Greensburg Daily News, Greensburg, IN

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December 2, 2005

Go figure: Local sculptor has adorned area lawns for more than 15 years

Paul Glasser

For more than 15 years, Rick Snyder has manufactured and hand-painted concrete statues.

“There’s always something different,” he said.

Since September of 1990, Snyder has produced lawn ornaments, statues, fountains and benches in his store, Snyder’s Concrete Statues, located on State Road 46 in New Point.

He’s always been interested in art and his sister taught him how to draw. His wife also paints and Snyder decided to pursue his artistic interests after K&S; Bearing closed. Before he opened up his shop with his partner, Snyder had worked in the factory for many years and painted statues part-time.

“I really enjoyed doing it because I had a lot more freedom,” he said. “I liked being outdoors and doing physical work.”

For awhile, Snyder and his partner created their own pieces by making a mold and pouring concrete. But, the two partners went their separate ways and Snyder now sells pieces whole-sale and paints them for his customers.

“It’s very relaxing, but it takes a lot of patience,” Snyder said.

He experiments with lots of different color schemes and techniques. With the right tools and color mixtures, Snyder can make a concrete gargoyle look like it’s made of bronzed copper or weathered iron. It takes about three hours to paint a statue from start to finish and Snyder tries to set up an assembly line so he can work on several pieces simultaneously.

“Every time I paint I learn something new,” he said. “I mix and match, but I never know exactly what I’ll end up with.”

Each year, new designs and new pieces are introduced at conventions and in catalogues. Snyder has a wide range of fountains, benches and statues, including farm animals, religious icons, gargoyles and exotic beasts.

“It’s an interesting business because there are always so many changes,” he said.

Spring is the busy season for Snyder, because people start going outside again and want to improve their landscape. Fountains are popular, as are religious icons. Repeat customers come all the way from Ohio and Kentucky to buy his brightly-colored figures. Lots of people come in with special requests and they usually ask Snyder to make animal statue look like the family pet.

“I take a lot of pride in my work, and customers appreciate it,” he said. “I’m filled with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment when I look at my finished pieces.”

A few people buy statues as Christmas presents, but Snyder will quickly record a backlog of orders in March, when the weather warms up. Although it takes a lot of patience and hard work, he’s not planning on retiring any time soon.

“I’m going to keep painting as long as I can hold a brush,” Snyder said.

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