Salem grad creates art in concrete in Nashville

SALEM - Art in concrete.

It almost sounds like a contradiction in terms. Highways, autobahns, bridgeworks, tunnels, speedway walls, barriers and superstructures of all sorts, are called to mind.

But for Rick Lobdell, a 1992 Salem High School graduate who earned a masters of fine arts degree from Savannah College of Art and Design, concrete is a medium he is turning into an art form.

Rick Lobdell, a 1992 Salem High School graduate, has transformed his love of art into a high-demand business that uses concrete as its medium in central Tennessee. A 1996 Mount Union College graduate, Lobdell heads an internationally recognized company called Concrete Mystique with four employees and several subcontractors. Lobdell also creates his own artwork through paintings he sells. The dolphin pool, set onto a concrete floor, is where the concrete and art combine to present unique, highly-desired accents for high-end homes. (Contributed photo)

He works from a 6,400 square foot office and warehouse in Nashville, Tenn. He owns the company, called Concrete Mystique Engraving and considers himself part of a pretty elite group.

"I only know of five or 10 people in the world who treat it as an art form." Lobdell said.

"The average concrete guy has no idea of what I'm doing and I've never poured concrete."

Today, with two companies - he also owns a concrete furniture company called Gallery Mystique - Lobdell has four direct employees and four or five sub-contractors.

He moved on to Savannah after graduating from Mount Union College in 1996 to study at Savannah where he met his girlfriend who is now his wife, Natalie.

A molecular biologist, she headed toward Vanderbilt in Nashville.

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Salem grad creates art in concrete in Nashville