How We Built our First Cement Seating Sculptures

The first stage was to collect the materials that were to be incorporated into the basic structure. We collected old tires, discarded furniture, newspapers and lots of plastic bottles. We discovered that we needed more bottles than we had used ourselves so we actually had to raid the local recycling collection point for a few extras!

The next stage actually took several days. The materials that had been collected were gathered together more or less in the place where the structure was to be built and were looked at earnestly from all directions. This is also the stage where you need to think what the structure is all about: how you think you'd like it to look, whether it needs to be functional, etc. The importance of this stage shouldn't be underestimated - it was surprising how many times I changed my mind before arriving at the final result. You need to keep in mind that the one-off nature of using materials that just happen to be available means that the project is created more by evolution than by design. The good thing about this stage is that is can be done quite effectively while enjoying a cup of coffee or a nice cold beer!

Once the 'bones' of the structure has been decided upon by placing the larger items (tires, old chairs, etc) in the appropriate places, the gaps are filled and the various elements are brought together by the addition of scrunched up newspapers, building rubble, plastic containers, etc. These are all kept together by covering the entire structure with thin chicken wire. We found that the easiest way to attach this to the base was with a staple gun.

A few important points to consider: The inner part of tires and other empty spaces need to be filled otherwise the sculpture will soak up enormous (and expensive) quantities of concrete. Remember to put lids on plastic bottles so they retain their shape and don't get squashed under the weight of the concrete. Also don't forget to take into account that the concrete needs to be several centimeters thick and this will alter the dimensions of the finished product. This is particularly important to bear in mind if the sculpture is to perform a function such as being a comfortable place to sit.

The next part of the job, covering the structure with concrete, is pretty hard work - especially if you're mixing the concrete by hand. It's definitely a job for at least two people: one to keep the supply of concrete coming and the other to apply it. Having made three cement sculptures so far I have to admit that I am really looking forward to the opportunity to work with mud. Apart from the fact that it is much more ecologically sound, it is also much more forgiving. There is no need to work against the clock since it doesn't set as concrete does, and the work can be carried out over several days if necessary and not hours.

Over the next few weeks I hope to work on a short video tutorial showing how we made our most recent sculpture - in the meantime here are a few pictures of the finished projects.