Trees

[Via HenriMatisse.net]

In the December issue of Southern Living, Thomas Lake writes about his mother's alternative Christmas trees: magnolia, camellia, or sometimes a humble sapling cut from her own property, but never a conventional fir. While these trees didn't seem cool to Lake and his siblings when they were growing up, I was inspired by the idea. Even attempted to collect enough freshly fallen magnolia branches for my own alt tree. It didn't work out, so instead I offer these.  

Above, a glimpse inside Matisse's Vence studio toward the end of his astonishing career as he worked on his tree-of-life stained glass window for the Chapelle du Rosaire. (Btw, in the BBC's documentary Modern Masters: Matisse, journalist Alastair Sooke takes an interesting look at the artist's influence on contemporary design -- nailing almost all the high points except cult favorite Arbre de Matisse -- and travels to see the luminous window.) More Matisse here.

[From Flower, Tony Award–winning set designer Scott Pask’s re-creation of the façade of Monet’s house. Photo by Michael Mundy.]

Getting bendier, branches at the New York Botanical Garden as seen in Lydia Somerville's piece for Flower's Winter 2013 issue. Her story explores the recently closed Giverny-related exhibition at the garden's Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Monet's Garden. It's a really beautiful issue all around, and I was thrilled to be asked to contribute too.

[Photo by Francoise Halard, Vogue January 2013.]

This image is fixation-worthy. From Chloe Malle's story in the latest Vogue, it's the Brooklyn bedroom of Miranda Brooks and Bastien Halard and it embodies compromise gone right: lush custom de Gournay wallpaper juxtaposed with spare, masculine elements including a rustic bed designed and built by Halard.

Wishing you peace and joy this holiday.

-- Courtney

All week I've been experiencing technical glitches with Blogger's comments tool, so for now I'm turning them off. But many thanks to everyone who attempted to comment on the Lindsay post.