Welcome to Terry Eagan's Faux Bois Website!
The Faux Bois Concrete Restoration Project at The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens
The Huntington is an invaluable resource and a place of beauty for all who visit. Its art collections, libraries, botanical gardens, and educational programs help uphold one of its biggest priorities: to preserve the past and protect the vision of founder Henry E. Huntington for generations to come.
Craftsman Terence Eagan upholds these values with his "Faux Bois" work in The Huntington's Rose and Japanese Gardens.
Faux Bois (meaning false wood in French) is an age-old art form that involves using various forms of concrete such as mortar and grout to create a structure that looks deceptively similar to rustic wood.
With The Huntington's commitment to restore the Japanese Garden as it turned 100, beginning March, 2010 Terry started restoring the tree-like concrete structures that support the Wisteria and Roses that form arbors over the walkways. It consists of 100 "trees" plus the connecting "timber" beams and handrails. Originally built on-site in the late teens and early 1920’s, the properties of reinforced concrete were not fully understood at that time. As a result, they left flaws in their construction.
A unique aspect of this particular project is that we do not know the artist(s) who first made these trees, leaving Terry with an interesting position in terms of artistic liberties throughout his restorative process. Throughout his time at the Huntington, Terry has approached his work with both a scientific and artistic perspective where he has used trial and error to develop unique tools and techniques to find the best end result. This website shows how he has come to what is now his "process" and what that entails.
Enjoy!
The Huntington is an invaluable resource and a place of beauty for all who visit. Its art collections, libraries, botanical gardens, and educational programs help uphold one of its biggest priorities: to preserve the past and protect the vision of founder Henry E. Huntington for generations to come.
Craftsman Terence Eagan upholds these values with his "Faux Bois" work in The Huntington's Rose and Japanese Gardens.
Faux Bois (meaning false wood in French) is an age-old art form that involves using various forms of concrete such as mortar and grout to create a structure that looks deceptively similar to rustic wood.
With The Huntington's commitment to restore the Japanese Garden as it turned 100, beginning March, 2010 Terry started restoring the tree-like concrete structures that support the Wisteria and Roses that form arbors over the walkways. It consists of 100 "trees" plus the connecting "timber" beams and handrails. Originally built on-site in the late teens and early 1920’s, the properties of reinforced concrete were not fully understood at that time. As a result, they left flaws in their construction.
A unique aspect of this particular project is that we do not know the artist(s) who first made these trees, leaving Terry with an interesting position in terms of artistic liberties throughout his restorative process. Throughout his time at the Huntington, Terry has approached his work with both a scientific and artistic perspective where he has used trial and error to develop unique tools and techniques to find the best end result. This website shows how he has come to what is now his "process" and what that entails.
Enjoy!
