Artistic statements in cabinetry and cabinet hardware

Walter Jaeger, of Jeager and Ernst recently sent me his original cabinetry design for a master bedroom closet and dressing room project. The cabinet wall incorporates stained glass with embossed plant stems and mushroom and tree cabinet pulls from our collection of cabinet hardware. The woodwork will be finished in Sherwin William’s satin white paint making for a simple backdrop that will accentuate the decorative components. The design is both artistic and practical with the pocket doors on the left (see above banner image) opening to the master bathroom and dressing hall and with each door decorated with a stained-glass water droplet, custom made, by Mary Lu Winger Bennett. Mary is an artisan known in Virginia for her stained glass restoration projects as well as her contemporary pieces. For stained glass enthusiasts, I recommend you check our Mary’s work at Crossroads Art Center.

Cabinet design courtesy Jaeger & Ernst Tree pulls Mushroom cabinet pulls

Photo courtesy of Mary Lu Winger for other works

I asked Walter Jaeger what had inspired the cabinet and was not surprised to hear he is an admirer of Renee MacIntosh’s work, the Scottish architect and artist of the Victorian era. MackIntosh’s work is known for its rich symbolism and for its influence on European Art Nouveau, a style that I have mentioned in many posts.
Jaeger and Ernst are cabinet makers based in Virginia where they are known for their excellence in design and workmanship which is clear from the rendering below.
The mushroom, hedgerow round and half round cabinet pulls were finished in polished nickel with strategic areas darkened to accentuate their 3-dimensional form.

Hoodoos of Bryce Canyon an Illustration of Nature's Design Influence - part 2

Hoodoos of Bryce Canyon an illustration of the design influence of Nature – part 2

Following on from last weeks post our journey continued from the Grand Canyon in Arizona through Zion and ended with the surreal landscapes of Bryce Canyon. Over the years we had glimpsed on-line photos of the Hoodoos, but these did not prepare us for the spectacle of Bryce Canyon. It is an other-world experience mysterious and magical and like none we have ever encountered. The word Hoodoo derives from the word voodoo and denotes something that is ill-fated or will bring bad luck which would be the case if one were foolish enough to climb one of these fragile dangerous spires.

photo by Martin Pierce

These fairy chimneys develop over millions of years as the softer inner core of sandstone and mud are eroded by water that freezes and expands creating cracks and holes that are precariously held together by the harder layers of sandstone and limestone*. Bryce Canyon experiences many cycles of extreme heat and cold, moisture and aridity and these dramatic variations cause the softer stone to erode and dissolve leaving behind a collection of fragile spires. The process is ongoing, and these precarious rocks continue to collapse and fall and rumor has it can be heard doing so after dusk has set.

Photo by Martin Pierce

Our on-line and fleeting view of  hoodoos did not directly inspire the but there holy skeletal shapes certainly remind us of the hoodoos of Bryce canyon.

Source of geology notes :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo_(geology)

Inspiration for Door Hardware from the Grand Canyon and Zion

The only question raised by our journey to the Grand Canyon and beyond, was why had it taken us 40 years to make the trip? We had heard wondrous reports from friends over the years but had chosen more exotic vacations in Europe and Canada and had relegated this local scene to the back burner. So, when our trip to Rome was cancelled, we found the silver lining to the Corona Virus and planned an RV trip to Arizona and Utah.

As my blog is written as an extension of our website I wondered what or how this trip had anything to do with our hardware designs, which in turn prompted the question of how nature influences our thought processes, specifically, Martin Pierce’s hardware designs. I have often stated that nature is the primary source of Martin’s design ideas, but the process is far from causal and is more subtle and indirect. While Martin does on occasion search out a plant or rock or animal as a study piece for a handle or back-plate, he spends more time simply and randomly photographing what he sees and finds interesting and in so doing creates a mental library of images.  

So, having explained the reasoning behind this post let me share some of the spectacular awesome sights we saw on this 9-day road trip in the company of Iris our canine family member.

Grand Canyon South Rim Storm Drifting In – The straight horizon created by the movement of the tectonic plates that raised the flat plateaus upward

Female Elk drinking rain water – the blurred pixels are reminiscent of the Impressionist Period

Look carefully to see the well disguised Grand Basin Gopher Snake. While this snake, as with most snakes is harmless, the jury is out on whether ophidiophobia would make a snake handle unmarketable. Our lizard collection of door handles is popular so maybe we should launch a snake collection we would love to hear your thoughts.

We took countless pictures but none captured the depth and magnificence of the Grand Canyon.

Irrepressible nature and it's formidable roots

We have just returned from Quebec and wanted to share some of the non-architectural gems from the province’s national parks.

In the previous email we focused on the grandeur of the mountains and the power and beauty of Jacques-Cartier river, here we focus on the irrepressible trees that claim their space on this varied terrain.
The image below shows how the roots of a Birch tree forced their way through granite boulders and encapsulated this rock to make a weighty root bulb.

Aspen and birch tree roots intertwine to create natural step edges to this path made by nature and refined by animals including the human variety.

When visiting Kauai in December 2016 we noted how the banyan tree acts in a similar way to carve out a habitat to support it’s limbs.

The unruly entwined roots of the Beech trees of wind-swept Cornwall were the source of inspiration for the Hedgerow tree which is the signature piece in this organic collection of door handles. The handle pattern was carved in basswood in 4 sections with gnarled limbs and deep crevice forming the root bulb of this piece. The handle is formidable, cast with 8lbs of bronze and standing 19” high.

Dragonfly beauty with efficiency

We now have a water feature at home so Martin spends a lot of time taking shots with his zoom lens of insects that it attracts and this weekend he was able to capture 2 mating dragonflies and the resulting beginnings of their progeny.

Martin uses a 28-200mm zoom lens and the details he caught of this dragonfly couple were not fully seen until they were uploaded onto his iPad. The couple mated on the wing for a brief couple of minutes and then the female dipped her ovipositor into the pond to disperse her eggs. The speed of the mating and egg deposit took us by surprise and we are impressed by the staggering efficiency of this reproductive cycle.

When the pictures were uploaded on Martin’s iPad we could appreciate the intricate beauty of this flying red wonder. The wings look like fragile window- panes

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Having mated the female hovered over the pond and selected a location to lay her eggs.

She then deposited her eggs into the pond with her ovipositor which she also used to disperse her eggs.

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Click and enlarge to fully appreciate the intricate detail of these window-pane wings that we cannot see with our naked eye.

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Our bronze dragonfly maybe a poor facsimile of nature but we have tried to capture as much detail as possible in our bronze cabinet knob that weighs a hefty 2 ounces and that is colored with a hot red brown patina.

More to life than door handles

The rains have turned the area we live in into a beautiful landscape full of trees in blossom and nesting birds in what is still a dense but thriving urban environment.

With the recent 3-day weekends we have been able to walk for hours in the Hollywood hills and were able to capture some lovely and surprising views.

What is always startling is how quickly the grasses spring to life and turn the hills into a verdant intensely green landscape. While the Hollywood sign is a familiar view it is great to see it through a curtain of green leaves.

The bottle bush trees are a familiar sight but when in full foliage they take on the character of a weeping willow with their fine dropping branches. In the Willow sprig pull these flowing tendrils are captured in molten bronze. The handles are available as either right or left cabinet pulls but, in the photo, we accentuated their weight by superimposing these 2 handles.

Mule deer also reside in these hills and we saw whole families of them grazing happily on the lush vegetation.

We spotted a pair of ravens preening each other whilst perched on a bare sycamore branch.

Several of the photos were taken from the vantage point of the Hollywood reservoir which is also a great place for bird spotting as it is frequented by herons, egrets and the occasional osprey.

Art Nouveau and Victor Horta a design inspiration continues

We have just returned from Brussels, home of the renowned Art Nouveau master, Victor Horta and showcase to many of his works. While many of Horta’s prized works are privately owned and not always available for public viewing, Horta’s personal residence and studio are now open to the public as a museum. Located at 25, rue Américaine the museum spans 2 buildings and by walking up the curvaceous fluid carved stairwell from the lower kitchen to family rooms to bedrooms one experiences an intimate view of life in the Horta household. The central staircase is carved in mahogany and the newel post and handrail which begin as separate carvings come together in a dramatic and organic sweep to form one single functional work of art. Alas, the policy of the museum did not permit photography and while the official guide book does contain pictures they do not do justice either to the brilliance of the design or to the outstanding craftsmanship.

The museum allows one to experience the completeness  of Horta’s style from hand painted tree friezes, to  whiplash brass hinges, to flower petalled stained glass, all are designed to become a  holistic expression of nature as seen through Horta’s eyes.

As an architect Horta’s studio provided the training ground for others, notably Gustave Strauven who worked as his apprentice before designing maison Saint-Cyr. When we first saw the extravagant façade of this building we mistakenly though it had been designed by Horta but on closer inspection it was clear that the metal filigree lacked the restraint and arguably sense of balance that marks Horta’s work (compare the left  and center images at top of page).

Bronze Door Set by Horta note the discreet keyed cylinder

We began our appreciation of Horta many years ago when Martin was commissioned as an artisan to fabricate mahogany archways for basketball legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar but it has been a remarkable experience to see Horta’s work up close.

Art Nouveau a lasting inspiration

We have written about our love of Art Nouveau and are now taking a trip to Brussels in homage of Victor Horta, one of the pioneers and master of this organic and fluid style of architecture. We left England in the 80’s with an appreciation of the French masters in this field but did not become familiar with the Brussels legend until meeting Kareem Abdul- Jabbar also a legend and an Art Nouveau enthusiast. Martin was hired to fabricate the entry door, interior doors and stair rails for his Bel Air residence. When we arrive in Brussels and see Horta’s work in person we will share this experience in a later post. Meanwhile I want to focus on this local residence where the styles of Horta, Guimar and Mucha came together to create a splendid home.

The front door was carved from Honduras mahogany as a collection of over-sized irises in a style reminiscent of Alphonse Mucha’s colorful posters. The interior of the front door borrowed its direction from Guimard but for the main archways and interior doors the whiplash center of the casement molding and tweezed hair design of the corners are much truer to Horta’s work.

Horta’s aesthetic can also be seen in the large interior doors especially where wood meets glass and the birds eye maple panel is bisected by a central astragal carved as a budding tendril.

The stair rail was made in sections of solid bronze using a cow parsley pattern carved by Martin and based on the floral works of Mucha.

How to make a simple mold for lost wax casting

Over time all things age and the longevity of a mold will depend on the composition of the mold material and frequency of use. We make a variety of  molds some require metal or fiberglass reinforcement and are not ideally suited for home use but others are possible to make at home provided you are patient and dexterous.

Our frog cabinet pulls are a popular item but we still make these by using a simple gravity pour rather than injection method to create the wax replicas for our lost wax castings.

Animal Cabinet Pulls and Knobs

The frog mold is a 2 part mold that is held together by simple peaks in one half of the mold and troughs in the other half mold that act as keys to tie the mold together. The troughs or holes are created using a drill bit or punch which is pushed into the modeling clay that holds the pattern in place. As this is a 2 part mold the skill comes in delicately building up the modeling clay up one half of the pattern without breaking of the small frog digits.

Once the frog is secure in modeling clay and all undercuts have been filled in we apply 3 or 4 coats of silicone rubber with a paint brush, we use Mold Max 30 by Smooth-on. After the silicon rubber is set we reinforce the mold with a more rigid plaster compound called Plasti Paste 11 by the same manufacturer.

Next we make the second half of the mold which will have the peaks that align with the troughs. First we spray on a mold release agent onto the female mold, we use  Ease Release 200 by Mann Technologies. We then apply more of the silicon rubber to the mold which will collect in the troughs.  We repeat the process described and once we have created a rigid case in Plasti Paste we are ready to start using our mold to create waxes. The release agent allows the 2 halves of the mold to separate, we then can remove the pattern and now we have a hollow space to receive the wax.

Useful sources

https://www.smooth-on.com/

www.moldreleases.com

Color in Nature and Hot Patinas for Door Handles

The green anole lizard was the inspirational basis of Martin Pierce’s lizard door lever. The lizard’s vivid pea green color is however a challenging finish to capture as a bronze patina and one that requires considerable dexterity and access to a blow torch, so hobbyists should proceed with caution.

While the lizard door knob is not of the anole family, as you can see from the photo below he is often specified by customers who want a similar finish to match his mate.

Lizard Door Lever and Lizard door knob

In an earlier post we described how to create an antique patina on bronze by using Birchwood Technologies' M20 product and how this chemical solution, through chemical conversion, creates a brown black patina that penetrates and bonds with the bronze. The cold patina process is a necessary first step that has to be taken before moving on to create a  hot green patina as without it, the green solution will tend to slough of the surface of the bronze. Once the blackened piece has dried it is then gently burnished to remove some of the cold patina from the lizard area. We mix white, pea green and yellow dye oxides, available through Sculpt Nouveau, to create the right shade of green which is applied several times to the handle to achieve the right hue. Throughout the hot patina process the handle is kept at a temperature of about 200° by using a blow torch.

The vivid greens are used by many creatures as camouflage that allow them to blend in with surrounding flora as is the case with this praying mantis that was wonderfully hidden in the variegated tones of this begonia vine.

Trends blossom at High Point Market

The semi-annual Market at High Point North Carolina just closed, much to the delight of the aching feet of over 75000 designers and other professionals who attend. Fortunately for those of us who are not able to attend this spectacle, there are plenty of "style spotters" who share the new trends that we can expect to see in the near future. Along with plenty of mixed metals, Pantone's color of the year and the resurgence of brass accents, one other trend that stood out was the use of  nature inspired accents on furniture.  Tree branches wound their way across the front of a buffet, wood grain took center stage on case goods and botanical and garden motifs were visible in all forms from textiles to hand-painted designs to the metal floral sculptures of Tommy Mitchell.  Here is just a sampling of what was debuted at the Spring Market:

The beauty of nature is nothing new at Martin Pierce Hardware.  In fact, some of our most popular hardware designs were inspired by our natural surroundings and we have discussed that often on this blog.  One of our very first collections is the Hedgerow collection, inspired by the shrubs and greenery in our small hometown in England.  This unique design is available on both hardware and custom furniture pieces.  Here you can see the Hedgerow chair being used in the Four Seasons Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and it fits in so nicely with the beautiful and mountainous surroundings.

Included in this custom furniture line are beds, dressers, dining chairs and other case goods.  You can view our entire custom furniture collection by visiting our furniture site.

For more nature inspired architectural hardware collections, please visit www.martinpierce.com.

Designers can visit the showroom located at:

5433 W. Washington Blvd.

Los Angeles, Ca  90016

323 939 5929