Making Concrete Garden Ornaments [Paperback]

Sherri Warner Hunter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2002

A celebrated teacher has gathered the tried-and-true techniques used by sculptors and folk artists, and tailored them for low-tech surroundings. Work with molds; form over armatures; model or carve with concrete; and treat concrete surfaces with mosaics, embedded objects, incising, and coloring. For dazzling outdoor embellishments, craft a Birdbath, Little Lady Fountain, and more. Twenty-five projects in all.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Lark Books (May 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579903185
• ISBN-13: 978-1579903183
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #588,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars AVID BUYERS BEWARE, September 8, 2004

By 

M. G. Story "StorybookSolutions.com" (Southern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Making Concrete Garden Ornaments (Paperback)

This is an excellent primer. I recommend it whole-heartedly because you won't see this good info anywhere else EXCEPT...another book by the same author titled CREATING WITH CONCRETE. Both books are identical, page for page--only the titles are different. So don't do what I did and avidly run out and buy that book too thinking it's new info...It's identical!

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars knocked my socks off!!!, May 3, 2003

By 

georgia kuhlman "arizona resident" (phoenix, arizona United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Making Concrete Garden Ornaments (Paperback)

as far as i have seen, there is no other book like this one.
think of it; you can; with this excellent book, create your own sculptures and the neighbors will die of envy! they will think you came into an inheritance and can now afford to enlist a fine artist to grace your front lawn with art.
or how about a knock-out hugh heavy deeply engraved wildly artistic planter? the whole neighborhood will be on you to do your magic for them. i have so many plans now that i yearned to do for years and never thought was possible to acomplish.
the book is extremely well laid out. tons and tons of step by step pictures. and various formulas for concrete from the usual we are accustomed to; to some very maliable patty sculpture-friendly types of material. the way to structure figures; some very complex, is clearly laid out so that you will never again be able to say "oh, i could never do that".
sherri hunter, i am in your debt!!!

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best How-To Book I Have Ever Read, July 26, 2004

By 

Claudia McGill (Wyncote, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Making Concrete Garden Ornaments (Paperback)

I can't say enough about how easy to follow the instructions are in this book - you are never left wondering - how did she go from this step to the next step? Plenty of information (written and pictured) about concrete as a material, as well as interesting projects to follow or to use as models and inspiration to make your own ideas into reality.

I especially like the clear way she has organized the directions for the various projects. In each, the construction steps are laid out. When she refers to a specific concrete mix or generic construction technique, she then refers you to a different section of the book. In this way she does not repeat the same info over and over in the projects.

At first, I was a little thrown off, but I learned to check the material list, look at the different sections, then look at the project as a whole. It prompted me to do things in the correct order and made the actual construction steps easier to follow. It also makes it very easy, when you get more experienced and create your own works, to go right to the areas that are appropriate for your work and not search through pages of instructions.

I think this is the best how-to book I've ever seen - you can feel very confident in your work with this book as a guide. I've made several projects based on what I've learned - I've carved concrete, modeled it , done tile work - and enjoyed them all.