the pumpkin tree

THE PUMPKIN PATCH is  firmly rooted in Autumn lore — even iconic. It has woven its way into the social fabric of Thanksgiving and Halloween. The pumpkin has long been a symbol of our connection to the earth and a paean to our agrarian history. I'm only one generation away from my uncle who was a cotton farmer in Alabama. And my own father had a large garden with a neighbor every year in our community.
We're missing something in losing that connection in our busy lives where everything can be ordered online, except maybe . . . pumpkins . . . hmm. 

AN INTRIGUING BOOK I've just found online (but haven't ordered and read yet), is simply titled Pumpkin with the subtitle A Curious History of an American Icon. The book sounds entirely worth a read, and dovetails nicely with what I've always tried to achieve with this blog — bringing resonance back to the symbols of, and surrounding the decorated tree and the connections to nature. Pumpkin is written by Cindy Ott, an assistant professor of American Studies at Saint Louis University. The description reads, in part: Beginning with the myth of the first Thanksgiving, she [Ott] shows how Americans have used the pumpkin to fulfull their desire to maintain connections to nature and to the family farm of lore, and, ironically, how small farms and rural communities have been revitalized in the process. And while the pumpkin has inspired American myths and traditions, the pumpkin itself has changed because of the ways people have perceived, valued, and used it. "This major contribution to American agricultural and sociocultural history" can be ordered online here.

THE MOOD OF AUTUMN: Photographer Art Meripol, my old coworker and friend from my days at Southern Living magazine and Cooking Light magazine took this photograph. Art says he photographed this little girl in a pumpkin patch near a small town in central Missouri. The atmospheric mystery of the photograph is palpable. With the wind blowing her hair across her face and the cloudy blue autumn sky meeting the earthy tumble of the pumpkin patch is, to me, the quintessential image of autumn. Please visit Art's site here to find even more breathtaking imagery.

'TIS THE SEASON: Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Salted Caramels are a different take on each autumn's tedious pumpkin spice season—topped with a sprinkling of Hawaiian red sea salt.

SEARCHING THE PATCH for the perfect pumpkins is quite a fun endeavor each autumn season, even if it's only at your local supermarket. It's even more challenging when you have in mind to make a "tree" from a graduated sizes of these gourds. Then one has to decide on color and form and how well they all stack up.

TRICK OR TREAT: Skull-stamped treat bags are filled with either tricks or treats, so upon opening, you determine what you have. Treat bags are available at Michaels.

TIERED TREATS: Trader Joes has no shortage of Halloween Treats. These Belgian Chocolate Pumpkins and Chocolate Mousse Pumpkins are both quite delicious.

IT'S A GREAT DIVERSION from the politics at hand this season. It's either "trick or treat" in this election. Our choice is more polarized than ever before. So it goes with the Halloween dessert tableau seen in the photo at the top of this post. The treat (or trick?) bags enclosed under lock and key are purposely mysterious. Yours is a grab bag of one or the other. These sinister skull-imprinted bags could hold an October surprise. Either way, there are enough treats to keep us at the scene of the crime.

GOURDS GALORE: Quite a mix. You can find elegant gourds everywhere this time of year, but look at specialty shops and florists and farmer markets. I found the long-stemmed beauties at French Market Flowers at Krog Street Market in Atlanta.

PUMPKINS are a form of squash, and both are part of the gourd family. There are endless varieties, colors and forms. What I set out to achieve in this post is using the natural gourds without coaxing them by carving or painting — becoming something else entirely. That can be a fun thing to do, but my mission this time was to keep things pure and simple.

BEAUTIFUL VARIETY: It's all about diversity.

PURE AND SIMPLE isn't meant to be without variety though. It takes all shapes, sizes and colors to make an interesting and beautiful mix. You might even say that also applies to people. We are all part of the same family — the human family — and we need to start acting like it to survive along with the natural world. It's all we've got when you get down to basics.

©2016 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
collecting, photography and styling by Darryl Moland,
Pumpkin patch photo courtesy Art Meripol photography.

(un)conventional wisdom

ATHENA, the Greek goddess of wisdom was represented or accompanied by an owl in mythology. 'Little Owl' (Athene noctua) was her ever-watching "mascot." Large numbers of owls were said to nest in the Acropolis in Athens, which is the temple dedicated to Athena. As her symbol, the owl accompanied Greek armies to war, gaining the mystique of being seen as a protector.

FLIP SIDES | Rather than being emblematic of a deep connection with wisdom and intuitive knowledge, much traditional folklore places the owl as a messenger between the living and the dead—or even as death's messenger-in-chief. A less morbidly superstitious belief has them simply representing a metaphorical shift in perception, providing insight and wisdom to something we haven't seen or considered before—an (un)conventional wisdom, as it were. In ancient Greece, this coin (right) was the most influential of its time. The Athenian Owl featured Athena on one side and an owl on the other (shown). Nicknamed "Owls", these coins were in circulation for well over 300 years (c. 430 B.C. to c. 99 B.C). It is also the first widely minted coin that placed a 'head' on the front and a 'tail' (an animal image) on the back.

SOME CULTURES associate owls with sorcery and evil (Aztecs and Maya), while others consider owls as bad omens (Arab mythology), but the association with wisdom, art and scholarship (which all have their roots in Greek mythology) is the most resonant in Western culture.

PART OF THE MYSTERY surrounding the interpretation of the owl as an animal symbol lies with the longevity of the species. Dating back as much as 60 million years, the owl has been found in prehistoric cave paintings as well as ancient fossils. This span of time over millennia, no doubt, contributes to the owl's mysterious nature and is further amplified by its nocturnal habits and eerie call, giving its nighttime appearances an otherworldly demeanor.



SYMBOLIC MESSENGERS | This fantastic Owl Totem tree topper inspired this tree and was found last season at Star Provisions in Atlanta, but you might find one online at Terrain (or not). They seem to be very popular and hard to find. 



OWLS HAVE BEEN represented in the market—more and more the past few years as decorative items and ornaments. You can find them everywhere if you haven't noticed. This paper tree displays the collection of owl ornaments I've gathered, lending a mysterious quality perfect for Halloween. The owl totem topping this Halloween tree is a paean celebrating the owl's mystery and the good and bad of its generational (as well as cultural) history. In Indian American traditions, the owl is referred to as the Night Eagle. The owl totem has a special connection with the night and the moon which is a perfect symbol for the change in the airspace that mysteriously blows in with the autumn season.

THIS HALLOWEEN (and first days of autumn) signal the return of my blog after a much-needed hiatus. Taking time for the important things in life, I have found an amazing new partner, a new job and a new lease on life (as well as a new camera). Just as the owl represents transformation and change, my intuition tells me that this renewed creative flight is a protective symbol of what's to come. The owl has played a diverse and fascinating cross-cultural role in myth and folklore and its intuitive wisdom surely holds lessons for all of us. It allows us to explore the unknown in such a way that can uncover the magic that we might otherwise miss in keeping a watchful eye and listening for the eerie call of "whooo."

CANDLELIT MYSTERY | This owl and tree branch candlestick sits atop a frog which sits atop its base—very witchy indeed. The crown-shaped candle bases denote the nobility of the mysterious owl. Velvet fabric stuffed pumpkins sit amongst real ones and a diminuitive brass candleholder with curvy legs looks as if it could animate and walk amongst the pumpkin patch.

PUMPKIN GLITZ | This monogrammed and glittered faux pumpkin sets the tone for a real grey/green pumpkin with a glittered stem, alongside another velvet stuffed pumpkin and a small white pumpkin.

©2014 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

collecting, photography and styling by Darryl Moland.
 

apple time

APPLES are a quintessential part of autumn. They signal the cool, crisp weather to come with their own brand of cool crispness. Having just eaten a late lunch with some friends on a clear-skied autumn day on a restaurant patio, none of us indulged with a finish of dessert. But as we were standing in the restaurant's parking lot saying our goodbyes, I noticed the blackboard touting a new seasonal offering for dessert—an apple-pecan cheesecake. I went back in as we were leaving and ordered a piece to go. It sounded like the perfect thing for a bright fall day such as this. I'm glad I did, because the cheesecake itself was dotted with cubed apples and topped with chopped pecans. It was coupled with a sweet caramel sauce, which rendered it as perfect taste of autumn.

GEORGIA is well known for its summer peaches (and peanuts, boiled or otherwise), but more and more, its becoming known for its autumn apples. As they are grown in the north Georgia mountains, I made a special trip to Ellijay, in north Georgia to buy a variety of the first of the season's apples for this post, and filled in with a couple of "Yankee" varieties imported to the local supermarket for good measure. While not exactly a "tree," this centerpiece of apples stacked on a tiered wooden stand is a beautiful way to decorate for the season. The variety of natural-color-coordinated apples lend themselves well to such a dramatic display of their inherent beauty. This harkens back to the wooden German tree stands (or pyramids) that held evergreens, fruit, nuts, and other baubles around the holidays (thought to be the predecessor to the Christmas tree). The forerunner of the pyramid was a construction known as a "Lichtergestelle" (literally: light stand) which were very popular in the 18th century.

ELLIJAY, Georgia has a yearly apple festival which spans over two weekends in October. The Ellijay Lion's Club, the Gilmer County Chamber of Commerce, the cities of Ellijay and East Ellijay, and Gilmer County join forces to usher in the autumn season with a bumper crop of apples. The 42nd Georgia Apple Festival will be held the weekends of October 12-13th and October 19th and 20th. There will be over 300 vendors with handmade, hand-crafted items, as well as many on-site demonstrations of how selected types of crafts are made.

ALTHOUGH most apple farmers in North Georgia don't adhere to organic methods to grow their apples, my friend Margie Thorpe has ferreted out one farmer named "David" who she gets organically-grown heirloom variety apples from in Ellijay. You can contact her through her "Vegetable Husband" website to procure a few of David's organic apples in her baskets of fresh produce. Near Ellijay at Mountain Valley Farm, you can stock up on fresh milk products, including roll butter and homemade ice cream. They also sell farm fresh eggs that have never been refrigerated or had the natural just-laid bloom washed from them (which helps prevent bacteria from permeating the eggshell) and a variety of delicious grass-fed meats (frozen to carry home). If you don't want to veer off the beaten path, in nearby Blue Ridge, Mercier Orchards is probably the most visited "apple house" in the area boasting a variety of their own branded products for sale (aside from many varieties of apples). Their famous fried pies are a must! If you are not an adventurous sort, an easy stop is Penland's Apple House just off the main road heading into Ellijay from Atlanta (Highway 515).

AUTUMN wraps up the abundance of crops grown in the summertime, but autumn is the time for enjoying the crop that defines the apple season. Here's to a big piece of apple pie with ice cream, or just a pie in your hand that's been fried and lightly glazed. Or as I enjoyed today, a piece of apple-pecan cheesecake with a drizzle of caramel sauce. But just a for a simple treat, there's nothing else like a fresh crisp apple, sliced and eaten out-of-hand. It's a time to celebrate the bounty of the season, no matter how you slice it!

©2013 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

photography and styling by Darryl Moland

wedding mementos

IF A WEDDING can be a frame of reference for life events, it is only appropriate that a wedding later in life frames memories of the past and present. Marriage is a symbolic point at which a couple's lives officially merge as witnessed by close friends and family.

The trees were carefully crafted beforehand and displayed at the wedding with the expert help of Devin Borden (center, bottom).

WHEN DISCUSSING designing a tree and other elements for the couple's wedding, we discussed a way to personalize the trees. Including the photos of persons so important to each family's heritage along with past and current life event photos of living relatives was a perfect way in which to accomplish this, at least symbolically. Later, we decided that having two trees of equal stature representing both sides of this merging family was a great way to honor both families, both separately and together as a unit. The bride and groom both garden, so it wasn't a stretch to use simple natural elements as decor on the trees and tie to other decor for the wedding. It was also a theme in keeping with the autumn season at hand.

THE SINGULAR tree shown in this post combines photos from both of the trees done for the wedding. Because marriage merges two families together, this tree is symbolic of the union between the bride and groom and their respective families. 

Each frame was simply made from pine cone pieces surrounding a laser photocopied picture mounted to thin cardboard—creating frames that harken back to history, having a "tramp art" look to them. Thin brown satin ribbon formed the hanging loops.

All the handmade photo frames for both trees. The idea for the frames was modified from instructions found on the Martha Stewart website here.

At the base of the modern clay container for the tree (a wire Easter tree from this past season's Pottery Barn line) photographed for this blog, a small pot of moss, a wooden box, some leaves, pinecones and a silver bird add just the right touch of earthy whimsy.

©2012 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED photography and styling by Darryl Moland; pine cone photo frames hand-crafted by Darryl Moland and Devin Borden

free fall

Laden Autumn here I stand
Worn of heart,
    and weak of hand:
Nought but rest seems 
    good to me,
Speak the word that 
    sets me free.
                —William Morris  

F A L L   T R E E S  become a saturated blaze of earthy color after a spring and summer of growth. The first artwork I created that got any attention started with a crudely painted bare tree trunk and limbs, then daubed with red, green, brown and yellow leaves applied with bits of sponge dipped in tempera paint, which I'm recreating in the photo at right (except with glass leaf ornaments). I did this sponge painting in kindergarten and proudly brought it home to give to my mother. She considered it a "masterpiece" (as only a mother can do). She kept the tree painting folded neatly in her drawer for as long as I can remember and would pull it out occasionally to show to friends and relatives.

P A I N T I N G  was one of the first indications that I had an eye for arts and crafts. My mother keeping and cherishing that painting as she did let me know it was nothing ordinary. Her tucking it away for safekeeping like it was something precious probably had more to do with my becoming a visual artist than any raw talent I ever had. It gave me the confidence inherent in creating something and taught me to love expressing myself with the raw materials of color, texture and form. My eyes turned into visual sponges—like those bits of paint-soaked sponge that I used to create that fall tree. My interest in absorbing the visual beauty of my surroundings started right then and there.

M Y   K I N D E R G A R T E N  teacher was also our next-door-neighbor where I grew up, so school was an easier transition for me than a lot of kids. I always excelled in school because I loved the adventure of learning new things. I was one of the geeky popular kids—the good-grade set with social skills. My parents were both actively involved in my sibling's lives—as stretched out as they were (I came along ten years after my brother Mal). One or both of my parents was always nearby in all our extracurricular endeavors (the band for my sister and I, and the football team for my two brothers), so I was what they called one of the "good kids," probably only because I knew mother and daddy would promptly find out if I ever did anything wrong.

M O T H E R   A L W A Y S  let me take charge of decorating the Christmas tree each year, once I was old enough to do so, and it became a lifelong passion that has grown to obsessive proportions. That's why I'm doing this blog. I have a lot to share and have amassed an enormous array of decorations and ephemera with which to do it. I'm less than two years away from being fifty, so it seems like a natural progression during the autumn years of my life. It is also a means by which to collect my thoughts and ideas for a book called "The Decorated Tree" that I want to publish someday. And it's all about freeing this dream I've had for years and making it a reality.

W I L L I A M   M O R R I S, who wrote the short poem that begins this blog post was a leader in the Arts and Crafts movement begun in the late 19th century. The more I read about him (shown, left, at age 37), the more it seems my ideas about resolving craft with industrialization are in alignment. Today, that means retooling a new appreciation of things still well-made by industry by sorting through the mounds of schlock that is mass-marketed. Modern society, as Morris feared, has become all about being fast and cheap and has lost a lot of historical context in translation. He rejected the opulence of the Victorian era and urged a return to medieval traditions of design, craftsmanship and community. Aside from being a poet, an artist and a social reformer, he is probably most well-known for perfecting the use of woodblocks for printing the nature-inspired wallpaper and textiles he designed, many of which are still in use today in one form or another. His political writings were geared toward a push away from the dehumanizing effects of the Industrial Revolution and a longing for a society in which people could enjoy craftsmanship and simplicity of expression.

M Y   S I G H T S  are set less broadly than his (or maybe not), but in any account, that is exactly what I want to do with the holiday tree, which has all but become a meaningless decorative concoction without much reverence to the natural world and the history that created it. It hasn't always been that way. I believe that life ultimately finds its true meaning in nature and we must revere our history. And like a vibrant falling leaf, I hope to find good ground to nourish and tap into a time-honored wellspring of renewed ideas. 

MEMORY TREE | Almost 40 years later, I recreate that kindergarten tree painting (above, right), except, instead of daubs of paint sponged on for leaves, there are glass ornaments. The broad leaves are made by Department 56, the narrow ones are from Cost Plus World Market (past season). The tree is topped by an owl ornament from West Elm (past season). Surrounded by moss and real autumn leaves, the nut ornaments (atop the faux-finished memory box) symbolize rebirth: a glittered-glass walnut by Martha Stewart Everyday at Kmart, a walnut and a chestnut by Inge Glas (past seasons). 

KEEPSAKE MEMORIES| Here I am at about age 10 next to the Christmas tree at home (in 1971), accompanied by a handmade Christmas card painted for my parents with my school picture pasted on it (above, center) made around the same time. 

ARTIST AND CRAFTSMAN | William Morris (bottom, left), born in 1837, was directly inspired by the flora and fauna of the natural world and warned of the dehumanizing effect of the Industrial Revolution. He is known as the Father of the Arts and Crafts movement which got its start in the latter 1800's. Painting by George Frederic Watts, circa 1870. 

©2009 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, collecting, photography and styling by Darryl Moland. Painting of William Morris by George Frederic Watts.