of cats and men at Halloween

I don't know how it escaped my notice until this year, that October 29th was National Cat Day. When decorating and photographing this spooky tree to celebrate Halloween this year, I debated on whether to use my cat painting (by local Atlanta artist, Ronnie Land) as a backdrop over this buffet table. Now I am glad I did—even though the setup is more complex than usual. Because many of R. Land's artworks are packed with hand-drawn imagery like this poster done for Atlanta's infamous Little Five Points Halloween Festival and Parade, it all seems to fit together quite nicely. I've never been a minimalist at heart. I like the discovery and surprise found only when many delightful things are vying for one's attention.

These magical and well-crafted mushroom ornaments by Wendy Addison, designed for Midwest CBK hang from a glittered Halloween tree from Target. I purchased the mushrooms from Bayberry Cove. The large "Christmas spider" ornament is an antique Czechoslovakian beaded ornament from my collection.

"Founded in 2005 by animal welfare advocate Colleen Paige, National Cat Day brings attention to the number of cats that need to be rescued each year. It is also a day for cat guardians to celebrate their own amazing cats." I truly like that "cat guardian" moniker, but I feel it is the other way around. I have always thought of cats as my guardians, or muses, or familiars, or warm and fuzzy companions. My father always loved cats and I have been lucky to have had many special cat companions throughout my life. I've only had one dog as a pet. All the rest have been cats. I love their peculiar nature and independent ways—I truly am a cat person, through and through. Don't get me wrong, I love all animals, but I can't escape the feeling that cats are superior creatures in many ways. The feline world and I have a magical understanding.

Frida, the tuxedo cat (left) and Abella, the Bengal cat (right) are my sweet guardians.

An assortment of cheeses, crackers and fruit are a visual and literal feast.

Cats, magic and Halloween all seem to go together. Add the creepy presence of spiders and earthy balls of moss and you've got a tableau that visually creeps and crawls in just the right way. Mushrooms add a touch of nature's magic that sets the mood for the season, along with an abundant cheese and fruit buffet, of course. And if you're lucky enough to have earned the trust of a cat or two, you're all set for Halloween's spooky route to the beginning of the end-of-year holiday season. Happy All Hallows Eve! 

This mushroom ornament is also by Wendy Addison, designed for Midwest CBK. A glass-glittered wire spider from Pottery barn adds a creepy, crawly touch.

The standard pot the tree was purchased in is dressed up with dried moss and an unusual tire pot by River Market Pottery in Kansas City, Missouri, adapted from sewn leather working techniques, but made from up-cycled rubber tires that had previously been bound for the landfill. The perky bronzed metal mouse sniffing for the cheese is from Pottery Barn.

©2012 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

collecting, photography and styling by Darryl Moland

the year of the tiger | 恭禧發財

HAPPY NEW YEAR! The traditional Chinese phrase: 恭禧發財 (also superimposed in photo of the decorated tree above) is the broad-brushed symbol for this sentiment. The Lunar New Year is regarded as the most important cultural holiday among Chinese, Vietnamese and other Asian nations. This year is the Year of the Tiger, which symbolizes strength. Personally, it is the to honor Luci, my beautiful Calico cat, who is a tiger in her own right. She has shown the strength to stay with me much longer than she should giving me 16 "Luci years" (all with her certain prosperity of luck, strength and beauty). I'm glad she's still with me now, but the new year will show me the strength to let her go to run with the gods.

THE NEW MOON changes are tracked by the lunisolar Chinese calendar (which consists of both Gregorian and lunar-solar calendar systems). The Chinese New Year celebration can begin anytime between late January and mid-February. This year, the 14th of February (Valentine's day) kicked off the beginning of the lunar calendar or Lunar New Year. This new beginning is the culmination of 15 days of spring festivals celebrating the event in China.

THE TREE I designed to celebrate the Year of the Tiger is inspired by the many rich traditions of the holiday. I wanted it to be a simple and elegant representation of only a few of the many and varied elements of this richly symbolic holiday. Using only mercury glass lantern ornaments in a sophisticated pallet of reds, golds and greens (from this past holiday season's Martha Stewart Collection at Macy's) hung from red cotton cords on simple natural branch forced into flower, I'm representing a time of renewal, rebirth and a precious celebration of life (honoring Luci along with the Lunar New Year).

HONG BAO NA LAI (紅包拿來) literally means "may I have the red envelope, please." Red is considered the luckiest color in China. During Chinese New Year, elders give lucky money in red envelope packets to the young people close to them, thus "hong bao" is essentially a cash gift. It is an important part of the New Year celebration. The ones you see in the photo at left have a large traditional Chinese symbol 發 (fa) with means literally "to emit," or rather "to send." It all depends on what other characters precede or follow it to complete the meaning of the expression. This one letterform symbol has more direct meaning when combined with others, but can imply so much standing alone. For instance, one can also think of it as  “to have plenty," 發財 (or "fa xai") can be translated as such.

WELL WISHES for good luck, happiness and prosperity  are the main sentiments embodied by the Chinese New Year traditions. But they are not the only ones. The celebrations are also centered around reconciliation and forgetting grudges. A clean sweep, if you will. This new year interpretation of a decorated tree is my way of relating this and more to all of the people (and little tigers) that bring the light of many multi-colored lanterns into my life. They give me the strength to recognize life's worth as clearly and as strongly as possible, seeing through the fog of uncertainty.

LANTERN FESTIVITY | (Top and middle) This "forced" tree branch is made quite elegant with the addition of mercury glass lantern ornaments from the Martha Stewart Collection 2009 at Macy's. The traditional paper lanterns used on the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year for the Lantern Festival, are bright, colorful, and in many different shapes and sizes. The container holding the branch is an antique stoneware vase from a friend's private collection. The green spider mum symbolizing longevity (within a glass globe from Bungalow I bought a few years back, above, left) and in a vase by Victoria Hagen for Target (top), kumquats and oranges symbolizing prosperity and red envelopes (a custom explained above) are all a part of the varied traditions surrounding the holiday.

YEAR OF LUCI | This portrait of Luci (Above) was lovingly painted and given to me by Odette Colón, my dear friend (and talented co-worker) this past Christmas. When I received this incredible gift from the heart, I shed big blubbering tears of joy and grief at the same time. Looking at it prepares me for the inevitable loss of a life, and it will give me the strength to carry on after Luci is gone. I like to think all the good energy put into this painting has translated to her living longer than expected. Even so, I'm glad to have her already immortalized for the prosperity of life to continue. Already in addition to my Bengal Abella, I've added a lovable tuxedo cat that found me much like Luci did 16 years ago, coming into my life suddenly and without without warning. I think Luci somehow called for the new little one to help me in this transition. That's how magical Luci's existence has always been. And at the risk of coming off as a complete cornball, this last line of the song "Memory" from the musical "Cats" is more resonant than ever before: Look. A new day has begun.

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

glass houses, stone calendar

T H E   I D I O M  "people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" is a well-worn one (idiom, not stone). Of course, it means that anyone criticizing anyone else should have their own house in order before they throw stones (criticism) themselves. It's a hard thing to do for most people, including me—especially the 'house-in-order' stuff.

T R A N S P A R E N C Y  seems to be the catch-word of the day. It seems we live in times where privacy is non-existent. Could this be part of the paradigm shift in consciousness talk about coinciding with the end of the Mayan calendar on December 21st, 2012? Is it the apocalypse? Or just another day of slow, tedious destruction of our life-giving natural environment? Maybe it's just good fodder for another cataclysmic Hollywood movie.

H O M E   S E E M S  to be  the only safe space left—in order or not. And it's always where my cats are (hence the name of my freelance business—Man and Cat Omnidesign). My calico named Luci and my Bengal named Abella seem to have it all figured out. They spend their days relaxing, sleeping and eating; while the rest of us get all geeked out on doomsday stories or the more pressing stuff that fills our days to exhaustion. Maybe cats have already shifted their consciousness and we should take a cue from them to just relax. Why else would the Egyptians have thought them to be gods? Ancient civilizations (like the Mayans and Egyptians) seemed to be onto something cataclysmal, but life-affirming. 



GLASS HOUSES | These mercury glass house ornaments were collected from (top, right) Cost Plus World Market (with snow), Star Provisions, Ebay (antique gold with trees), and a Christmas shop at Biltmore Estates (gingerbread house ornament mouth-blown and hand painted in the Czech Republic by Holiday Lane). The stones are from the creek bed that was the neighborhood swimming hole when I was a boy—well, worn and ready for throwing. 

WARM AND FUZZY | The Man and Cat Omnidesign mascots, Luci and Abella (above, left). Luci, the Calico is the most incredible, magical cat I've ever had. She likes her yogurt in the mornings and has been with me for 16 years now. Much younger than Luci, Abella, the Bengal is loud and rambunctious. She always wants to drink from the tub or sink faucets. They are my constant companions and I adore them.

CALENDAR MYSTERY | The mysterious Mayan calendar (right) ends (or transforms consciousness somehow) on December 21, 2001 (Winter Solstice). The Maya had precise knowledge of our solar system's cycles, which they thought coincide with our spiritual and collective consciousness. No one really knows a lot about how or when the Maya culture began, but they have an enduring prophesy. The archeological evidence of them is shrouded in mystery. We'll have to wait and see what mystery will be unveiled during the holidays of 2012.

©2009 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

collecting, photography and styling by Darryl Moland