My concrete workspace

I've taken up concrete as my art medium. Man, that sounds pretentious, doesn't it? I spent ten years doing mental labor, now I'm moving on to more physical things. The urge began with the need for garden pavers. The effort resulted in an art project for the front slope of our lawn. Now, I'm experimenting with the concrete and my workspace. We spent the holiday weekend at the trailer and so I had plenty of time to work on my concrete projects.

I love my gloves! I always have to have a pair of gloves when I'm working on a project. These are pretty, but not water proof, so I gotta rethink my gloves.




When we arrived at the trailer the Big D noticed a tree that had fallen. He likes seeing things like this so that he has a reason to pull out his chain saw. This time he had to pull out the wedge and the ax, too. So, while he was in woodland chopping bliss, I was setting up my workspace.




It is so much easier working out here in the woods then it is working in the city. I don't have to worry about getting dye and concrete on the patio. The dirt road is not effected by the drips of concrete. I'm experimenting with concrete colorants and was recently surprised to see there are blues and greens available. Today, I had only brown and red.




My view! I had one of those moments where everything seems just absolutely perfect. The bugs were around but even all the mosquitoes didn't bother me. I kept checking my cargo pants for wood ticks. Not so many this weekend. Whoo hoo! The only thing I can't stand about this time of year is the woodticks which to me bear a sign of evil. But, this view, it was incredibly peaceful.




My plan was to make little holders for tea light candles. I want to line the path to the fire pit area with tea lights and usually I do this by putting the candles in a plastic cup. I decided to use the cup for a form.




I made quite a few, but the results were not so good. Choosing brown wasn't the best idea as they turned out to look like piles of shit. With the next batch I tried the red dye, but the form wasn't working out for me. They are usable, but not so pretty to look at.




I decided to move on to the next experiment and I was mighty pleased with the results.




I learned so much about this craft this weekend. I learned to use a wet cloth to smooth out the top of the concrete. I went crazy with all the leaves and such to imprint on the concrete. This might have been the last weekend to find leaves small enough for the concrete forms as I'm assuming they will just continue to grow.










This experiment turned out much better than I had hoped or expected!