Gerald Taylor is a decorative concrete expert and will work with collegue Steven Ochs in the Bosch booth at World of Concrete 2012
Two of our guest commentators on bethepro.com are from the world of concrete art. They come to this new field from different (and unusual) paths:
Gerald Taylor
Gerald is a railroad conductor by trade, but an artist at heart. He started his artisan life in his wife’s jewelry store working on everything from gold and silver custom jewelry to personalized gun stocks. Since he’s a dedicated DIYer, Gerald started experimenting with jewelry concepts in other materials, including concrete. The rest is history.
Steven Ochs
Steven is a life-long artisan, which is evident in his work as a full-time art professor at Southern Arkansas University. He’s worked in a variety of mediums and materials, but found a unique home in public art, which has a strong connection to concrete. Although he paints the concrete surface, he’s comfortable with grinder and chisel. If you’re looking to expand into decorative concrete, start with our bethepro.com professionals. Maybe there’s some art education in your future. And look for Gerald Taylor and Steven Ochs in the Bosch booth at World of Concrete, January 24-27.
The fleur de lis is one of several designs Gerald Taylor has perfected in granite, stone and concrete furniture.
Gerald Taylor is a man on a mission!
A mission to explore the complete universe of what can be built, carved and shaped using traditional stone and granite materials.
His granite table tops are adorned with everything from the popular fleur de lis to a jumping dolphin – made employing techniques he’s developed using an angle grinder in combination with a crack chaser. He bends metal to support his stone art and he’s happy to drill through a 10” slab of concrete using a hole because it supports the design and beauty of his project better than setting concrete anchors.
Gerald is only too happy to use recycled or discarded stone and granite to make round or rectangular tables; wood scraps can add an accent to the stone work. The end result is work that’s both green and high aesthetic. And it’s a tribute to a guy who is willing to spend the time to experiment.
Concrete, granite or other masonry, Gerald Taylor works them all.
Decorative concrete is all the rage, whether you’re talking contractors, public artisans or homeowners. One of the great tradesmen in the arena for concrete art is Gerald Taylor, who blends art and hands-on power tool application to create functional art out of concrete, granite and other materials. One design he’s become adept at applying in a variety of masonry materials is the iconic fleur-de-lis.
In addition to its comparatively recent connection to the New Orleans Saints football team, the design has existed for hundreds of years and appears on everything from a king’s sash to a family coat of arms. This is one of the iconic designs Gerald has used in his work. And now he’s showing you how it’s done.
Check out the Idea Box to learn some of the master secrets to building incredible concrete and masonry artifacts that are both beautiful and functional.
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.
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 125th 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
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