Good morning, PHANTOM, and welcome to the forum. You're in for lots of fun. Some of us have taken the mesh/concrete workshop from Wouterina deRaad. She taught us to use the diamond lathe mesh - found at Lowes/Home Depot. The important thing about her method is the double layers. You make your sculpture, then you put a second layer over it all. This is "stitched" together w/19-guage wire - no need for welding. Just make sure your "stitches" are hidden as well as possible. Lineman pliers pull the stitches through your structure. Make a stitch about six inches long w/a hook at one end for pushing through, then back through and twisting a couple times and clip off as close to your structure as possible. I use 17-guage wire from the fencing section at Lowes - comes on a huge roll and is easy to use. Then she taught us to make the concrete mixture from three parts sand to one part Portland cement. Cement is what holds concrete together. She also taught us we can use the ready-to-use mortar mix. That's what I prefer. It's so much easier to work with, cuz the Portland comes in bags of 93 lbs. When your sculpture is complete, mix the mortar, and w/gloved hand push the mortar between the two layers and smooth it as best you can. This is what makes her sculptures so lightweight and portable. It's just a thin layer of concrete. If you look at my thread "Fountain Surround" - first part, you w/see my mesh structure. I used rebar to help the structure stand. Any more questions, please ask, and show us your WIPs. We love new members.

Thank you

Let us know when you begin, and send in some pictures! Welcome to the site. You'll find lots o' friends and help here.