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Wall Art
After 4 months Gary Day completed his concrete garden wall project in Pasadena, CA. he used hand-made tiles, stacked glass sheets, cedar wood, and CHENG Pro-Formula Concrete Countertop Mix in Stone, Evergreen and Sand colors. With a mastery of materials and a sense of fun, Gary has created a playful garden show-stopper that is both beautiful and functional. Its strategic placement in the client’s yard not only delineates outdoor space, but invites the user to explore and interact with its sculptural form.
Project Objective + Client Feedback
The client was looking for a beyond-the-ordinary decorative wall that would create a private sitting space in their front yard. It had to simultaneously be elegant, quirky and fun, as well as a sculptural and visually appealing piece of art that provides a place from which to view the garden. The project was quite literally a “tall order,” yet Day expertly met the challenge.
Design + Expertise
The primary design of the wall is a flowing, sinuous line that runs through the garden; the inner curve provides support and privacy for a wooden bench, the outer curve serves as a sculptural element. Concrete—able to conform to any shape—is receptive to multiple surface finishes and complements a myriad of materials; it nimbly fulfills the project’s structural and aesthetic requirements.
The concrete for this 4,000-pound project was intentionally mixed and poured in small batches to create a layered and variegated look, much like the color variations found in natural stone. The integration of three CHENG Pro-Formula Concrete Mix colors—Stone, Evergreen, and Sand—created a multi-dimensional composition inspired by nature. Pro-Formula Stone was chosen because of its tendency to “droop” which adds to the organic, free-flowing look and feel of the concrete.
Multiple, textural finishes and inlays were incorporated in the garden wall, including ground and polished decorative stones on the top of the wall. Colorful, hand-made tile mosaics are sprinkled throughout while a translucent stack of glass sheets bookends and filters light on one end of the wall. Exposed aggregate creates a contrasting rough surface on the other end, and a triangular knockout provides a peek-a-boo view of the garden directly through the otherwise solid wall. The bench is made of cedar and is solely supported by the graceful curve of the inside wall and wooden doweling.
According to Fu-Tung Cheng, “It works really well as a colorful piece in the garden…full of rich texture, dynamic.”
2011 Best Outdoor Living, CHENG Concrete Exchange Design Challenge
Recognized in the industry as the pinnacle of exceptional design and craftsmanship, the CHENG Concrete Exchange Design Challenge showcases talent and technical skill of the very best in creative concrete.
About Concrete and Clay
Specializing in designing and building concrete countertops, decorative walls and sculpture, Concrete and Clay has been producing functional art for over five years in the San Gabriel Valley area of California. With a background in ceramics, the artistic company believes that concrete and ceramics have an affinity for each other. It has become a natural evolution to incorporate clay into their concrete pieces. Concrete and Clay incorporates a variety of other materials in their project installations, including glass, brass, stainless steel, wood, marble, and granite.
Concrete and Clay specializes in making unique ideas or concepts a reality. They underscore that each concrete project becomes a one-of-a-kind, personal composition that is never to be replicated.
Contact: Gary Day
Concrete and Clay
1426 Sinaloa Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91104
Phone: (626) 644-0970
gman91104@charter.net
www.concreteandclay.net