My husband and I began carving concrete in September of 1998 following a trip to Bali where we saw such wonderful sculptures that we had to give it a try. We also were inspired by a friend of ours, Dave Martin. He has been carving concrete in New Zealand for the past several years and has done some wonderful work. It was Dave that taught us the basics of how to do it.
We begin by casting a block of mortar (cement and sand) in a bucket or some other container. After three or four hours the concrete has set enough that we can dump it out onto a table without it collapsing. It is still soft enough that we can work it almost like clay for a while. As it continues to set, we proceed with carving the block using kitchen knives and clay carving tools. A squirt bottle filled with water helps us to keep the concrete workable for a while. The process is exciting because we have a maximum of four hours to complete the sculpture before it becomes too hard to work.
This is Nita (me), carving a pile of frogs.
We embed hand-made ceramic tiles and found objects in some of our pieces to add a bit of color and whimsy to the work.
Our sculptures are heavy, very durable and designed as outdoor pieces for the garden. We seal them against moisture before selling them. A few of the most popular designs are cast in concrete from molds we make from original pieces.
Click here to see THE SCULPTUREs