Artistry in concrete: over 7500 attendees at the World of Concrete in Orlando saw what's new...

In the best of all worlds, a contractor who specializes in decorative concrete is very creative, possesses good knowledge of concrete, and has very good placing and finishing skills. But in the real world, one person rarely has all of these qualities. Sometimes people with creative talents in

another medium get interested in concrete and start developing ideas. And, increasingly, concrete contractors are deciding to install decorative concrete because it increases what they can offer their customers. However it starts, the number of contractors involved in decorative concrete work is increasing rapidly.

In recognition of this growing interest in creative decorative concrete, CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION and the Decorative Concrete Council (DCC), a council of the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC), sponsored the second Artistry in Decorative Concrete demonstrations at the 2004 World of Concrete. Focusing on creativity, the goal was to show visitors to the demos the endless possibilities of decorative concrete and to encourage them to be more creative in their own efforts.

The old adage "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" was especially true for the Artistry in Decorative Concrete demos this year. Everyone who came to see the finished work had their favorites, and there was considerable difference of opinion. But since the focus of the demos was creative expression and not selecting one artist as "the winner," this event achieved its purpose. The following reviews of each of the 12 invited artists, highlights just how diverse the offerings were.

Antonio Ehrenzweis Artist Leon, Mexico

Several years ago, Ehrenzweis, a professional artist, started experimenting with chemical stains on concrete and marble tabletops. Using solvent acrylic sealer as a stain-resistant material, he used fine brushes to paint elaborate, detailed drawings. Then he applied stain, which colored the exposed areas of the concrete but not the sealed areas. As his experience with chemical stains grew, his drawings became more complex by repeating the process of drawing with stain-resistant sealers and staining with different colors. This is the technique he demonstrated at WOC--showing many visitors how he achieved his remarkable patterns.

Shawn Daniels Custom Concrete Creations Cheektowaga, N.Y.

Daniels invented concrete stamps that can imprint curving border patterns in concrete. For the demo he placed fresh concrete into forms that included a curving stair risen He colored the fresh concrete with color hardeners and stamped the patterns through colored, powdered release material. The next day he added additional patterning to the slab using an angle grinder with a diamond blade. He then highlighted the existing color with chemical stains. Despite the deep patterns, he has not experienced freeze/thaw damage even in the Buffalo area.

Kay Ferguson Cornerstone Design Bloomington, Ill.

Constructing a "Maquette" project (a three-dimensional study for sculptural or architectural work) Ferguson created a large hand holding the world in its palm. Ferguson first crafted an armature from rebar, chicken wire, and urethane foam. When the foam hardened, she carved and sanded it into a rough shape and then applied many layers of overlay cement to achieve the final look. She used common household kitchen tools to add finish decoration. Finally, she added color by spraying and brushing water-based stains on the overlay cement.

Gaye Goodman Faux Real Albuquerque, N.M.

Goodman became interested in chemically staining concrete while working as a faux painter. The possibilities for achieving countless variations in color and pattern with only a few stain colors intrigued her. When we cast the slabs for the artistry demos, she asked that we embed some plastic bones, real fish bones, and other objects that might be found on a lake or ocean bottom. We also provided finishes that looked like sand to part of her slab. Using a diamond grinder, she ground some of the bones flush with the concrete surface. She used several techniques to apply stain to the concrete: spraying and brushing, applying one color over another, covering wet stain with plastic sheeting to get patterned highlights, and damming some areas with caulk to concentrate stain colors.

Bob Harris Decorative Concrete Institute Douglasville, Ga.

Beside following some traditional practices used for terrazzo concrete finishes, Harris also incorporated newer decorative techniques. He attached metal terrazzo strips to the slab to create the pattern and provide the separation between colors. Next, he placed fiber optic wires in his design to provide special lighting effects. Then, he placed different colored self-leveling overlay cements between the terrazzo strips. After the surfaces hardened, he diamond polished them to complete the work.

Ron Hengehold Signature Concrete Leesburg, Fla.

Hengehold placed his slab and then engraved a graphic of the world. After masking out an area for the globe, he broadcast and embedded large rock salt crystals in the remainder of the fresh concrete slab. The next day he outlined the graphics on the slab and cut them into the concrete with an angle grinder and diamond blade. During his presentation, after the concrete achieved approximately 4000 psi strength, he followed the lines already cut in the slab with a decorative diamond blade with a chamfer profile-following tight curves in some cases. The result was very controlled lines. Hengehold used water-based stains to provide the color. He was careful to keep the black color surrounding the globe out of the salt holes, giving the salt the illusion of being stars.

Gary Jones the concretist network Vancouver, BC, Canada

Playing with color, Jones used "trowel down" overlay cement as his medium. Starting with yellow overlay cement, he trowel-applied a 1/16-inch-thick layer. After that, he carefully masked and cast areas to receive additional coloration. His company is currently using this colorful effect for several commercial installations.

George Lacker GLC3 Concrete Plantation, Fla.

Lacker cast two sections of concrete countertops for his demo--one before and one during his presentation. Several different materials were embedded in the surface of the concrete, including natural travertine rock and molten zinc, which was poured and dripped into random shapes before the concrete was cast. He used sandpaper instead of diamond pads to polish the first sample, giving viewers a chance to see the finished work. His second countertop demonstrated the rest of the process. Being a long-time concrete flatwork finisher, Lacker emphasizes the appearance of good concrete finishing.

Scott Mulder Mulder Waterproofing and Sealants Kalamazoo, Mich.

Using a new process to attach photos and graphics to concrete floors and walls, Mulder first prepped his slab to receive an epoxy coating. Then he placed a porous plastic cloth with a photo printed on it the size of the slab. Next, he applied epoxy atop the photo material, which moved through the pores, bonding the cloth to the slab. When the epoxy gelled, two more applications followed to provide a glossy appearance and a durable wearing surface.

Bjorn Ollner Ollner Design Vancouver, BC, Canada

Making his living as a professional artist and designer, Ollner designed an elaborate graphic for his diamond-polished slab. After laying out the design, he used an angle grinder and diamond blade to cut precise, curving, and straight lines to mark the pattern. The lines were cut approximately 1/16 inch deep. Next, the slab was polished to a 1500-grit finish. Ollner applied tint colors between the cut lines. (Tints easily penetrate concrete and provide pastel colors.) Then he applied a lithium liquid hardener to the surface to further harden the finish and make the color more permanent. The final step, diamond polishing the surface of the slab to a 3000-grit finish, was provided by Polishcrete of San Francisco.

Stan Pace Artist Oklahoma City, Ok.

Using trowelable overlay cement, which can be applied to vertical surfaces, Pace hand-carved an elk head. The process started with an armature of rebar and lath. He then applied several layers of overlay cement. When the basic shape was complete, he added several thinner layers, tooling them with margin trowels and tools common to artists who work with clay and plaster. To detail finer features on the horns, eyes, and mouth, he used a Dremel tool with small cutting bits to carve the detail. Then he sprayed water-based stains to provide the finished coloring.

Joe Sybrant Nascon Co. Shakopee, Minn.

Sybrant also helped to place the concrete for his slab before the demo started. He broadcast an off-white color hardener on the surface and textured the finish with troweled effects. During the demo he used an angle grinder with a small diamond cutting blade to cut intersecting circle patterns into the slab. Then he applied a new water-based stain product to highlight his patterning. A final touch involved lightly diamond polishing the top portions of his finishing marks to highlight the texture of the surface.

The Artistic Demos

The purpose of the demos is to provide visitors to the World of Concrete with a look at leading edge creative ideas in decorative concrete. Those who come to see the event should be encouraged to think more creatively about their own work and in that way help to advance this fast-growing industry. Approximately 120 people, including many from the ASCC's Decorative Concrete Council, volunteered their time and skills to help cast the slabs needed for the event, assist during the demos, scan visitor cards, and keep the event organized. Special thanks go to Doug Bannister, newly elected president of the DCC and owner of the Stamp Store in Oklahoma City. He volunteered several of his staff members and contributed both materials and equipment to ensure the success of the event. Bob Harris also made the trip to Orlando several days early to help place concrete, as did Ron Hengehold and Joe Sybrant.

Thanks are also due to the sponsors of the event who helped make the event possible financially. Their interest stems from a desire to help grow the decorative concrete industry. They include:

L.M. Scofield--the premier sponsor

Fritz-Pak Corp

H&C Concrete Coatings

Miracote Div. Crossfield Products

Superstone shit

Providing slabs with high early strength

At our request, John Warm, account manager, and Doug Thomas, central region technical manager for Rinker Concrete, Orlando, provided concrete for the demos that developed 4000-psi strength within 3 days (4500 psi in 28 days) to facilitate diamond polishing and to provide crisp edges for slabs with engraved lines. The concrete had a 0.48 water/cement ratio and used a polycarboxylate superplasticizer, providing a placement slump of 6 inches and high-early-strength development. With consideration for local materials, here is the mix design used for the slabs:

Portland cement                 625 pounds
Coarse aggregate                1600 pounds
(limestone pea gravel)
Fine aggregate                  1270 pounds
Water                           36 gallons
High-range water reducer        6 oz./100 pounds of cement