Rustic history

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A LITTLE HISTORY OF RUSTIC FURNITURE

"Of all the things I’ve seen in America, this is the strangest"Sigmund Freud

TO DISCOVER RUSTIC FURNITURE BY A GLIMPSE 

oots of Rustic Furniture : "The first piece of rustic probably emerged when an early humanoid rolled a log over and    sat on it in front of a fire " writes Ralph Kylloe in Rustic Traditions . Each culture has some examples of furniture which integrate natural forms -among them the Chinese tradition seems the oldest; a scroll called the Scholars of the Lui-Li  Hall depicts a man seated in a rustic chair, this dates from the tenth century. The 1754 English publication A New Book of Chinese Designs illustrated sophisticated applications for rustic work in formal gardens. Andrew Jackson Downing (1815-1852) brought these ideas to American readers in his writings of landscape design as well as in The Horticulturalist, the periodical he founded in 1846.   
ndimensioned aspects of Rustic Furniture: What is it exactly? “undementioned”, one might say, or as Craig Gilborn also states, “tree art or objects fashioned from a recognizable part of the tree".This clear definition sounds like a solid foundation but often acts as a springboard from which at times organic, at times eccentric, but almost always  unique bodies of work are launched. In any case, “Nature abhors a straight line”, the credo of landscape painter and architect William Kent (1684-1748), applies to the end result.   
ettlers, shanties and summer camps :  From humble hunting shacks crudely furnished with forest materials scavenged on-site to the stunning Adirondack great camps that W.W. Durant and William Distin built and designed in the early 20th century for the likes of  the Rockefellers, the Vanderbilts, and J.P. Morgan, this historical gamut is an evocative application of an ingeniously indigenous branch of architecture.  Fortunately, this activity seems to be finding an updated clientele with contemporary benefits that the Rockefellers may have wished their camps had incorporated. Things like modern insulation, lots of low E glass, and in-floor radiant heating...
wigs, branches and logs . It takes a highly disciplined eccentric to categorize and warehouse material and time for an endeavor as unruly and fundamentally prototypal as rustic furniture making. A visit to any shop involved in such activity should quickly reveal solutions to storage challenges not normally encountered by the vast majority of the populace… racks and bins, nooks and crannies, bundles of similarly shaped curved sticks or forked branch, occasionally spilling over into the out of doors, frequently accumulating at a faster rate than can be utilized, but each containing far too much potential to be merely discarded, or oxidized for the heat contained within…  
nspirations. What are the motivations of rustic furniture makers? (if the motivation is instant wealth then they really ARE crazy)… Plenty of explanations occur, from the simplest to those with the most philosophical implications (…sheer necessity ? enlightenment of the Buddha, perhaps ?…) but the fact is trees are inherently inspirational, always reaching up like they tend to do, but of course that’s nothing new. However, recent books and articles, thoughtfully written and well photographed, have inspired many people to study and collect this carefully constructed commodity, and that’s a Good Thing.   

arpenters, craftspeople, artisans, artists, woodrights?  Yes, and who makes all this rustic furniture? Good question... Indeed it takes all kinds - See bibliography and links for more information – Thanks

     

To KNOW  MORE :  BIBLIOGRAPHY AND LINKS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

GILBORN, Graig. Adirondack Furniture And The Rustic Tradition. Harry N. Abrams. New York. 1987.

GILBORN, Graig. The Rustic Furniture Movement

HILL, Jack. Country woodworker. How To Make Rustic Furniture, Ustensils And Decoration. Chronicle Books. San Francisco, 1995.

KYLLOE, Ralph. Rustic Furniture Maker. Gibbs-Smith Publisher. Salt Lake City.1995.

MACK, Daniel. A Weekend Workshop with Dan Mack. Lark Books, 1999.

MACK, Daniel. Making Rustic Furniture. Lark Books, 1992.

MACK, Daniel. The Rustic Furniture Companion. Lark Books, 1996.

O’LEARY, Ann Stillman. Adirondack Style. Clarkson Potter / Publisher, 1998  

   

LINKS

Rustic woodworker www.angelfire.com/ca/rusticfurniture et www.greenwoodworking.com
Daniel Mack  www.danielmack.com
John Alexander www.msys.net/tom/lynch/about.html
 

 

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