Before even choosing the specific statues for your garden, it is important that you decide in advance the materials that the statues should be made of. There are a number of aspects that will have to be considered in determining what your garden statue should be made of. These include whether or not your statue will be exposed to salt, rainwater or otherwise, the geographical location of where the statue will be located just to mention but a few. This goes a long way to ensure the statue remains in good shape for long since you will be able to decide on material that will be able to withstand the prevailing conditions.
Concrete and marble
Concrete remains by far the most common material for statues and garden arches. Even though concrete statues are very heavy, they are among the most durable ones. Concrete statues are very stable and hardly topple over. However, this is not to say that they are without fault. One of the most widespread shortcoming of concrete statues is that they tend to crack when exposed to extreme weather conditions. This is due to the uneven expansion and contraction (as a result of hot and cold conditions) of the concrete materials.
This is a metamorphic rock obtained from limestone. It is a soft rock, which makes it easier to shape with a chisel. The older the marble, the more durable the statues it forms. Harder marble is ideal in making statues that are weather resistant, ideal for an outdoor space. The biggest shortcoming associated with marble is it might be expensive to get a specialist to determine the perfect stone for your garden statue, before getting some one carve out your desired object.
Wood and clay
Word carvings form some of the most appealing statues. Furthermore, the statues are normally very light. Most wood carved statues are made for indoor use. As such, wooden statues will have to be specially treated for them to be used in gardens since wood is prone to decompose.
This is among the most available statue materials. The desired objects can be molded from scratch using clay. Clay objects have the most detailed features hence ideal for statues that integrate depth in a garden. Moist clay can be cast into any shape or object and the only limitation here is one’s creativity. Watery clay can be used to smoothen surfaces on the clay statues. However, in order for clay statues to last long in the garden they have to be fired under high temperatures after they have dried. It is the same method used to harden earthen bricks.
Metal
Sculptures can also be made of metals or the respective metal alloys. For instance, statues made out steel are known to be very durable. Steel rivals concrete in stability of the stature produced. Alloys like bronze (made by melting tin and copper together) have been considered the perfect alloy for statues. One weakness of metal statues is that they are prone to rust. Even though alloy statues are slightly rust resistant, they can be painted to make sure the last longer in the garden space.
