Lava rock style pot test run

[Pleetkutta]

Hi all,

Thought I'd share my first attempt at a bespoke container for one of my trees this coming spring. A little winter project in preparation.

Any criticism or advice would be appreciated.

 

[BrightsideB]

No photo?

 

[Pleetkutta]

No photo?

Whoops, fixed

 

[BrightsideB]

Whoops, fixed

Looks good. Doesn’t remind me of a lava rock but very nice job with the texture!

 

[Weta]

I like the close to the ground look just watch drainage holes letting water exit and not pool underneath from the soil water retention.

 

[Eckhoffw]

Very nice job!
I get the Laverock impression.
Maybe A couple of tiedown holes would be nice?

 

[queenofsheba52]

Your shaping is very organic looking, nicely done. Will you put any feet under these pots? Are they fired already?

 

[Pleetkutta]

Your shaping is very organic looking, nicely done. Will you put any feet under these pots? Are they fired already?

I should have put some feet on them. Rookie error. This is actually one pot, it is made of lightweight concrete so no firing needed

 

[Eckhoffw]

Nice work.
I imagine if the pots are irregular enough, and stable, feet may not be required.

 

[Pleetkutta]

Looks good. Doesn’t remind me of a lava rock but very nice job with the texture!

I have seen your work on etsy before it is amazing!

I am not a ceramicist, this pot is made of concrete actually but do you have any advice for sculpting the craggy textures of real rock? It was difficult to avoid a blobby, soft sort of formation.

 

[Weta]

Grinder to the rescue lol

 

[BrightsideB]

I have seen your work on etsy before it is amazing!

I am not a ceramicist, this pot is made of concrete actually but do you have any advice for sculpting the craggy textures of real rock? It was difficult to avoid a blobby, soft sort of formation.

Thanks! Try getting a lava rock and press it into some concrete or anything that will take the shape for a texture tool. If you just press lava rock into the actual piece it will create the reverse so that might look cool too!

 

[Eckhoffw]

Would you mind showing us your process for these? I’m getting intrigued.

 

[Weta]

Thinking of lava rock I think of scoria pumice and obsidian.
Scoria is full of air pockets and voids, it might be possible to use polystyrene bits in the mix and dissolve out with acetone leaving voids, I haven't tested yet or know how concrete would react, just an idea floating.

 

[Pleetkutta]

Would you mind showing us your process for these? I’m getting intrigued.

Sure thing.

I built an armature out of 10mm wire mesh, I cut holes for drainage. Then I applied a mouldable cement paste using this recipe:

Weatherproof Paper Cement Clay For Outdoor Sculptures • Ultimate Paper Mache

These two new recipes for paper mache clay appear to be weatherproof. They're based on a recipe from Warren Eggleton, who created giant pots with weatherproof paper mache clay, and they stayed outside on Australia for at least 6 years.

www.ultimatepapermache.com

I applied some texture into the rock by cutting some lines with a plastic knife, and poking some indents with a chopstick. Once it had dried I painted a base coat of dark grey, then dry brushed the white highlights. Finally after it had cured for a while I applied some sealer.

I'm not actually sure how it will hold up outside, in future I would probably use some polypropylene fibers in the cement mix instead of shredded paper.

 

[Eckhoffw]

Sure thing.

I built an armature out of 10mm wire mesh, I cut holes for drainage. Then I applied a mouldable cement paste using this recipe:

Weatherproof Paper Cement Clay For Outdoor Sculptures • Ultimate Paper Mache

These two new recipes for paper mache clay appear to be weatherproof. They're based on a recipe from Warren Eggleton, who created giant pots with weatherproof paper mache clay, and they stayed outside on Australia for at least 6 years.

www.ultimatepapermache.com

I applied some texture into the rock by cutting some lines with a plastic knife, and poking some indents with a chopstick. Once it had dried I painted a base coat of dark grey, then dry brushed the white highlights. Finally after it had cured for a while I applied some sealer.

I'm not actually sure how it will hold up outside, in future I would probably use some polypropylene fibers in the cement mix instead of shredded paper.

Thanks for sharing!
I own a couple pots that look to be some kind of cement and fabric rebar mixture.

Pretty sure I’ll be experimenting with cement pots this year.

 

[Weta]

Sure thing.

I built an armature out of 10mm wire mesh, I cut holes for drainage. Then I applied a mouldable cement paste using this recipe:

Weatherproof Paper Cement Clay For Outdoor Sculptures • Ultimate Paper Mache

These two new recipes for paper mache clay appear to be weatherproof. They're based on a recipe from Warren Eggleton, who created giant pots with weatherproof paper mache clay, and they stayed outside on Australia for at least 6 years.

www.ultimatepapermache.com

I applied some texture into the rock by cutting some lines with a plastic knife, and poking some indents with a chopstick. Once it had dried I painted a base coat of dark grey, then dry brushed the white highlights. Finally after it had cured for a while I applied some sealer.

I'm not actually sure how it will hold up outside, in future I would probably use some polypropylene fibers in the cement mix instead of shredded paper.

I wouldnt use polypropylene (PP) as its really soft, maybe ABS plastic would be better.
Fibreglass fibre while messy seems the common sense material to use, no expansion stretching or decomposition.

 

[Pleetkutta]

I wouldnt use polypropylene (PP) as its really soft, maybe ABS plastic would be better.
Fibreglass fibre while messy seems the common sense material to use, no expansion stretching or decomposition.

Thanks for the tips, I'm not familiar with composite materials.

Have you seen Jan Culek's creations? His are supposedly made of a secret composite blend which is supposedly non cementitious nor clay. I can't imagine what on earth goes into it to create such jagged designs though, any thoughts?

 

[Weta]

Thanks for the tips, I'm not familiar with composite materials.

Have you seen Jan Culek's creations? His are supposedly made of a secret composite blend which is supposedly non cementitious nor clay. I can't imagine what on earth goes into it to create such jagged designs though, any thoughts?

Similar to this video of @leatherback

 

[Pleetkutta]

Similar to this video of @leatherback

I thought about that, but the edges of the details on Jan's pieces are so sharp, compared to the softer round looking peaks on Jelle's rock. How would wet cement hold such intricate designs?

I'm going to do lots of test pieces over the next few months, will post results here for all to see.