Gather Round opens at Mill Park in Milton
The weekend rains held off long enough July 7 for the Milton Economic Development Committee to unveil its newest public art display in Mill Park: Gather Round, by Milton resident Allen Sangree.
Gather Round comprises six separate pieces that look like wooden chairs and garden furniture but are actually what is known as faux bois, or false wood.
After a career working in construction and renovation in Harrisburg, Pa., Sangree and his wife, Allison, retired to Milton, where he served on the town’s board of adjustment and ran for town council in 2021. After he lost that election, something he now refers to as a blessing in disguise, Sangree focused more of his time on art, specializing in faux bois, a French technique that creates furniture, planters and structures from rebar, wire mesh frames and concrete.
How it typically works is Sangree uses rebar to make the shape — he bends the rebar by sticking it in a hole in his garage and twisting it — then covers the shape in metal lath or mesh wiring. The shape is treated with a rust preventative and sculpted with an acrylic/fiber mix cement.
The result is pieces that look like they are made of wood, whether they are benches, chairs, latticeworks or birdhouses.
Sangree said the pieces in the park are among the first he did using the faux bois method. He was approached by the economic development committee to display his pieces after another project he did for his neighbor, Ken Brittingham. In that case, Sangree created a grouping of faux bois trees to envelop and keep wisteria from spreading. He wrapped chicken wire around steel rebar, poured concrete inside and filled the outside. Using a mold that looks like tree bark, he pressed it into the wet concrete to create the appearance of cherry trees.
For his pieces in the park, Sangree said it took about 300 hours to create them.
“I don’t know what inspired me to do it,” he said. “I wanted to do sculpting. This is kind of bigger and more permanent. The hard part is just bending the rebar.”
Councilwoman Annette Babich, chair of the economic development committee, said, “Allen has made some truly amazing chairs that look like they’re made from tree branches and planks but are really made from concrete. The detail is unbelievable. We love how they invite close-up inspection of the work’s details while encouraging folks to connect with one another.”
Babich said the display will be up through the end of September into October. She said this will be the third and final public art display in Mill Park for 2023. The previous displays were a selection of wood sculptures by Lewes artist Roy Fitzgerald and a mural project called Greetings that was put together by local artists and students. Babich said the plan is to wait until spring 2024 to do a new series of public art displays in Mill Park.
