Split Concrete Sphere

[Hermes2020]

As part of my ongoing attempts at combining fast set concrete with stainless steel, this is the latest experiment. I wanted to try the idea of splitting a concrete sphere to reveal some interior structure, almost like those geodes that reveal beautiful crystals inside when they are opened. This piece is 330mm in overall height. The stainless steel filaments are 1mm in diameter and are offcuts from other projects. They give amazing rigidity; there is zero movement between the two hemispheres, that are hollow, not solid concrete. The base is stained and varnished concrete. Part of the fun was facing the challenge of taking these photos. I had to resort to focus stacking, because the 135mm f2 Nikon lens had a limited depth of field, even at the f5.6 aperture I was using.

 

[Hostajunkie]

Very cool!

 

[snoball]

That’s amazing!

 

[Hermes2020]

Thank you Hostajunkie and snoball.

 

[Artyczar]

Wow! So impressive! I love how sleek, but rough it is. Modern, yet very originally rustic it is too.

 

[Hermes2020]

Thank you, Artyczar. You've noticed one of my goals: the sleekness of the stainless steel next to the rough texture of the concrete.

 

[ZenDruid]

Interesting. Nice welding. I'm curious how you made two perfect hollow hemispheres out of concrete.

 

[Hermes2020]

Interesting. Nice welding. I'm curious how you made two perfect hollow hemispheres out of concrete.

Thank you! It isn't welding; if you look at some of my other posts in the Sculpture forum, you'll see those bits are offcuts of my favourite reinforcing stainless steel mesh I use in my concrete sculpture projects. I even use it in my experimental concrete paintings on hardboard panels, as discussed in my posts in the Contemporary and Abstract Art forum. This particular piece was fabricated in two sacrificial hemispherical Styrofoam moulds. The Styrofoam surface was responsible for the rough texture. The hollow interiors were achieved by doing the rapid set concrete pours in stages, not all at once.

I enjoy the engineering challenges of making my sculptures. I had a lot of those when I made my reclining nude poolside concrete sculpture you can see elsewhere in this forum.

 

[ZenDruid]

It looks great, thank you for the explanation. I did see the poolside sculptures also.