beyond fear and illusion. Taking time to slow down and ask the important questions will surely be one result of this.
LOOKING FOR CHANGE | The white rabbit snow globe is an invitation
to step out of ordinary time. Seeing a white rabbit has long been an indicator of the possibility of spiritual enlightenment and/or an encounter with the Divine.As Alice in Wonderland experienced, a white rabbit can call us away from our ordinary
life to go on an extraordinary journey. This will lead us to a transformational experience.It is an invitation to enter into the realm of the hidden, intuitive, unconscious world that coexists with what appears to be reality.A white rabbit in our path is a metaphorical invitation to remain awake and alert to new directions, sometimes releasing what we once thought was important.
LOOKING FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL | This silver tree snow globe is a symbol of finding the special qualities in everything you encounter, no matter how barren it may seem. My favorite way to gain this perspective is to allow myself some time to be completely immersed in Nature. In our lives in cities away from large expanses of sparsely populated land, the stars in the sky are mostly obliterated from sight by the ambient light of civilization. This past November, Devin and I had a week's worth of time to explore the beaches and land around Tulum, Mexico. One night we took the time to lie on the beach and look up at the stars. We were both amazed at themagnificent sight above us in this sparsly populated area. Looking into the depth of this unobscured night sky had a humbling effect. We both got a clear message of the love the universe has in store for us.
LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION | This Christmas Tree snow globe represents inspiration. Childhood Christmas trees from my childhood informed the creation of this blog. And I am constantly looking for new ways to create magic with The Decorated Tree. I invite you to continue on my journey with me in celebrating the seasons and I hope the new year is filled with joyous discovery in everything for which we search. Here's to a happy, prosperous and forward-looking 2013!
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