Concrete Creations

Marion Dawidowski is a veteran author of over 80 craft titles from sewing through interiors design and Christmas decorations and now the trending concrete art. Marion is married, with two sons and a dog. She lives in Brockhagen near Bielefeld, Germany.Ingrid Moras is a multi-disciplined author of titles including silk and fabric painting: paper, wood, wire and mosaic work; jewellery making and – of course – creating designs with the on trend concrete. Ingrid is married with two daughters. She finds relaxation and inspiration in her garden, and enjoys hiking in her homeland, the Allgäu, in southern Germany.

Concrete, once reserved for purely utilitarian purposes, has gained popularity as a design element for home and garden. Since the materials are readily available in most areas, and the required skills can be learned without formal training, concrete has also become a popular medium for DIY projects. Those included here start small, with candle holders, and gradually move up in both size and detail. The largest are still relatively small—table-top vases and bowls—though the concepts could easily be translated to larger applications. Most of the work required for these projects is in the preparation of the mold, which here can take the form of plastic storage tubs, discarded bottles and other household recyclables, and modeling foam, as well as store-bought molds made of silicone and other materials. Many of those that use modeling foam are designed to work with one of the templates on the last half-dozen pages of the book. While a few projects use pigment or glaze, most show off the concrete’s natural finish.