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Wow…all I can say is “Wow”!!

I received a visit from Sentinel journalist/writer Wallace Baine a week ago and he said that I was chosen to be a recipient of the esteemed Gail Rich Award. The award celebrates the spirit of arts in Santa Cruz by “recognizing those who inspire our diverse and culturally rich community”.

My friend Jeff Luhn who is a musician, photographer and conceptual artist had an idea for my upcoming CD release. His idea was to cover half of me with cement and leave the other half alone. I donned a tuxedo to provide an distinct yin-yang. Awesome idea!!

I mentioned this to the amazing photographer, Shmuel Thaler has been photographing the Gail Rich Award honorees (and countless other subjects and events) since its inception and thought the idea was awesome as well. Here are a few of the behind the scenes shots that I wanted to share with my friends on my blog.

Read more …

Tom Ralston Concrete has built quite a few very cool and interesting concrete and masonry pieces for Santa Cruz County. However I could make a strong case that to date the Chinese Monument that TRC built in 2014 in the Santa Cruz Evergreen Memorial is the most meaningful and significant.

There were many that contributed to the idea, the vision, and to the construction of the Chinese Memorial. The George and Emily Ow Family primarily funded the project. The Museum of Art and History helped to generate momentum and was led by Director Nina Simon. Nina's husband Sibley diligently worked with volunteers and organized labor to help pull the project together. The initial monument concept and inspiration was from Geoffrey Dunn and George Ow who met with me to begin brainstorming ideas for the memorial.

The Chinese that were buried in the Evergreen Memorial were immigrants that came to California and Santa Cruz to escape rebellion and civil war; but also to fulfill a dream of prosperity and to make a better life for their families. To paraphrase historian Sandy Lydon: the contributions that the Chinese made were fundamental to the region's economic development they were not treated as such. As history tells us many if not most of the Chinese settlers were treated like second rate citizens there are ample examples of gross prejudice.

Again from Lydon in his book Chinese Gold  "No Monuments, no prominent place names, no gilt "Chinese-style" buildings, and no large concentrations of Chinese people attest to the presence [and contributions made] in the Monterey Bay Region."

Now, with the Chinese memorial built in the Evergreen Cemetery, there finally is a place that people can honor and memorialize the Chinese settlers. Last year on April 5, 2014 the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History organized a funeral procession that started on Front Street near Old Chinatown and ended in the Chinese section of the Evergreen Cemetery. Along the way the procession was joined by Chinese "lion dancers" who provided a very colorful addition to the Chinese celebration.

My vision for the concrete memorial was carried out by TRC's dedicated and hardworking crews and were led by master carpenter Rex Nicoliason. The structure, which was all poured together with a special colored SCC (self-consolidating concrete), when fully cured will be in excess of 8,000 PSI. Regular concrete starts at about 2500 PSI. Sean Monaghan who has partnered with me on many creative projects over the last 2-decades cast some incredible solid bronze headstones that had names of Chinese actually buried in Evergreen. The headstones were originally made with simple wooden 2 x 12's which had the deceased names carved into them. Sean beautifully replicated the wooden headstones with bronze and had his student, Yue Yu, provide the translation and calligraphy for the headstones. Ralph Royer and Josh Roton of RCR fabrication made exacting Chinese characters that were later powder coated a brilliant red. The red characters played beautifully off of the charcoal colored concrete. The translation and poetry for the monument was provided by Professor Yuming Shang. Other local contractors that contributed to making this happen was Landscape Contractor Randy Quilici, Lewis Tree Service, E Clampus Vitus Branciforte Chapter 1797, The Landscape Company, Homeless Services Center, Y.E.S. High School and many other volunteers.

Sibley Simon who is the chairman for the Evergreen Cemetery committee for the MAH took the lead for overseeing construction and making sure that the Cemetery was cleaned up and ready to go for the Quing Ming Festival or "Tomb Sweeping Day". According to George Ow in Chinese folklore, "if something is not settled during a lifetime, you have hungry ghosts, like angry spirits." Barring a nuclear warhead striking the memorial with a direct hit the structure will stand for thousands and thousands of years, forever feeding and pacifying the hungry ghosts.

I will be forever grateful for being asked to create such an important and significant monument. My thanks go to all!

Tom Ralston

Located just next to the Santa Cruz harbor, this lovely home is the result of tedious and masterful decorative concrete work.

The Tom Ralston Concrete team was responsible for making this dream home a reality. Directly in the middle of the home there is a massive column with inset anchors that support a spiralling staircase. TRC molded and poured the 30 inch solid concrete column which spans all three stories of the home.

Marilyn Crenshaw, a.k.a The Green Architect designed the railing that caps off this functional and beautiful set of stairs. The railing is made of stainless steel, and is reminiscent of something you would find on a boat down in the harbor.

The different levels of the home have different blends of color hardeners - colors like oyster shell and golden sandstone. One level of the concrete floor was hit with an acid wash, followed by an antique amber acid stain - beautiful colors that exist naturally along this idyllic coastal California setting.

All in all, Tom Ralston Concrete is happy to share unique projects crafted from his years of experience in the decorative concrete industry. Check out his Master Q&A for expert advice and insight. 

Stay tuned for next month's featured project. Check out more of Tom Ralston's work here. Have any questions or comments? Feel free to contact us.
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Welcome to Volume 8 of the Master Q&A. In this installment Tom Ralston fills us in on how to create functional and beautiful concrete work integrated into any hillside. Structurally sound and pleasing to the eye, that is the definition of decorative concrete. Read on and do great work!

When is concrete the right choice for holding up a hillside?

TR: Any walls that are designed for retaining a hillside are adequate. There are block walls, segmented walls, rock walls, it becomes a matter of preference. If a hillside warrants it, an engineer needs to be involved and they will specify what size and type of wall is the best option. At the end of the day it really is up to the client, their budget, and what the hillside calls for.

What are some of your favorite solutions for functionally controlling erosion that results in a beautiful product?

TR: When we talk about erosion usually we're talking about the soil that is around a particular hillside.
A wall will help with erosion, but there is also bio-structural erosion control. It is essentially the use of vegetation and it is ecologically friendly.

My favorite choice is to use plants and vegetation because you can really see the beauty in the plants. It can be both the most functional and beautiful choice, especially using native or indigenous plants.

Do you have any stories of exceptionally difficult hillsides or slopes to troubleshoot?

TR: I've had entire hillsides cave into our form work and into our footings. One was at the Coast Guard Building in the Santa Cruz harbor. The other was the Boys and Girls club up in Pescadero. Both collapeses were caused by rainstorms that came through before we had the walls backfilled, so they were very vulnerable.

We had to dig out our forms and reconfigure the rebar all at our own expense.

How does lighting play a part in a finished decorative concrete hillside walkway or wall?

TR: Lighting can sometimes be downplayed or overlooked, that is a huge mistake. Lighting makes any hardscape on a hillside look exceptionally dramatic and beautiful. Hardscaped walls, stairs, patios, and even trees can exponentially enhance the hard and softscapes.

For someone looking to hold up a hillside with concrete, what are some important things to look for before getting started? Some best practices when assessing how to move forward?

TR: You have to have a design and then you can get some kind of a grasp on cost. That's where everything starts, how much is this going to cost. So, you need some conceptual plans. After that hire a soils engineer and civil engineer to make drainage plans and any other factors that need to be addressed prior to starting construction. Then the structural engineer comes and figures out the footing and wall size. Best practice is getting the right people involved so you know what you're up against.

Any other advice for balancing function and artistry?

TR: It just so happens that I published a book called, "Sculpting Hillsides With Decorative Concrete". There are many points made in there about balancing function and artistry. You need to establish function first, and then the footings and walls need to be specified so they can last beyond a lifetime.

It's all about the right blend of concepts. Carving into a barren hillside to produce walls, stairs, patios, and firepits can be one of the most beautiful hardscape creations there is.

-Alright folks, that's it for this month's Decorative Concrete Master Q&A, join us next time for more stories and knowledge from decorative concrete master Tom Ralston. We post these Master Q&A's on the first and Friday of each month.
Submit your own questions here, and to find more information check out Tom's books on decorative concrete. Also, we'd love it if you'd come over and say hello on one of our social sites. Follow us or like us for more expert decorative concrete knowledge on Houzz, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram.