Specialty Items
Solar powered lanterns signify longevity, good fortune, and prosperity. Two plaques honouring the fourth Chinese community in Santa Cruz. The dragon is a symbol of power, strength, and good fortune in chinese culture paying homage to the tenacity, endurance and ingenuity of those who survived in Santa Cruz despite persistent anti-Chinese racism and hostilities.
This project is still a work in progress. Please enjoy the progress images here. We'll update them when we have more.
Check out a couple of News articles about this incredible Monument to the Santa Cruz Chinese Community.
Mockups
Pouring and Detailing the Monument
Lanterns and Dragon
Plaques
Chinese Characters
Progress
Rather than using arrows that seemed unattractive and industrial I thought we could use dolphins that would point traffic in the correct direction of the flow of traffic. There are also traffic islands around the roundabout centerpiece that would be set in a nautical genre using an antique amber color with black barnacles and green seaweed.
Aesthetically the dolphins had beach glass, seashells, aquarium sand and each had a custom hand ground abalone eye. Each dolphin was acid stained in a particular way that gave them a very variegated and organic look.
The dolphins were made in 3-sizes: 8’; 6’; and 4’. The 8’ dolphins weighed almost 1000 LBS and had to be trucked in from our yard where they were constructed and then craned in starting at dark so that traffic would be less of an issue. We made break away forms so that when we lifted the dolphins only the two pieces of plywood remained for the straps that surrounded them for hoisting. All of the dolphins were placed on strategically placed pillars that were sloped toward the street. These pillars allowed the concrete to flow around and under each dolphin for additional strength and support. We poured a proprietary mix around the dolphins as well and then moved on to building and creating the 12-splinter islands around the roundabout.
Each island had multi-colored acid staining and used starfish, shells and small pebbles. Acid staining in veins on most of these surfaces that had steep grades made them like vertical concrete. Meandering through the mounds were rocks; four different varieties of large flat rock were turned on their sides and used to wind up and down throughout the mounds. They look like rock outcroppings on a windswept cliff but they twisted around in somewhat of a serpentine way.
Concrete has provided an art piece with function; this project can also serve to lift the soul and psyche of many of the harried individuals in traffic at the Beach Boardwalk.
Ralston borrowed 13-different large stones from Granite Rock to make molds at The Bronze Works from the various rock outcroppings which will be laden with shark teeth, sea glass, shells and aquarium sand and finally acid stained with blends of different colors.
The Cowells Garden Project was well received and a Ribbon Cutting with left to right Sean Monaghan of the Bronze Works, Bill Goff of Tom Ralston Concrete, Santa Cruz Mayor Hilary Bryant, Tom Ralston and Designer Karen Toole featured in the picture below. View more images in the Cowell's Garden Blog Post by Tom Ralston.