past. present. future . . .

FROM A DISTANCE, this tree appears classically composed of antique decorations because of its traditional and old-fashioned look, but when you get closer, you'll see that all (except for a few) of the ornaments are modern, or only reproductions of vintage styles.

ALL THE REFLECTION contained in this blog has led me to here. There's no escaping the past. It's sometimes hard to live in the present. And the future doesn't always seem bright. But the string of holidays leading up to Christmas each year have a way of coalescing years of the best memories and pushing one forward into the New Year anew. Could it be 2015 already? How did this happen?

TIME AND AGAIN | This pocket watch ornament sets the tone for past, present and future.

AFTER MORE THAN a year of profound catharsis in my life, I think I've finally learned to listen to the present. To live in it. And to embrace the future with the brightest hopes and dreams. A large part of that is having someone in my life that is living a different phase of their lives, but wants to live it with me, even though I've already been through all of that (and maybe because of it). At 53 years old, I feel like I have a brand new chance for the life I have always imagined. It's amazing how much things can change in a year's time.

FLEETING MOMENTS | Life can catch you by surprise and change directions only when you are intent on listening to the smallest, quietest, but most profound moments.

IT ALL STARTED when Juan Fonseca joined me in life this past summer. I haven't shared a home with a partner in quite a long time. This forced me to restructure my life in ways I knew I needed to and provided the impetus to do it—all with someone I love dearly. This also took me away from this blog for a while. In preparation for Thanksgiving this year, when we hosted Juan's mother and stepfather, we have been reworking our home to make it ours. And, at last, Ive begun sorting through the ephemera of my past life, letting go of things I neither want or need anymore, both physically and in-turn, psychically.

SEEDING THE FUTURE | Pinecone ornaments always figure into the symbology of a tree and are present on nearly every one I decorate.

WHEN THINKING BACK on other Thanksgivings, I remember some amazingly bright spots in my life. It was Thanksgiving day in 1984 when I got the call from the art director of Southern Living magazine announcing that they would like me to join them as a staff artist. This was my career launch after college. And it has affected my life more profoundly than I could ever imagine. This job set the course of my career at that company (most of which were at another magazine it published). It was ten years of working with a warm, creative, family of friends, a large number of whom I am still in touch with. And I learned the skills that have enabled me to create this blog and give me a creative attention to detail that is lost in a quite a lot of modern publishing. I need to tell a story. I need to have resonance in what I'm doing. It's much more than a pretty picture. Publishers these days seem to only be looking at the bottom line and forgetting their real assets.—namely readers. Back then, that seemed to be the most important lifeline for magazines.

GLOBAL RESPONSE | A heirloom glittered globe spins hope for the future. Globe designed by Elliot Raffit.

AND NOW, it begins again. The past does repeat itself. The only difference is all the lessons learned during long-gone times are much more readily available and are viscerally informing my future. And emotionally, it finally feels as if the planets are aligned just right for something better than before. Besides, it was on this day in 1945 that my parents were married. Both lived until just before their 60th anniversary. I can't believe that's been almost 9 years ago. Where does the time go?

BIG PICTURE | Sometimes disparate elements combine themselves into a whole in surprising ways. This tree is a natural-cut tree grown by Cale Smith of G&S Trees Inc. in the Appalachian farms in Elk Park, North Carolina.

THIS TREE is different from a lot of the trees on this blog. Namely because it wasn't begun to be a really fussed-over tree with a cohesive theme. Then there's the full-sized realness of it. When I let go and decided to decorate the tree with regard to how life comes at you—what happened was a lot of disparate pieces coming together and making a beautiful, but imperfect whole. I honestly bought the tree bundled, with only looking at its top. That never happens. Somehow over the years, I've learned to trust my gut. but when the tree farmer said it was a natural-cut tree, that had me. I've grown quite weary of trees that have been coerced into perfect dense cones all their life. You can truly tell the difference a tree makes.

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE | Everybody knows the story of Ebenezer Scrooge and how he finally found the Christmas spirit. This book is a Barnes & Noble special edition of The Christmas Carol, beautifully bound.

AND IN MY AMAZEMENT, that is just what is happening in my life. We already have added a new family member. We've adopted a "schnoodle", whom we have named Halston. He walked into our home from the Atlanta Humane Society as if he had always been here--even without too much protest from the two cats (Abella and Frida) that already lived here (Frida is crouched under the tree in the photo at top). 

THE PIECES FALL TOGETHER quite perfectly in their imperfection. All you have to do is have a keen eye for balance, be able to take a leap of faith, and understand; just as Ebenezer Scrooge finally did in Dicken's The Christmas Carol, that where you have been affects many more people than you can ever imagine. And what footprints we have left behind profoundly inform our steps into the future.

HERE'S WISHING everyone who reads this a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

SANTA'S BOOT | Robert Brawley's Twinkles and Treats handmade delight is front and center on the tree. A self-proclaimed Halloween Fanatic, OOAK ornaments for all seasons are available on his Etsy site.

CHILDLIKE WONDER | This kitch figurine found this past summer on the clearance table at the Savannah Urban Outfitters, when Juan and I were on our first vacation together, captures the essence of a child at Christmas and became part of our decor this year.

PRESERVING SANTA | The timeless quality of Santa's story captures new hearts and minds every season if you just choose to believe.

©2014 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

collecting, photography and styling by Darryl Moland.

magic in the air

IT MAY NOT ALWAYS be readily apparent, but if you squint, blur your eyes and find the space between reality and the magic that is in the very air we breathe during the holidays—if you listen intently—you might even hear the sleigh bells ringing and a distant chuckle. Then you'll know that St. Nicholas will soon be here.

I REMEMBER in decorating the trees of my childhood, the lights were always multicolored then, with some of the bulbs being an unblinking solid color, and some being a translucent color. All of them were blinking on their own independent schedule. This gave the tree an effect of a multicolored sky of bright fireflies. The overall scene was wonderously magical.

WHEN THE TREE was done I would sit on the sofa facing the the "picture window," in front of which the tree stood proudly, for the passersby to see. I would blur my eyes until the lights melded together and formed halos of overlapping color. It was mesmerizing. It was if we had our own blinking constellation of color that bounced off of the ceiling and every reflective surface in the room.

SOME SAY the season is ushered in at the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade by Santa in his sleigh being pulled by eight flying reindeer. That's the way it used to be. These days it starts long before that. But the beginning mark of the holiday season is when the magic of the season lights up a child’s eyes. Whether it be by the lights themselves, glitter everywhere you look, or brightly-hued baubles hanging from the tree's branches; the real focus of the season is where all of that comes together—the tree.

THIS ALTOGETHER DIFFERENT TREE was conceived by good intentions when it was decorated, but it drooped and sagged under the weight of the heavy glittered reindeer heads, metal acanthus leaves and sleigh bells. Even so, Santa was diligent with his reindeer, create their own brand of glittery magic. With its LED lit branches, the tree still provided a measure of warmth for the season that began after Thanksgiving, so the droopy branches didn't seem to matter.

ITS QUIRKY NATURE, I thought, was a welcome relief from a tediously-decorated real tree that was the year before. Not to say they both weren’t beautiful in their own right. Even in my semi-failures, I try to find the beauty, so they’re not really failures at all. I even glittered one of the reindeer’s noses with red glass glitter, to make Rudolf's nose glow. Now he stood out alongside Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen . . . and on with, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen!

THE REINDEER GAMES of the season are your chance to experiment with something new. It’s always enjoyable to look for a uniquely creative way to express the holiday. So with your best conceptual Santa cap on, consider a new way to decorate your tree—even try a new kind of tree. It's always satisfying to find a distinctive way to decorate and stand out from the crowd. Santa might even give you a reward and let you guide his sleigh through the season. And now that you're aligned with Rudolf, you may even go down in history!

©2013 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

collecting, photography and styling by Darryl Moland.
Special thanks to Devin Borden for the location.

woodland lessons two: a tale in two parts

WHAT MORE could there be to the history behind the decorated tree? What's the real significance of the custom of putting presents under an evergreen brought inside the home? How could reindeer fly and help Santa spread the good cheer? There are certainly a lot of customs surrounding the literal or metaphorical birth of Christ that are just accepted without question. I will give a little insight into some of the origins. 

NO  ONE  knows all the answers, but the more I read about the lore surrounding the Christmas holiday, the more interesting and resonant it seems to be. The associations with the religions of the world find their origins in the ancient shamanistic cultures predating Christendom. The best way to tame and convert "the heathens" was to adopt the customs of the Old World, forgetting that one day, the dots could be connected in the New World.

WHAT  IS  FOUND in nature inspired it all. The natural world holds the key. There is no denying, even though we sometimes think we have subverted it, we're finding more and more that we are integrally tied to Mother Nature. And in such profound ways that we can no longer ignore our place within its carefully balanced and sustainable systems. Mushrooms and their life systems are a huge part of this.

MUSHROOMS  have long been associated with the evergreen tree, being the literal presents found under it. The truly special ones can be found growing in symbiosis under arboreal trees such as pine, fir, or sometimes larch or birch. In Christmas ornament history and more and more in present day as we rediscover our holiday roots, you'll find red-capped mushroom ornaments dotted with white spots. They are also the mushrooms seen in fairy tales such as Alice in Wonderland. Such ornaments are representations of the lucky magic mushrooms called Amanita muscaria. Muscimol, the hallucinogenic component in dried Amanita muscaria (the raw ones are poisonous) is how the shamans of ancient cultures found "flight." The broadened spacial perception under their influence led them to think of the cosmic guidance while being pulled high above the world in their sleds by mushroom-eating flying reindeer was their contact with the collective consciousness of souls—their God—their point of contact with the gods and the dead. The ancient cultures and shamans of the world used this mushroom manna to help manipulate and open the mind, carefully protecting the wisdom found through their experiences of expanded perception to the masses, making them sacred individuals, which in turn gave the newer religions ground to convert the masses. The later symbolic gestures in religion leave out the actual element of nature.

ALL  OF  THE  associations of present-day customs surrounding the Christmas holiday with the ancient practices are interesting indeed—especially with logic defying mushrooms and the resulting broadening perception of the natural world and how humans first connected to the "Gods." For this alone, they truly are magic.

AS  A  MUSICAL  accompaniment to this post, I can't think of a better angelic voice to bring the old songs of the holidays new life, as is my mission with this blog to bring resonance and meaning back to the old customs of the holidays throughout the ages and in turn, asking questions about the origins of our current-day customs. Annie Lennox has always been one to bring a modern perspective to the old sounds that resonate with all of us. In this new album titled "A Christmas Cornucopia," a new song, titled "Universal Child" precedes the album made up of it and 11 traditional Christmas songs. She says (and I paraphrase her) "that while recording the album, I realized the songs have layers of meaning that are not necessarily only about the Christian interpretation. You can listen to the songs and hear the religious significance, but underneath it all, there is simply a humanistic message." I anxiously await this album as Annie Lennox is one of my favorite recording artists. The album will be released globally on November 15th, 2010. Watch this amazing video of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" here which bridges the origins of the holiday to modern celebrations.

MODERN MUSHROOM | (Top) Although this stylized shroom is not the traditional red and white lucky Christmas mushroom ornament, this spotted version from my collection has a personality all its own.The Amanita muscaria is a real mushroom (seen at right), not just the quintessential fairy tale toadstool. Poisonous in it's raw form, it takes a practiced individual (like someone who meditates or is attuned to more mindful traits) to discover any mind expansion in its psychoactive use (from what I've read).

SNAIL FOOD | (Above, center) Snails and worms hasten the return of the quick life of mushrooms back to the earth. During a woodland outing in north Georgia about a year ago, I found a wide array of mushrooms, picking up this snail along the way which posed perfectly for this shot. I haven't identified any of the mushrooms found, but plan to and I'll update my post when I do.

NATURAL COLLAGE | (Above, bottom) A beautiful assemblage of mushrooms I photographed on warm-hued pieces of scrapbook paper just after my lucky morning outing in the woods gathering them. These are the inspiration for the color scheme of the woodland tree. Once I identify the types of mushrooms, I will update my findings. (Below) The gills on the undersides of the mushroom caps create a beautiful textural study and illustrate the complex mystery of their short lives.
 

©2010 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, collecting and styling by Darryl Moland, photography by Harold Daniels Studio / assisted by Shawn May. Mushroom collecting, photography and styling by Darryl Moland.

white wedding

WHO  KNEW?  Queen Victoria wore a white wedding dress. That in itself may not seem like news at all, but since she's widely credited with starting the tradition, it's a revelation. It followed that Victorian era elites, rapturously reading and writing the etiquette books of the day, took Victoria's lead and embellished it with the "connotation of innocence and sexual purity." 

FAST  FORWARD to over a century later and the Billy Idol song "White Wedding" served to heighten the fantasy of a virgin bride. Some say that he wrote the song to express his displeasure with his sister's fiancé impregnating her before marrying her. It was a nice day (meaning the '80s) for a white wedding, because it was one of Idol's most successful songs.

VICTORIA and husband/cousin Albert are also subsequently credited for popularizing the modern Christmas tree. Either alone is a testament to the great effect these kissing cousins had on modern culture. She was the longest-ruling monarch of Great Britain (64 years!), during a time of economic and imperial expansion (Albert died early in 1861). Victoria gave her name to the Victorian Era, but she was also nicknamed the "grandmother of Europe" since the fruitful couple had four sons and five daughters to keep the royal lineage going for decades to come (42 grandchildren).

“Married in white, you will have chosen all right. Married in gray, you will go far away. Married in black, you will wish yourself back. Married in red, you’ll wish yourself dead. Married in blue, you will always be true. Married in pearl, you’ll live in a whirl. Married in green, ashamed to be seen. Married in yellow, ashamed of the fellow. Married in brown, you’ll live out of town. Married in pink, your spirits will sink.”

—From The History of the White Wedding Dress by Kelsey McIntyre

IN  ANY  CASE, weddings are steeped in tradition, rituals and superstition all-at-once. A bridal set of ornaments is an elegant gift that brings the seasons all together in one set, whether used only around Christmas or separately throughout the year, or both. A wedding in June—is surprisingly only the second most popular month for weddings—even with the "June bride" being part of the cultural dialog. June falls just below September in wedding month popularity (according to the Knot). Victoria and Albert's wedding date was February 10, 1840, so the June bride didn't start there (that may go back to Roman times). In true Victoria (not Victorian) form, it seems like the only tradition today is to break with tradition, making your wedding unique—a reflection of your own personal style. Maybe, also, one day it won't be so unique for gay people to legally marry in this country and it will be passed into law, for better or worse. I doubt if it will interfere with the sanctity of marriage. And it certainly is better than marrying your cousin. Being a gay man from Alabama, I can say that with hope and conviction, having been in two long-term, live-together relationships, nine and six years respectively, both with whom I still maintain good friendships.

ACCORDING  TO  German tradition, a set of  bride's tree ornaments (all photos this post) are twelve symbols of a happy home—a nice gift to wish the newlywed couple success in marriage and life. Follow the numbers to find the meaning, ritual or superstition behind each:

1) BIRD | symbol of joy and happiness
2) ANGEL | symbol of guidance
3) RABBIT | reflects hope and peace with nature
4) FRUIT BASKET | symbolizes generosity and plenty
5) HEART | symbol of true love
6) PINE CONE | represents motherhood and fruitfulness
7) FLOWER BASKET | symbolizes good wishes or beauty in the home 
8) ROSE | symbol of affection  
9) HOUSE | represents protection or shelter
10) FISH | represents fertility and faith
11) TEAPOT | represents hospitality
12) SANTA | is a symbol of goodwill, giving and sharing

WRAPPING an heirloom such as this set of ornaments warrants a reusable box with protective squares of archival tissue. I've added squares of wide shimmery organza ribbon as an accent. The bride's ornament set can be found in pre-packaged gift-boxed sets, but since this set was found individually, an ornament box was necessary to contain it. This starter set of holiday ornaments can be used together at Christmas or individually, according to the season. Small inexpensive honeycomb wedding bells are a nice topper to the gift instead of a traditional bow (they can also be positioned half-opened, taped to the top of the wrapped box).

WEDDING TABLEAU | (Top) This unusually neutral white and silver bride's tree set was found individually a few seasons ago at Star Provisions in Atlanta. I had to replace the original house ornament which was broken with a similar one from the grand daddy of the German glassblowing tradition, Krebs Lauscha. (Center) I've numbered the set of ornaments to correspond with the list of their meanings. (Bottom) If found individually, it's a nice gesture to archive the ornaments for gift-giving and keeping. The linen napkin with beautiful silver-threaded stitching is by Thomas O'brien, from his Vintage Modern line for Target in 2005. The paper daisies were found at Michaels and the honeycomb wedding bells are from Martha Stewart Crafts.

©2010 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

photography and styling by Darryl Moland

a thousand beautiful things

J A P A N E S E   O R I G A M I  cranes are the quintessential symbol of the art of paper folding. My collection started last Christmas and all three (pictured at right) were gifts from my tenacious-by-a-thread-beau. Folding a thousand such cranes (only one of mine is actual paper origami), stringing them together on 25 strands of 40 cranes each (a Senbazuru) will make a wish come true; help you find a mate; and bring both of you a long life of good luck, health and prosperity; all-the-while garnering world peace. Not to be dubious about this legendary and time-honored Japanese custom, I like to think that the meditative process of embarking on such a concentrated endeavor would have to bring about some incredibly good Karma to the world. In spite of the daunting prospect of doing such a thing, at least I can dream of a tree decorated with a thousand cranes and living luckily, healthily, prosperously, peacefully, and happily-ever-after.

A N   A U S T E R E  (couldn't be 1,000) and elegant version of a tree like this, published by Martha Stewart has already been done, along with everything else. But with a thousand cranes in all sizes and a tasteful color-scheme (not to mention a highly creative staff), I too, could produce a knockout symbol of all the good things in life. Or maybe my legions of (eight, officially as of this post) blog followers could just send me one crane they folded themselves? Eight is enough, right? Now 1,000 would be truly joyous! Is it too early to give Santa your Christmas wishes?

M Y   T R E E S  seem to always get overburdened with selections from an ever-growing prop studio (storage unit). This crane thing would be traveling light for me. And a hope for light and love traveling around the world, much like Santa himself on Christmas Eve.

N O T   T O   F O R G E T  another esteemed diva in my life, I have to give credit to Annie Lennox for her transformative song "A Thousand Beautiful Things." It truly has been one of my favorite songs since her album entitled Bare was released. Seeing her in concert on that tour, alongside one of my best friends, Alehandro back in March of 2003, the chilling songstress gave us goosebumps on numerous occasions during her playlist. Especially at one entirely unforgettable moment in the concert when a bell sound in one of her songs—like an amplified meditation bell—was cued with a single drop of liquid falling and causing a ripple on a huge projection screen behind her stage set (nothing there but whiteness and shadow until that point in the concert). It was a suck-the-air-out-of-the-room moment of clarity! And Ale and I looked at each other and shuddered in delight.

W H E T H E R   O R   NOT  it was "A Thousand Beautiful Things" (I think it was, but Ale thinks it was "Bitter Pill"), it all went down so smoothly that unforgettable night being serenaded by Annie at the Atlanta Symphony Hall. We were transformed. Thank you Ms. Lennox for that!

I   S H O U L D  get busy folding! And I'll listen to the words of Annie's song while I do it (please do it too—one will suffice). And I hope to find all the beautiful things about life everyday—even as I'm having to swallow a bitter pill along with it. 

THREE OF A THOUSAND? | (Above, from front to back) A white resin crane—with permanence—from One Hundred80 Degrees, an authentic folded crane from an Atlanta artisan Sachiko Kogure, and a ceramic crane intended for use as a place card holder from Target, 2008)

BEAUTIFUL THINGS | A small portion of my 

"vast" prop "studio" (storage unit, below).

©2009 DARRYL MOLAND

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
collecting, photography and 

styling by Darryl Moland