This
stepping stone was once a cool-weather staple in our wardrobe. Then
the moths got to it. Then we felted it. Then we mixed a cement-rich
slurry and soaked it through. Then we folded it. Then we brushed it as
it was curing to raise a little nap (which we hope will grow moss after a
while). Now it is a stylish yard sweater.
* * * * *
IS THE PROPER TERM SHANK OR SHIV?
It's
not all about concrete at MinorAlterations. We put this
vicious little nugget together to address an urgent seasonal
gourd-carving project. Like a hot knife through butter.
* * * * *
GETTING OVER
This
angular arc of concrete-saturated fabric is light, thin, strong, and
protects me from my friends and neighbors, all lovely people, who liked
to blame ME because THEY couldn't seem to walk past an open drainage
ditch without falling in. I'm glad I could help them, sculpturally.
Update: It has now been established that if a car collides with this structure, the car will stop and the concrete arc will suffer a fatal crack. On the upside, in keeping with its mission, our creation prevented the car from driving into the ditch, so we'll call that a net positive result.
Further Update: We made a new ditch bridge with a thicker cotton fabric, cast it rough-side-up without reinforcing bars and with an improved concrete mix. The new model is thinner, stronger and better looking. Bring on the traffic!
* * * * *
THE OPPOSITE OF LAUNDERING
I
have been experimenting with concrete-saturated fabric, trying out
different combinations of fabrics, concrete recipes and armature
materials, and different methods of folding, layering and draping. The
photo is of a recent test using a thick chenille (left) and denim
(right).
I followed this with a test entitled, "Can One Achieve a
Pleasing Texture by Grinding and Polishing Concrete-Saturated Fabric?" My conclusions: (1) not really, at least not yet, and (2) these finishing steps in fact may detract from the interesting natural surface effects of the fabric/concrete combination. So, the polisher stays on the shelf for now.
* * * * *
GRUESOME BUT EFFECTIVE
We couldn't find the tool we wanted, so we made our own. The handsome devil to the right is a concrete vibrator custom-rigged from a neck massager and plastic-coated wire. It made its debut in spring 2011, and it has already proven to be just the ticket for our small-scale pieces.
* * * * *
A SIMPLE PLINTH
Our good friend needed a pedestal for a beautiful bronze bust of his mother and we were honored to take on the project. The top surface is ground down to reveal the aggregate in the concrete mix and then polished, but we decided not to grind the sides to keep the appearance of the base neutral from most viewing angles. The lower layer is a recessed plywood slab that provides a relatively soft contact surface for the whole operation.
In the next few weeks, we'll be posting a blog entry with more photos to explain how this piece came together.
* * * * *
PROPS TO THE WIPs
We're
sure that showing works-in-progress breaks some cardinal rule of
making/crafting/arting, or else it's just a jinx. But you you know
what? Meteors fall on people every day, so we are pulling back the
curtain on this one. This three-liter concrete vessel is our
lightest-weight large piece yet, thanks to our new casting method which
produced some nice thin walls. And just look at that shine! Will it get a finished lip or not? TBD.
We are very excited to be collaborating with metalsmiths in Richmond, VA and elsewhere on designs for aluminum and steel bases for these pieces. Stay tuned to see what emerges.
Not polished, just nicely cast.
Thin but solid walls.
* * * * *
DOMESTIC BLITZ
Once again, we were drawn to the subtle textural effects and flexibility that come
with using corrugated cardboard as concrete formwork. This time, we
embedded numbers cut from a longtime favorite material, Corian, to
create this slabtastic house marker.
* * * * *
DINING TABLE -- ONE LEAF
This
plastic laminate tabletop had a self-esteem problem. Everywhere he
looked, there were trees, logs, planks and furniture made of actual
wood. Next to them, he was uniform, synthetic and wholly lacking in
texture. We felt sorry for the little guy and put him under the
engraver. He now has a raised grain and foliage, and he holds his head
up high.
* * * * *
BOX AND BALL
A cardboard box took a detour into the MA workshop on its way to the recycling bin and became this concrete planter. We cast this piece using a concrete mix with a high proportion of perlite, so it is relatively lightweight. The smooth and faintly ribbed and pebbled interior space comes from the basketball that was embedded during the casting. We included a drainage outlet and short rubber legs on this planter, so it can be used indoors or outdoors with a variety of plant types.
Corrugated Concrete
Top edge polished to a sheen.
* * * * *
PONY PERSON
Quoth the mighty Wounded Lion: "So when you see the ass of a horse and the torso of a man / you'll know that I am on the scene / and I'm firing arrows / into targets / I'm firing arrows / into rabbits / I'm firing arrows / into the sky." I know, right?
Centaur...Satyr...Sagittarius
* * * * *
BRUTALIST ILLUMINATION
What's that you say? You had in mind a lamp with a perlite-rich concrete base,
a hollow core, an inverted pendant lightset mounted in an integral Mason jar, a power cord that pierces and snakes around the base, and a forgiving pine footing? Look no further. This is the first in what we plan to be a series of minoralterations lamps. Read the gory details of how we made this one in the BLOG section.
Cozy Frontside with Dent
Backside Blackshade
* * * * *
CONCRETE + BEER + FIRE = !!!
Here is a favorite
minoralterations concrete model, a hefty tea-light holder made using the
container of a delicious and foamy beverage. We devised a custom
concrete formula that results in a dense, smooth finish, although we
allow a few air bubbles for contrast. We take it as our mission to
drain enough cans to make enough of these candleholders to keep you from
having to drink in the dark. You're welcome.
* * * * *
TYVEK FEELS SO GOOD
The poor chair was left on the side of the road with no seat and a bad back. The cheapskate handwringing packrat office worker could not throw away the Tyvek envelopes he received in the mail. Leave it to minoralterations to bring these two needy souls together. And my, what a handsome piece of furniture they begat!
Read their story in the BLOG section.
The Soft Block Chair
* * * * *
NEXT ROUND OF CONCRETE
Here are two of the second wave of concrete projects, one tall vase with a Corian base, and one very round, very smooth pot with a wooden base.
Straight and round wood base
Tall straight Corian base
* * * * *
NEW CONCRETE MIXES, NEW SHAPES
The planter to the right, cast from a gallon milk jug, was our first model using a concrete mix that incorporated perlite to reduce the weight of the finished product. It worked, and also provided a range of surface textures different from standard sand-aggregate-cement mixes. Despite its lighter weight, we used a soft wood base as a cushion for tabletop use.
For the pot on the bottom, we threw the weight issue to the wind and poured a red playground ball with a dense, full-sand concrete mix. It's heavy, but its surface is silky-smooth, and it seems to float above its recessed Corian base pad.
The Difference is Perlite
Ballsy
* * * * *
CONCRETE, MEET CORIAN
After
months spent scouring the internet for cheap HDPE (who doesn't?),
salvage from a stranger's bathroom came to the rescue. Now we finally had a way to set a lump of concrete on our finely-polished
furniture without scratching and gouging the heck out of it. This
first happy union of building materials has spawned
many kin and set in motion what has become an unhealthy
obsession with poured concrete shapes.
Read how it all began in navel-gazing (and nearly parenthetical-free) detail in the BLOG section.
* * * * *
SO I BOUGHT A CORIAN COUNTERTOP
Technically, this is a raw material, not a project. Nevertherless, we felt our friend C. should have a showcase int this section since we have made lots of things we like out of it, and we have learned a lot by working with this ornery but ultimately satisfying material. Our favorite quality: if you work the surface correctly, it feels like soap!
Read more, more, more in the BLOG section.
Corian Countertop
* * * * *
CHAIR PROJECT UPDATE #1
The hammered-flat pipe
back support? OK, but not great. The answer came from the plumbing
aisle, where I found 3/4-inch ERW conduit (super cheap -- $4 for 8 feet?) and a hand
conduit bender.After some internet research and some ugly test bends, I was able to make a shallow U shape that fit the gap
between the two back uprights.Then I
squeezed the ends flat, bent them 90 degrees, and drilled bolt holes. Lovely.
Chair - Back Brace
* * * * *
CHAIR PROJECT UPDATE #2
The vinyl seat on
one of the chairs blew out at the bolt holes after about 10 months of regular
use.It's enough to make a young man turn to grommets. In the meantime, I got some wire mesh and snipped
and bent a new seat from that.I doubled
the sides so that each bolt goes through 4 layers of the wire mesh, and pounded the folds flat using a rubber
mallet. Also, because my fold along the back edge of the seat was a little
rough, I wound some thick steel wire along that edge.This smoothed out the edge, helps keep the
squares of the mesh aligned, and looks nice and shiny.
The mesh is comfortable, and though it is not as soft
as the vinyl, it is also not as loud.It also stretched a bit during
the first few weeks of use, so now it has a permanently molded contour.
Chair - Mesh Seat
* * * * *
BREUER IN VINYL
This was a Breuer-style chair with cream-colored tubes and
intact acrylic floor glides that I found at the thrift store.Instead of the traditional wood and cane seat
and back, this one had cheap-looking brown plastic cushion units backed with
plywood screwed onto it.We wanted a new
seat that would show off the cool frame of this chair, so naturally we chose
clear vinyl. Eight layers to be exact,
cut to size and sandwiched together. Also,
to replace the support lost with the plywood elements of the seat and back, we
made two crossbars out of discarded steel tubes (one curved, one straight), and
painted them to match the original frame.
Vinyl Breuer Chair
* * * * *
INVISIBLE CHAIR
We had these old IKEA chairs with nice bent
plywood seats, but we left them out in the rain for a long time and
they warped and splintered and just basically fell apart one day. J
took the seats and backs off of the metal frame and replaced them with
multiple sheets of heavy duty clear vinyl. And now they look like
waterfalls. And no one has fallen through them yet.
