I got an interesting package today from Arkansas. Concrete artisan Steven Ochs cast a relief of the Bosch founder that will be incorporated in a larger concrete piece next week during the media event at Bosch power tools North America headquarters in Mt. Prospect, IL.

It promises to be an exciting event with 40 journalists from woodworking, construction and concrete fields gathering to talk tools and accessories. And Robert Bosch. Steven Ochs and partner Gerald Taylor will be working through the two-day session to complete the concrete masterpiece, which will be on permanent display in Mt. Prospect. You can find more information about Robert Bosch here.

By Steven Ochs, Professor of Art, Southern Arkansas University

As a professor of art at Southern Arkansas University, I challenge my students to become active members of their communities.  When you take your classroom out onto the sidewalks, the students experience the real world, real rewards and the pressure of real consequences. They see their skills making a positive social impact as they build networks and earn trust for future successes. Continue Reading

The big concrete show in Las Vegas brings all kinds of people together, including a tradesman like me and Arkansas concrete artisans the caliber of Steven Ochs and Gerald Taylor, who team as “Images in Concrete.”  They created a colorful relief design in the Bosch booth (you can watch them in this video) during the show.  This particular two-day effort highlighted the Bosch 125^th anniversary and the company’s strong line of concrete tools, blades and other accessories.  The pair worked on the project during show hours, even allowing interested booth visitors to make contributions to the piece.  Steven and Gerald represent key partners with Joe the Pro and we’ll highlight their work and commentaries about the ever-changing world of concrete art.  Look for their “special guest” contributions.  You can learn more about their experience at World of Concrete by reading their post at concretedecor.net

Adrian Gascon and Neil Hughes represent true artisans in the medium of cement. The two men‘s Ventura County, Calif.-based company, Multiple Use Unlimited Design (MUUD), came through the ranks of glass fiber-reinforced cement work seen the world over in custom waterfalls. Adrian handles the decorative component, often referenced as position work, and Neil is the flat-surface/counter specialist. They came to the Bosch-sponsored concrete surfaces and decorative cement pavilion at the World of Concrete trade show in January through an industry sales rep and a contact at Concrete Construction magazine. After showing their portfolio to a judging panel from the magazine, they were brought to the Las Vegas show to work as artisans in concrete. They appreciate the flexibility, strength and stability of the material and the opportunity to create in what is essentially a heavy industry category. “I like the material because I can make my own formula,” says Adrian. “That offers me consistency and that’s important in creating a dynamic piece. You need to know the characteristics of your material every time” The proof is in the resulting creativity – in the case of the concrete show an impressive fireplace/mantle image that incorporates warm elements of wood, etched art and stone – all mastered in cement. After seeing the work of MUUD and other concrete artisans at World of Concrete, I’ll never look at any cement work the same again – it’s really a piece of art just waiting to happen. See what others are saying about MUUD here