How to Make an Owl Statue

Making your own creative garden statue can be an easy and fun project to take on. In this video, a sleeping owl on a tree stump is sculpted out of mortar using an old bucket and a chunk of old styrofoam as the base. With a few other cheap and easy-to-find materials, this whimsical piece comes together pretty quickly and easily. This may not be an entry level project, but it is not very advanced either, and would be easy enough for an intrepid DIYer.

Starting with an old five gallon bucket, randomly covered in expandable foam, will be the tree stump base of the garden statue and an old piece of styrofoam will be roughly shaped into an owl and set on top of the tree stump base. The piece will be wrapped with steel mesh lath to form an armature which gives the mortar mix a vertical surface to cling to as well as adding strength to the statue.

Using a roughly 2:1 mix design of sand and white portland cement will allow for easy placement, fine sculpted details, and a strong finished product. An concrete acrylic fortifier will replace 10% of the water content of the mix to add overall strength as well as to assist in water resistance. The mortar mix is sculpted onto the base form using a 12" square trowel, a margin trowel, and a point trowel.

After a couple days of curing, the statue is scraped and sanded to remove bits that would break off, rough spots and hard trowel lines. The residual dust is rinsed off to prepare a clean surface for painting. With an airbrush, a compressor, and some very watered-down acrylic paints, multiple layers of yellow and browns are applied to the statue. Painter's tape is strategically used for accents, highlights and coloring.

Follow along to make your own owl or other creative statue using the techniques seen in this video tutorial. See the completed project at the end and find out what decorative plan is in store for this sleeping owl perched on a tree stump statue!

00:00 – Introduction – How to Make an Owl Statue
01:03 – Project Overview – What is Being Made and How
02:58 – Materials to form Base / Core of Statue
04:37 – Forming the Base / Core
10:43 – Wrapping Base with Steel Mesh Armature
19:08 – Mortar Mix Recipe for Sculpting
22:05 – Making the Mortar Mix
23:40 – Applying the Mortar to the Formed Base
27:02 – Make Sure Steel is Fully Covered When Placing Mortar
27:45 – Applying Mortar to the Formed Perched Owl
32:32 – Smoothing Mortar, Adding Features to Owl
35:51 – Adding Wood Texture to the Tree Stump
37:24 – Brushing Out Harsh Trowel Lines
38:09 – Continuing to Sculpt Fine Details
47:43 – Finished Sculpted Design
48:15 – Scraping and Sanding to Prepare for Painting
51:18 – Rinse Dust Off After Scraping and Sanding
51:40 – Painting Techniques Being Used for This Owl Statue
54:40 – The Painting Process – Multiple Layers Airbrushed Onto Owl and Stump
1:03:41 – Found a Paint Clog in the Airbrush
1:04:10 – Continuing to Airbrush the Owl and Tree Stump
1:09:41 – Hand Painting the Owl's Beak
1:10:48 – Fully Painted Owl Perched on a Tree Stump Statue
1:11:49 – Using a Concrete Sealer
1:12:45 – Conclusion – How to Make an Owl Statue

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