Transforming interiors with stucco and cement

Mar 25, 2010

One of Carol's cement counter tops.

Cement and stucco are usually materials used in construction but in the hands of Sharbot Lake mixed media artist Carol Pepper they are a means of creating functional and decorative surfaces in the home that are colourful and truly unique.

To date Carol has transformed the interiors of both her and her daughter Christina Wotherspoon's homes through a number of projects using cement and stucco. On Jan. 27 at Oso Hall in Sharbot Lake Carol shared her know how with other interested artists at the Land o’Lakes Artisan Guild's most recent regular monthly meeting.

Carol was introduced to these techniques years ago through a Quebec couple, Helene Simard and Michel Ouellette who were creating with cement and stucco in a home north of Sharbot Lake, where Carol and her husband were also working as contractors. 

Carol recalled, “The work they were doing was magical and I asked them to teach me how.” So she traveled to Quebec and spent 10 days with the couple who taught her the techniques.

Carol took that knowledge and soon after began transforming her own home, a unique one-of-a-kind earth-sheltered structure that her husband Carl designed and built in 1980. Carol explained, “ One particular facet of my interest in the materials lay in the fact that in my own home I had so many unfinished surfaces that needed work.”She used cement for the high traffic areas and work surfaces like her kitchen counters, window wells and for parts of her indoor pond. For decorative surfaces like the mural in her bedroom, decorative trim and the kitchen cabinets she used stucco.By incorporating coloured pigments into both materials and by adding texture and patterns with the aid of three-dimensional stamps the possibilities are limitless. As Carol explained, “You can get any kind of look you want.” 

To demonstrate, Carol brought to the workshop various wooden panels that she treated in a number of different ways. Some looked like old Italian fresco work, others like old antique plaster or faded textured wallpaper from days gone by.

Participants took turns imprinting a fresh layer of stucco that Carol prepared with different stamps she made from clay. Afterwards she demonstrated how various finishes can dramatically alter the colour and transform the patterns into a wide variety of colourful and pleasing surfaces. 

This is not work for the faint of heart, however, and Carol stressed that those unfamiliar with the materials should be wary of the inherent challenges they pose. “You definitely have a specified time frame in which to work since you have to be very wary of drying times. Generally, it’s best to work in stages and to do small sections at a time.”

She advised careful research of the materials before setting out. "You definitely have to be committed to the outcome because once you begin there is no going back and whatever you put down will be there forever.”

Carol sees the endless possibilities these materials hold and plans to explore the fine art applications they offer. “I’ve expanded from using the materials solely for functional purposes alone and am considering the potential of creating fresco-like pieces and other stand alone art pieces.”