In a small workshop shingled in silver like a fish
Morgan Hammer works. He spends his hours in the
converted garage behind his home on the South side of
Seattle pounding, bending, beating, heating and shaping
metal. The process begins with a notebook full of
sketches. Then the shapes are transferred to card board
and cut out then assembled into models, intimations in
three dimensions of the finished piece. These models
are disassembled and used as templates, traced onto
sheets of bronze.
Noise is the next element added to the mix as the
bronze is cut, ground and hammered, coaxing the models
shape and volume from the metal. Preliminary
connections are made and the piece’s shape and
stability are tested, judged and finalized. The final
welds are made and the process turns from metallurgy to
beautification. The piece is ground and sanded,
polished and patina’d until Morgan’s idea sits solid,
real and empirical on the work table in his garage in
south Seattle