Faux Bois

 

 

Faux bois in French means false wood. In Mexico, it is referred to as "el trabajo rustico" meaning the rustic work. It is an art form. One I've admired for many, many years.

There is some beautiful faux bois at Breckenridge Park in San Antonio that I saw possibly thirty years ago, but never forgot. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Faux bois is a combination of concrete, mortar and cement paste applied to steel frames to make something look like wood and very natural.

Carlos Cortes Taller Studio in San Antonio, www.studiocortes.com continues to keep the art form alive and current. Look at his website. Quite delightful.

Why do I bring this up today? Well, I was riding down State Hwy 9 in West Virginia a couple of weeks ago and spied amazing flower baskets. I was past the little store before I could stop. It was on a curve. So I went home and took "the man" back with me. I "oohed" and "aaahed" so much that we bought the basket that you see in the photo along with the bracket with the cardinal on it. All the baskets were exquisite. They were so huge you could hardly lift it. Magnificent.

But, as we pulled into the little gravel lot, I spied the faux bois birdbaths and let out a squeal. Leaping out of the car the minute it came to a standstill, I KNEW we had to get that for the yard. Since the house is in the woods, nothing garish would work. It was PERFECT. Needless to say, the man was not as breathless and passionate as I. It was later that I told him about faux bois and showed him photos of Breckenridge Park. Then he "got it" too.

So, the bird bath was put near the stairs to the house where one can look out and see the birds dipping and diving. Even a butterfly or two. As you look at the photo, aren't you amazed that that isn't really a tree stump with some branches on it?

IF I could have figured out how to bring one back to San Miguel on the plane, rest assured I would have done so.