How to Build Your Own Garden Statues
Creating your own concrete garden statues is an excellent way to dress up your landscape. It can also provide you with a fun method of earning some extra income. You can choose from hundreds of different mold designs, and with a little investment and patience you can soon be turning out your own priceless pieces of lawn art. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Latex concrete mold
- Mixing bucket
- Hoe or trowel
- Bag or bags of premixed concrete
- Water
- Vegetable oil
- Concrete paints (optional)
- Artist's paint brushes (optional)
Instructions
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Making a Concrete Garden Statue from a Mold
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1
Prepare the mold. Rub the inside of the mold with vegetable oil. Assemble the mold, if necessary.
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2
Mix the concrete. Most premixed concrete formulations simply require the addition of water. Read the instructions carefully, and add the water a little at a time, mixing with the hoe or trowel as you go.
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3
Slowly pour the concrete into the mold, pausing occasionally to let the concrete settle in.
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4
Tap or gently shake the mold for several minutes so that any air bubbles trapped in the concrete will escape.
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5
Allow the concrete to cure by keeping it in a dry place for 24 hours.
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6
Carefully set the mold top-down on a flat surface. Have someone help you if your statue is too heavy for you to handle safely alone.
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7
Gently tap the mold, then carefully peel it away from the sculpture.
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8
Paint the statue, if desired.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Latex concrete molds are highly durable and will allow you to create many statues if you're careful with them.
Be sure to use concrete-compatible paints to finish your statues; regular latex paints will tend to flake away from the concrete after a while.
Instead of painting your statue, you can add pigments to the concrete as you are mixing it. This provides a very durable color for your statue.
Quick-drying concrete formulations can greatly speed the rate at which your statue hardens.
Be sure you check the instructions on your mold to see how much concrete you will need, so you won't have to run out for more. Pouring the mold in two stages, even separated by an hour or two, can create a visible line or crack in the finished statue.
It's not a good idea to use straight Portland cement for outdoor statues. Although it produces a very smooth finish, it is not very durable and will crumble after a few seasons. Premixed concrete has sand or small stones included to give the finished statue greater strength.
Pouring the concrete into the mold too quickly, or all at once, may result in large bubbles that can become trapped and ruin the look of your statue.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit garden buddha image by Kate Jones from Fotolia.com
