Sophisticated Concrete

This leaf pendant combines sterling silver and concrete inlays to create an elegant look. Andrew Goss, the artist, has an excellent book titled “Concrete Handbook for Artists.” (www.makersgallery.com/concrete/).

Leafing through Dwell magazine this weekend, I came across an ad for concrete and stainless steel jewelry. My first thought: Is this a joke? Although I have seen concrete jewelry before, it was more of a crafty thing for “the wives” to do at an industry meeting while the men talked of more serious matters. But this ad, for Konzuk (http://www.konzuk.com/) was for real—and the concrete and stainless steel jewelry is very elegant—and expensive.

My interest piqued, I did a web search for concrete jewelry and came across a surprising number of jewelry artists working with concrete. On Gonoskin.com, which bills itself as “The gem and jewelry world’s foremost resource on the internet,” there was a long feature article by concrete jewelry artist Andrew Goss on concrete basics for jewelry makers (www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/concrete-jewelry.htm). I normally approach information from such sources with a lot of skepticism, which usually turns out to be justified, since I soon discover that the writer doesn’t know anything about concrete and is simply spreading his or her ignorance. This article, however, was well-written and accurate. I was especially amused by the mix design (1 tablespoon stone dust, one tablespoon portland cement).

Concrete jewelry seems to me to be the tip of the iceberg; and the iceberg is what we like to call decorative concrete. The public as a whole, and especially those in the construction industry, are finally realizing the versatility of concrete. In fact, the concrete industry itself, dominated by the structural concrete folks, is finally recognizing how versatile our product is and that decorative concrete is more than just a fad. Suddenly concrete is hip. That’s remarkable for something that only a few years ago was thought of as good for sidewalks and basements and was even considered a metaphor for everything bad in city living. The concrete jungle, according to Wikipedia, is “associated with crime and a way of life that is indigenous to inner city living.” That image has given way to stamped and stained concrete sidewalks that evoke a sense of fun and harmony.

Those of us who make our living from concrete, should celebrate this transformation. We’re like the nerdy kid who suddenly became popular! Write to me and tell me what evidence of this you are seeing. Send pictures and we’ll post them here or elsewhere on the Concrete Network.