Blake Warner is an artist with an eye for twigs and branches. Warner makes rustic garden ornaments and furniture for a growing number of enthusiastic clients in the Seattle area, but is one of a great many artisans across the continent contributing to the strong revival of “nature’s twisted treasures.”
Since at least the 17th Century, people have been putting together tables, benches, gates and gazebos using branches and lots of imagination.
It’s not just an American craft. In the late 18th Century, well-to-do Europeans began to replace the classical temples and sculptures in their gardens with rustic bridges and other structures made of materials found in woods.
The shapes and textures of furniture and decorations made from branches provide a relaxing, natural touch in back yards, on porches and even in interiors.
“I cannot tell if the garden is a backdrop for the furniture or the furniture is the reason for the garden,” says Abby Ruoff, who designs rustic creations and is the author of “Making Twig Garden Furniture” (Hartman & Marks, $25.95).
Rustic garden decorations fit nicely in landscapes large and small. The great American landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted’s plans for New York’s Central Park included rustic benches and shelters. Olmsted believed that such picturesque ornamentation was relaxing to look at, and the public evidently agreed. By the early 20th Century, the National Park Service had adopted a rustic style for lodges and furniture, always made of locally available materials.
Warner and others–such as David Robinson, who recently restored and rebuilt Central Park’s rustic structures–are experts who make such furniture full-time. For those inspired to try it themselves and who are handy with tools, they can make their own.
It is by nature an accessible technique. Jim Long, an herbalist and historic-garden enthusiast in Oak Grove, Ark., has published a book and teaches workshops on the simplest of all rustic structures: bentwood trellises. These vertical garden accents are relatively easy to make, although they do demand patience and a free Saturday morning.
It always makes sense to use materials found nearby. Warner uses a great deal of driftwood from the beaches around Seattle. He also picks up branches knocked down by storms, and sometimes asks permission to take freshly cut limbs from construction sites. Long cultivates friendships with farmers, arborists, nursery owners and others who might be able to provide the twigs and branches he needs.
Wood from any number of trees and shrubs, from alder to willow, can be worked into rustic furniture, Ruoff says. Avoid branches with tiny holes and other signs of insect infestation, she advises.
For a first project, people should start small, trying a trellis or a birdhouse or a stool to get a feel for the materials and techniques they’ll use to make odd-shaped pieces conform to traditional ideas of how things fit together.
Tables, chairs and gazebos are more demanding. Nails or screws can be used, but they shouldn’t show or they’ll spoil the natural look. Those who are good at carpentry should experiment with mortise and tenon joints to add strength.
Warner, also a skilled cabinetmaker, says his first rustic pieces were inspired by driftwood’s smooth, ghostly shapes. He took his work to farmer’s markets (where rustic furniture and ornaments often are available at reasonable prices) and did well enough that he decided to rent a booth in a local crafts mall. The first piece he sold was a two-seater bench for $150. Now his contorted chairs and benches, often with tangled roots as fanciful embellishments, sell for $900 to $2,500.
