Abstract Cement Forms

Students will create a form using casting, carving, and texturing techniques.

This unit has six parts: research and design (designing a project, measuring for materials), mold making (creating the castable form negative), cast form (in concrete), demolding the cast, treating the surface, and documentation of the finished work (photos, email, reflection, and critique).

Overview Unit Goal

RESEARCH & DESIGN
  • Look at sculptures created by abstract expressionists, contemporary artists, and more to inspire your art making
  • Draw 10 ideas for your abstract or non-objective sculpture - be sure to include repetition, negative space, and asymmetry.
CREATE 
  • MOLD - Create a hollow vessel that will be used as a casting mold out of foam
  • CAST - Use concrete to create a positive from your mold
  • DEMOLD - Carve away your foam blocks to reveal only the concrete sculpture
  • SURFACE - consider how to accentuate the continuity around the sculpture by adding surface treatments (flocking, sand, glitter, and/or paint) that can be seen from at least one view (one view should be left without any surface treatments)
DOCUMENT, ANALYZE & REFLECT
  • Document your artwork using professional techniques, with solid colored background, lighting, and cropping
  • Analyze your own work
  • Reflect on the creation process
  • Identify other students' work that you appreciate and figure out why you like theirs more than others

Composition Concepts

  • Repetition
  • Negative Space
  • Asymmetry
  • Variety & Unity
  • In the Round

Technical Skills

  • Mold making
  • Carving
  • Surfacing (Painting, Flocking, etc.)

Tools & Supplies

  • Mold making materials (foam, scissors, knife, tape, Hot Glue)
  • Concrete mix
  • Demolding tools (putty knife, files)
  • Surfacing tools (flocking tube, flock, silicone glue brushes, glue, glitter/sand, paint)

Technical Skill Videos

Order of Work

Determine Your Design
  • RESEARCH other artists who have made non-objective or abstract artworks from concrete
  • NOTICE which works of art appeal to you over others and try to determine why you like some better than others
  • DRAW 10+ ideas for your sculpture - these ideas should combine negative space holes, repetition, and asymmetry.
  • Your drawings might guide you, but they aren't a final decision - sometimes sculpting takes you to new ideas and new decisions. 
Mold Making
  • Using foam, plasticized paper, plastic, or other materials you brought from home, create a hollow vessel to use as a casting mold. 
  • Your mold should hold a volume that is bigger than an apple and must be small enough to fit inside your locker.
Casting
  • Seal your foam with mod podge or paint prior to casting. Fair warning - the paint might transfer to the cement, though unlikely in an even manner you can count on.
  • Tape the outside of your mold so that the cement does not leak out or break the seams
  • On cement day, mix the dry cement and water to create the liquid cement mixture. You can add sand, if you would like to increase the durability of your casting. You can add color to your mixture, if you would like.
  • No cement or cement covered tools can be washed directly in the sink. Wash all cement in a bucket first. Once the cement is off, then rinse in the sink.
De-molding
  • Once the cement is dry (might take one or two days to dry), remove the foam
  • Your foam will be need to be carved out of your sculpture. Spend the time to get every nook and cranny clean.
Surface
  • You should leave one view without any surface treatments. 
  • At least one view should have visible surface treatments.
  • Option: Paint your surface using acrylic paint (you can use color to add unity by using only one or two colors that bring everything together - you can use a small amount of a contrasting color to link areas of the composition together and control the eye movement over the piece)
  • Option: Flock the surface of some parts (looks best on already painted areas since you see through the flock to the surface below) - apply a thin layer of glue using a silicone glue brush, use the flocking tube to float flock over the glue surface, catch unused flock on a piece of paper below your work and put it back with the rest of the flock - let dry for at least 30 mins before touching
  • Option: Add sand by applying a thin layer of glue (use silicone glue brushes, not paint brushes) and then dust the glue with the sand. Use a piece of paper underneath your work to collect unused sand to put back into the container.
  • Option: Add glitter by applying a thin layer of glue (use silicone glue brushes, not paint brushes) and then dust the glue with the glitter. Use a piece of paper underneath your work to collect unused glitter to put back into the container.
  • Option: gloss some areas of your sculpture to add shine to some parts
Documenting
  • PHOTOGRAPH your project (4 photos: front, 3/4, side, selfie)
  • Fill out the REFLECTION
  • Present your work to the class during an in-class gallery presentation or Record a VIDEO of your presentation 
  • EMAIL an important adult about your work

Research & Design

RESEARCH
  • Research sculptors who have made non-objective, non-representational, free-form sculptures that you like the look of
  • Some famous sculptors you might enjoy learning about are: Henry Moore, Liz Larner, Arlene Shechet, Jean Arp, Isamu Noguchi, Constantin Brancusi, Louise Nevelson, Barbara Hepworth, David Umemoto
  • You might also like the artwork from the game Monument Valley, inspired by M C Escher
DESIGN: 3+ ideas from 3 shapes 3 times
  • Draw 3 shapes - use those three shapes to draw 3 different sculpture ideas
  • Draw 3 shapes (not the same 3 from before) - use those to draw 3 different sculpture ideas
  • Draw 3 shapes (not the same combination from the last two groups) - use those to draw 3 different sculpture ideas
  • You should have 9+ sculpture ideas
  • Each idea should include interesting NEGATIVE SPACE (holes) and REPETITION (visual ideas that appear more than three times)
  • That drawings do not have to be amazing feats, they just need to be different and include the visual criteria above.
DAVID UMEMOTO
You can make organic forms if you'd like, but geometric forms are easier to create using the foam sheets and boards.

Consider basic shapes like rectangles, circles, arches, triangles, squares, etc. and how you will construct the negative space around the form you want to make.

Mold

  • Start with plastic corrugated boards to create the outer two sides of your mold box
  • Use foam core boards to create the base of your mold box, so that it fits perfectly inside your box
  • Inside the mold box, build up your negative space shapes
  • Using foam, plasticized paper, plastic, or other materials you brought from home, create the designs that will create the cement casting. 
  • The band saw or scroll saw are great tools for cutting foam
  • The hot glue gun is a great tool for gluing foam together
  • Your mold should hold a volume that is bigger than an apple and small enough to fit inside your locker.
  • Before casting, you must seal any surfaces that are porous so the cement doesn't destroy the mold before solidifying

Cast

  • Did you seal everything in your mold area? If you used anything with paper, like cardboard or craft foam board, you'll want to paint a sealant on those areas
  • Cast your mold with cement
  • Mix all dry ingredients first, then slowly add the water until it is the consistency of a milkshake
  • Do not wash cement containers and tools in the sink - use the bucket system

De-mold Foam

  • Remove the foam using a putty knife, loop tool, knife, etc.
  • You should try to remove all of the material stuck to the cement leaving just the cement left
  • Ask for advice if you have small bits left and need help
  • Be aware that a file or rasp (or any metal tool) can remove cement

Surface
  • You should leave one view without any surface treatments. 
  • At least one view should have visible surface treatments.
SURFACING TREATMENT OPTIONS
You must use at least 2+ surfacing treatments
  • Paint your surface using acrylic paint (you can use color to add unity by using only one or two colors that bring everything together - you can use a small amount of a contrasting color to link areas of the composition together and control the eye movement over the piece)
  • Flock the surface of some parts (looks best on already painted areas since you see through the flock to the surface below) - apply a thin layer of glue using a silicone glue brush, use the flocking tube to float flock over the glue surface, catch unused flock on a piece of paper below your work and put it back with the rest of the flock - let dry for at least 30 mins before touching
  • Sand : Add sand by applying a thin layer of glue (use silicone glue brushes, not paint brushes) and then dust the glue with the sand. Use a piece of paper underneath your work to collect unused sand to put back into the container.
  • Glitter : Add glitter by applying a thin layer of glue (use silicone glue brushes, not paint brushes) and then dust the glue with the glitter. Use a piece of paper underneath your work to collect unused glitter to put back into the container.
  • Gloss : gloss some areas of your sculpture to add shine to some parts
ONE VIEW WITH NO SURFACE TREATMENT

AT LEAST ONE VIEW WITH SURFACE TREATMENTS

OTHER VIEWS AT YOUR DISCRETION

Things to Consider

  • ​Your sculpture should be interesting from all views - consider repeating elements throughout
  • Consider different heights for the top edge, so that it doesn't end up looking like a cube
  • Consider gluing your shapes upside down inside your mold so the base of the sculpture is the top of your mold
  • Make sure you connect all of the negative space of your mold so that the concrete can fill in all the gaps from the top
  • Negatives spaces and repeated visual motifs will help connect areas of the sculpture together and make it feel more cohesive

4 Photos of your Sculpture

  • Use a solid background (no distracting lines, shadows, table, or other stuff) like the photo cube
  • Use quality lighting (soft shadow from artwork only)
  • Photo should be in focus, with artwork centered
  • One photo from the front, side, back, and/or 3/4, plus selfie with your sculpture
  • Four photos in total
  • Crop each photo so there is a small amount of space around the sculpture, but no sides of the photo cube are visible

Email an Image of Your Project

Grading Criteria