I’m sitting here over the weekend with what little free time I have and I stumbled upon a Facebook post discussing metallic floor installations between other contractors.

Now I hate Facebook, it’s a necessary evil for me with the business and I’m sure there’s lots of good content on there, but it’s just not my thing getting involved in conversations there.

There’s a contractor whom posted a project that he had completed, I think it looked fantastic. Unsure of the exact process of course, I can see smooth transition of the main colour into the base colour creating a nice, blended two tone appearance.

This was one of his early attempts with metallic epoxy, and although he said he was happy with the appearance, he stated he was unhappy with having foreign objects lodge themselves in the final result beyond his control, along with a few small other imperfections. He also wasn’t sure whether he was confident providing this line of work to client who would be expecting perfection.

I stepped in at this stage. As I said before, I hate having conversations over Facebook, but a few things needed to be made clear about metallic epoxy, of which I’ll go into in detail during this post.

Credit: Mark Fautley

I haven’t asked permission to use this image Mark, if you wish it removed, I will do so immediately.

Metallic epoxy is artwork. Artwork that is hand crafted by a human being. Human being’s have flaws and faults, we are not perfect no matter how hard we strive to be. These faults come to the forefront through creation of anything that is not perfected with robotics….frig, even then things have little faults in them.

It is in those flaws and imperfections that true beauty is created.

Without being pretentious, I challenge you to look upon the Mona Lisa and tell me there isn’t at least a flaw or two within the brush strokes of that wonderful man Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece.

Don’t get me wrong, in no way am I comparing any of our work to anything near the masterpiece’s da Vinci created, it’s just a theory of thought of course.

When installing a custom metallic epoxy floor, we, as the installers (or more to the point artists), are creating something that we are seeing within ourselves and our mind’s eye of which we see matches and blends with the area / surroundings with which we have to work with.

Things like a little a fly that fell into our 100sqm fully customised floor we just installed, or a few small air bubbles caused by the chemical reaction of the products we’re working with, these things only create more beauty to the masterpiece.

They tell the onlookers that this was created by human hands, with love and passion and the installer has given his or her all to express their feelings and emotions into something so special, that you will never see two of the same floors anywhere in the world.

For me, this was my latest creation, at my own home for example.

https://walkerconcreting.com.au/2019/03/01/passion-in-depth/

Is it the most perfect work I’ve ever done? Absolutely not.

Is it the perfect colouring matching each tone of the inspiration I acquired to complete this floor? Not even close.

Is there a little bit of foreign matter in the finish and a few spots where blistered occurred and things could have been done better? Hell yes there, I’m HUMAN!

But I put my heart and soul into re-creating a feeling that I gained through light and dark contrasting, yet blending seamlessly at the same time, which gave me strength and helped me feel positive in this unforgiving world we live in.

For me, I’ve done a relative amount of travelling. When I travel, I try to intricately delve into the foreign culture and experience the heart and soul of where I am. Am I the most experience traveller out there? Heck no, I haven’t touched a finger print on this earth really yet.

But one place I’ve been to which completely captured my heart forever. Japan. the country itself was absolutely amazing, but it was the people, the culture and the frame of mind (with everything they do), that really drew me in.

One celebrated train of thought, which is evident throughout travels in Japan if you look close enough, is

“Wabi-sabi – The Celebration of Imperfection”

The actual train of thought may not be 100% in line with creating a flamboyant metallic epoxy installation, but the thought process that not everything needs to be 100% perfect, is inspiring to me.

If you’re after a metallic epoxy installation, through me or another fine artist applying their minds eye to your project area, accept the fact that you will find imperfections if you get down close and look hard enough.

Hell, some might be blatantly obvious.

But if you can stand back, admire the blending of the colouring, the workmanship that has gone into your project, and hopefully find a feeling that coincides with your installer, then you’re job is a one of a kind and an amazing piece of artwork that should be cherished.

I’m sitting here this afternoon tired. I’m literally on my 17th day straight at work. The rain we’ve had, followed by an excessive work load, has left me with little energy for free time and a zombie like outlook on the world trying desperately to figure out whether I should rest my weary body, or feed my creative freedom (of whom my wife calls a “little smeagol”) with something lavish in my garage (of which I’ve used as a canvas for hundreds of epoxy creations testing what I can create).

I thought a few beers might help me rest. Now I like those big frigging half litre Asahi beers straight out of Japan. You know, the full strength fuckers that knock you on your ass after two when finished a hard day in the sun.

So here I am, 4 fulls in, staring up at the sky and pondering the days to come…..

We’ve had a cyclone come through up north in the last few days. This has left us with more rain of course, but it’s been scattered, only coming in waves every now and then. Then I look a little closer. I see it. More to the point I feel it. The contrast of storms and madness blended into a back drop of bright blue skies and twinkling sunshine, almost like mother nature was talking to me directly.

I’m inspired. I have energy pulsing through my veins that I really fucking shouldn’t have. I’m exhausted. I should be passed out on the couch like the old man I am dreading the alarm going off at whatever ungodly hour to wake me for more torment tomorrow.

But no. It’s time. To finish my own garage……3 years late.

You see, I’m fresh off a custom Epoxy Project down at Robina (see pic above). My Confidence is high. I’m a confidence driven person.

I’m so freaking keen with the direction I’m heading in at the moment that being tired and weary will not stand in the way of my back flipping fucking brain coming up with rediculous ideas of creation with my chosen profession.

Oh my god. I’m inspired. I’m actually completely devoted to something for the first time in my life.

Not just for a pay cheque, fuck the money. I’m not a money person. I need inspiration and a sense of achievement and I get it directly from colour pigment on my hands and a slide on spiked boot.

What I’m working with here is the basic colours that I can get to match my house design. I’ve got a brick home and have completed the driveway with Almond colouring (which needs re-doing because I keep spilling bloody colour pigments on it grrrrr). But what I’m inspired by is the depth in the first photo I put up in this blog.

I need depth in my life. I was thinking originally about a semi marble like design, moving away from black and using a Brass instead. But…that’s not going to suit my house. My house / property is a homely property. It’s not heavily contrasted, relying more on natural appearances and tones.

Also the image that caught my eye earlier. The contrasted depth of tones in the afternoon sky with the storms around. Somewhat calling to me to re-create in colour tones that suit my house.

So I’m going to work depth through my creation with a white base and platinum white, old brass and carbon dust naturally blended together to re-create that afternoon delight for my eyes.

Now, every creation with metallic epoxy is a once off creation. No two designs are the same anywhere in the world. Frigg, even if I try to get it exactly the same, I feel like I stuffed up and failed….then I see what the new design is I created and immediately feel a sense of achievement having toppled the old winner of “best design in Ben’s head” award that appears to be excessively easily given out.

So here it is. The colours may not be the same as that lovely afternoon experience I witnessed yesterday, but the creation of depth between light and dark contrasts and how they flow for the overall design at least re-create a feeling that I saw that one afternoon at the end of February, full of beer and optimism for the year ahead .

Thanks for reading.