Faux Bois Spaces- October 2008

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Charming,rusticferrocerllent fatm bois won'tfool)/ourey, but it will add interest to 1ottr ltonte or garden BY P A T R t c ta

S HA cK E L F o RD

p a int ing. F auxiewe l sF. o rm e ,fa u xi s u s u a l l ya " n o ."l fear f -a u x l- fu r* .I' mf aux - phobic I'm k i n do f g i rl .R e a lAu . thenti c. . a genuine "false (French wood") has a natural appeal that canButfaux bois for notbeignored. Whilethe termfauxbois includes any mediumthat replicateswood,I am going

r'.f

to focuson ferrocement fauxbois,or obiectsthat aresculptedfromconcrete. jo rustico("therusticwork")to Ferrocement fauxbois,or el Traba to the 1940s. theSpanish, was highlypopularfromthe mid-1880s primarilyas gardenornaments, whicharegenDesigned the pieces,

o foux-bois tree-trunkplanter overflowswifA co/orlu/ co/eus.

erallyveryheavy,are constructedon a metalframe,coveredin wire

Above,A /oux-boishitcAingpost is both decorofive ond whimsicol.

Left: Fromfhe gorden o/ ChristopherFilleg ond RIch Hoft'man,

Above: A concrete bosket is perched on o foux-bois bench in the gorden of Christopher Filleg ond Rich Hoffman.

meshand then coatedin cement-paste layerswhicharesculptedinto theirfinal forms: benches, arches,planters,tables,birdbaths.

buyingandsellingit eversince." I spied a stunning faux-boischair in

their booth as I washuntingfor this article. Low to the groundand deep,the concrete Rustic and chunky becauseof their materialanddesign,piecesarenevertheless now mimicsweatheredbranches.Mossand mimsurprisinglydetailed.Often,sculptors ickedwoodgrainingor bark,but alsoknots,

wormholesand decay. "Fauxbois is one of my favoritethings," says Gwen McClure,who, with her sister

lichen adorn its frame. It's less furniture than sculpture. lust aroundthe cornerin SteveRoger's plantertucked in I founda charming booth,Prize, Rogers, too,makesa point withothertreasures.

MissionRoadAntiqueMall. The McClures

to procure fauxboisfor hisspace, but it is likely to gooutasquicklyasit comesin.

hunt for faux bois on buying trips to France."Weboughtour first pieceat a fair

there are early examplesin such far-flung

in Lyon,"Gwensays."l still rememberthe moss growing on it-and we have been

Mexico. In 1867cleverFrenchgardener Joseph

TerryMcClure, ownsFrenchby Designin the

in France, Whilefauxboiswasdeveloped fugentinaand locationsas Belgium,Tirrkey,

Monierdeveloped and patentedhis formulafor reinforced concrete(addinga metalcomponent the comp ou nd) M onier c r af t ed strengt he ns planters and gardenobiectscarvedto resemble a crazewasborn. treetrunksand logs.Etvoila, Europeangarden designershave been using f aux-bo isele men ts s inc e it s inc eption.T hereis e ve n a smaJ Jbuilding behind NotreDameCathedralin Pariswhich has a fagadeand signage crafted of faux bois Many parks in Europe contain faux-bois elementssu ch as b ridg esand benc hes . ownerof PearTreeDesignand CarolDickey,

Francophile Antiques in Crestwood anda devoted buysfauxbo iswh ensh ecan lind it and us ual-

Iyhasa fewpiecesin her shop.Sheappreclates

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ADyingART

t l r ecrallbe ca useif yo ulra vea nalur algar denil

Dionicio Rodriguez,a Mexicanimmigrantwho settled in San Antonio, Texas,is widely

fits into the settingso well Dickeylikesthe

consideredone of the best craftsmenof el trabajo rusticoto work in the United States.From

plantersthat look like sectionsof log Planted

1924until the l95os, he contributed to larger landscapeprojects, includinggrottos, gates,

properlyit wouldappearthat yourbloomsprop-

fences,bridgesand buildingfacades.His work resemblesChinoiseriefretwork popular in

. rgat edin th is wo od syspo t

the t8th century and hermitagesthat were popular in the rgth century.He worked in eight

D icke ycu rren tlyh asa b enc hav ailableat Beco in t he Cro ssroa dsDist r ic t I t would be

states,and a significantportion of his survivingwork is listed on the National Registerof flistoric Places.Rodriguezdied in San Antonio in 1955.

a uniqueltie ceto Frn daf tlre er r do[ a gar den p ath S t urdya nd coo l, it wo uld welc om et lr e a chlng back an d cre aking k nees o[ any

c ar rf ir r d r eal l yf i n e e x a m p l e si n o l d e r g r a v e -

f i l l e d t o o v e r f l o w i n gw i t h s t r i k i n gg r e e na n d

d evot edgard en er.Or p erh apss upplya s ub-

y ar ds" A devo t e eo f t h e c r a f t , F i l l e y h a s a

c i t r u s y h e d g ea p p l e s .T e r b o v i c hth i n ks th e y

l i rnespot fo r a leisure lyd rink bef or edining,

gr eat s t um p p l a n t e r ,r e a l i s t i ct o i t s r o o t s ,i n

w o u l d b e f a b u l o u sc h o c k e dw i t h su ccu l e n ts,

w h etheryou clroseto we ed or jus t wat c h.

his gar den F i l l e dw i t h b e g o n i a sa n d c o l e u s ,

a n d w l r o a m I t o a r g u ew i t h C e o r g e ?

I also sllo tteda few p iecesat Clr r is Lopher t he plant s ' w a x yl e a v e sa n d c o l o r f u lb l o o m s F illey' s,inclu din ga tree -trunkhit c hingpos t ,

I d o t h i n k f a l l i n K a n s a sC i t y i s p a r ti cu l a r l y

w hich hap pe ne dto b e stan dingby t he f r ont

and f oliagem a k e a s t r i k i n gc o n t r a s tt o t h e r ough t ex t ur eo f t h e c o n c r e t e" b a r k"

d o or at my la st visit Fille y,w ho ownsa s hop

Loc al de s i g n e r a n d C r e s t w o o d s h o p

i n the S ta teL ineArtsE An tiquesDis t r icwit t h

owner Ceor g eT e r b o v i c ha l s o h a s a p a i r o f

s p r i n g 'sb l o o m sa n d b r a n c h e a s n d co m m u n i n g

h i s partnerRich Ho ffman ,fir s t not ic edf aux

s t unning f au x - b o i sj a r d i n i d r e si n t h e s h a p e

w i t h n a t u r e ,w h y n o t c o n s i d e ra d d i n ga l i ttl e

"lt wasco m m onlyus edf or b ois in cem ete ries. g ravemarke rsa nd pla qu es, Filley " s ay s "You

of bas k et s Th . e yw o u l d b e w o n d e r f u lp l a n t -

c o n c r e t et o t h e m i x ?l t m i g h t b e f un to m r x a

ed but equal l yf a b u l o u sb r o u g h t i n s r d ea n d

l i t t l e f a u xr n w i t h y o u r f l o r aa r r dy ou r fa u n a :

h n e C e r t a i n l yi t 's a w o n d e r f utl i m e to b e o u ts i d e m u c k i n ga b o u t i n o n e 'sg a r d e n l M i n e r s m o r eo f a y a r d ,b u t s t i l l ) Wh i l e p la n n i n gn e xt