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African Animals Pattern Set.
Save $10 when you buy this three-pattern set. Use the patterns to create memorable gifts, or to bring a little bit of Africa to your own home
I did a recent (failed) experiment with waterproofing paper mache clay, so you know I’ve been talking a lot lately about outdoor sculptures–and especially about two previous guest posts by artists who use paper mache clay as the base, and then waterproof their sculptures with a cement product. Jackie Smith made her goddess with Thin Set mortar over the paper mache clay, and Julie Ellis made her mountain lion with Quikwall, a fiber-reinforced cement product.
This week Julie sent me photos of her latest work, and I just had to show them to you as a follow-up to her previous post. Thanks, Julie, for letting me show these to everyone.
If you want to know how she creates the sculptures, click on her link above for the full details.
They can be very heavy. The bear I’d estimate 250 pounds. The raccoons 100 pounds on the taller piece and 75 pounds on the shorter piece. That’s the cement weight.
Love your work. Very nice.
Hi Julie, I need something like that for my yard, but I am afraid there might be some sticky fingers who would take them. but I will never know till I try. These are gorgeous. What do your neighbors think of your sculpture menagerie?
Christine, you bring up a good point – but maybe the weight would discourage most thieves. Julie, do you have any idea how much your sculptures weigh?
If you build it with a piece of rebar cemented in the inside of the sculpture, you can attach a short piece of chain to it. When finished, you can dig a hole where you are placing the sculpture and pour a concrete footing (wider at the bottom so it is difficult to get out) and put a piece of bent rebar in that. Once it all dries, you can lock your sculpture in place and it would take a lot of work to steal it.
Wow, they look so real! Great job!
wow that’s beautiful !!!
I LOVE these! Thank you Julie for sharing
Oops, never mind!! I see it now, it’s the mountain lion link. Sorry!!
-Lisa
That’s OK – I should have made it more obvious, but I was just being lazy.
Hi Jonni,
I don’t see the link to click on that you mentioned. I am so curious as to how she makes these! They are wonderful!
Thanks,
Lisa
Hi Lisa. To see how Julie made her mountain lion (and the bear and raccoons on this page), click here. And I agree – they’re wonderful. 🙂