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| Kitty
Hawk Artist Claudia Larson Designs Sidewalk of Art for Hawaiian Yoga Retreat Center............... |
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 Concrete Carpeting at the Tara Yoga Retreat Center in Hawaii |
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My
adventure began with a phone call from Estella Cummings of Dare
Concrete. She had a project in Hawaii and asked if I would submit
a design for a painted sidewalk that would surround "The
Center at Kahuna Falls" a yoga retreat on the island of Hawaii
as part of the overall project. After discussing details, we decided a
sucessful design patern would need to be 10.5 ft. by 5.5 ft. wide, and
it would repeat itself 13 times in-order to fully cover the sidewalk surrounding
the main yoga center building. Three different designs were submitted
to the client for approval. |
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Initially,
I built a small sample stamp and tested it in wet sand near my home at
Kitty Hawk Beach. Satisfied that the process was possible, a larger panel
was constructed from screen and rope at home for a final test. The finished
panel was rolled up and taken to the beach for more testing. In front
of a gathering crowd of curious beach visitors, the large panel was unrolled
and slowly pressed into the moist beach sand just across the road from
the Black Pelican Restaurant. The demonstration drew a crowd of beach
combers wondering what the comotion was all about. As I lifted the screen
up from the sand, a beautiful floral design remained imprinted in the
sand beneath and the crowd stirred with approval. |
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Satisfied that the stamping process would create the design impression I was looking for and the client was expecting, additional study ensued on the technical details of the actual imprint that would be needed. This led to a design outline, that when pressed into a wet concrete overlay, would provide a consistent pattern for the application of different finishing stains within the overall design. Rolls of 3 ft. wide window screen, purchased from the local hardware store were sown together into a giant screen canvas and 1/8 inch rope was calked in place to make up the floral design. I decided two panels should be made, just in case one panel was damaged during the long flight to Hawaii. The finished screens holding the designs were then folded into a size that let them fit perfectly into a standard suitcase. |
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| Claudia
Staining the Sidewalk |
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Upon
arrival in Hawaii, I removed the screen from the suitcases and found they
had made the long flight without incident. The screen canvasses were calked
onto 2 large Styrofoam insulation slabs that I purchased from a local
building supply, in effect creating a large "concrete stamp."
My plans called for the panels to be used repeatedly, so I needed to find
a way to grab, lift and move the panels as needed without damaging them.
Noticing the leftover calking tubes and knowing the remoteness of the
area to quick shopping, I emprovised by threading the extra screen that
I had brought with me through 8 empty calking tubes. These improvised
handles were then Gorilla Glued by the extra screen to the back side of
the large Styrofoam panels. This provided a safe and effective way to
lift the panels from the wet concrete without damaging them. |
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| Calking
the screens to the Styrofoam. |
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This
unique and untried stamping procedure created some skepticism from some
of the experienced concrete workers assembled on the day of concrete pouring.
However, once the first stamping effort yielded a crisp design with lines
in the concrete that did not exceed my 1/8 inch specifications, the skeptical
silence among the workers swelled into an expression of amazement. Many
of the workers found it hard to believe it was possible to create such
an intricate design in wet concrete with the tools I was using. I especially
want to thank concrete expert Jeff Szalony for his assistance in carefully
pressing each panel into the wet concrete. |
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| Pressing
the panel into the wet concrete, then lifting with the handles |
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| About Hawaii | ||
Hilo,
Hawaii was one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. Driving
on a road that offered continuous breathtaking views turned a normal chore
to the store into an adventure. Hawaii, The Big Island, only has a population
of about 100,000 people. I did not see one building over three stories
tall. There were lots of white nylon Quonset huts being used as living
quarters, which seemed to radiate light at night. The island is also one
of the wettest places in the world, with about 300 inches of rain recorded
each year. (It rained 27 inches during one week of my visit.) In addition,
there are over 700 waterfalls on the island. Most household energy is
devived from hydroelectric and precious fresh water is collected from
roofs into cisterns. There was an abundance of dirt roads, making a 4-wheel
drive vehicle a necessity. Outside of town, the countryside reminded me
of Corova. There were lots of wild boar and mongoose (they look like brown
ferrets)running loose in the area however, the area has no snakes. The
airport looked like someone’s garage. I found it interesting that
the local store sold bananas while at the same time I was able to see
them growing along the side of the roads and picked them freely. |
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| "The
Center at Kahuna Falls" parking lot. Design by Estella Cummings |
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I found one of the best things to do on the island was just looking up into the night sky. In Kitty Hawk, I was aware of only a few bright stars and planets in the night sky above my deck. However, in Hawaii, 3,000 miles from human light pollution, thousands of stars seemed to crowd the sky. There was even something I called “stardust,” scattered between the specks of light that I had never been aware of before my visit. Space seemed so much larger here. It was like looking through a telescope, although I knew I was only using my naked eyes. No wonder the "Keck" was here. I also have some great stories about a hog hunt and the rain. Perhaps Outer Banks Free Press will allow some more story telling. Claudia Larson
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| Additional Pictures from Claudia's Trip | ||
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| Side of the road Rt. 19 | ||
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| Strider's Road | ||
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| Lava
Tube Park |
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| Lava
Tube Park |
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| Contact Claudia | ||
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