Thanksgiving Visual Feast Giving Thanks
November 20, 2012
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. A day to simply celebrate our connections with friends and family. A moment in time to acknowledge and share with those that make our lives more complete. No obligations other than to show up with some food to share.
Each year I decorate my table with a theme.
Thanksgiving 2012 was a Mondrian-inspired motif with Mondrian Birthday Cake, Mondrian Cookies, and table arrangement...Here are a few photos.
Everyone was asked to wear primary colors. Here I am with my daughter Aryn.
Red Gerber flowers in black vases were very simple. Yellow candles in black candlesticks.
Thanksgiving 2012 includes a pound cake in a Mondrian Theme. It was inspired by the cakes at the San Francisco Modern Art and the book "Modern Art Desserts" though I didn't follow the recipe because I didn't own the book until a few days later. Nuts!
We even had red, blue, and yellow jellybeans in black dishes.
A Japanese screen in the dining room was inserted with colored paper to push the theme further.
Best wishes for a pleasant Thanksgiving with your family and friends. Share your table with me on Facebook.
Below are a few of my previous Thanksgiving tables with ASK Harriete readers. If you CLICK on the Thanksgiving year, you can view a larger album on Facebook (with more pictures). They start out fairly basic but become more elaborate each year.
Thanksgiving 2006 This was the year I made a pumpkin coach with gold wheels and vines all sprayed gold.....as if the pumpkin coach was coming apart right there on the table. I wish pictures had been taken. It was a fantastic table. Poof the coach was gone.
Thanksgiving 2007
"THANKS" in twigs on the wall made by my children. Twigs on pumpkin pie, and log-shaped Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Chocolate Frosting with Bark texture. Rough brown paper for a tablecloth.
One of my favorite tables in grey, black, and silver. If you look closely none of the chairs match. They are all different painted black, slowly collected over the years one at a time. Grey pumpkins tie into the Thanksgiving theme!
The drawing on the wall by my daughter inspired our black line linear theme.
The theme was brass and gold. I spray-painted grass from the garden, and the grass mat runner going the length of the table. Vintage gold striped drinking glasses. Brass under servers and gold plated flatware keep the metallic theme.
The brass sphere was my first hollowware project as a student. I also spray-painted the candles gold. Fall decorative gourds and orange flowers add color. Brown paper for a table cloth.
Grapes make a great centerpiece. This looks like a still-life painting.
Thanksgiving 2010 was shades of grey, and black, with a lime green accent.
Green flowers (yes, green flowers) from the farmer's market with just a few white flowers for accent.
The desert matched our green theme.
Spiral Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting White Sugar Sprinkles and green candy accent. We always have both birthday cake and pumpkin cheesecake for dessert.
Thanksgiving 2011 the theme was leaves hence a "flower arrangement" of leaves collected from the yard. Only a few orange lilies for color.
First course is Pistachio soup. Gold metallic paper leaf is the place card.
Nothing ever matches on my table. It is always a combination of plates and dishes collected over the years.
My favorite plate (shown above) displays a turn-of-the-century Japanese motif. I only have four of these. Glasses are vintage 1960s Libby with gold leaves found on e-Bay. Vintage gold plated flatware from the 1960 was inherited from my grandmother. She bought this when it was all the rage. Hand washing flatware is a pain so I only use it for special occasions.
Carrot Cake with sculpted Cream Cheese frosting in the shape of a leaf to follow our leaf theme.
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Next week's posts return to The White Tent or the White Wall. Topics include finding craft shows, reviewing your selection, submissions, and more.
This post was updated on June 30, 2022, to provide current links.