Fountain complete!

I have decided with this project to tell a little story behind it.  Everyone says how important it is to blog so here I go.  This commission was a great experience from beginning to end.  I learned so much and created my first 3D fountain.  I had so many ideas about how to create this fountain and how it would be structurally sound.

I started with a rebar base.    I hired a welder to make this part of the base.  Then I had to add metal mesh all around the base.  After the mesh was wired on I added newspaper inside.  This would help catch the concrete when it was applied.

After the newspaper was added the concrete had to be mixed.  Using premade concrete I added acrylic polymer for strength, I then applied 3 layers of concrete over 3 days.  I also took this time to make sure the basin would fit properly on top of the base.

  


Once the concrete layers were complete I began to draw the design on the base.     

After deciding what the design would be I began to pick what colors of glass for each part of the fountain.  Meanwhile the ball had to be constructed with the proper size PVC pipe inside to house the fountain pipe.

After creating the ball and base for the ball the real fun began by starting to mosaic the base and basin.

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Once the mosaic process was started there was no stopping.  I really enjoyed creating this piece and find looking at it exciting and soothing at the same time.  I used predominantly irridized stained glass, so when the light hits it there are so many color possibilities on each piece of glass.

Now with all the parts ready to come together it was time for installation.  The base and basin were brought separately to the location then thinset together for more stability.  Finally it was time to install the pump and let the water flow.  This piece happily resides in the front yard of a wonderful family’s home in Santa Barbara, Ca.

please feel free to leave any questions or comments and thanks for reading!!