Metal Head

Art of Business

by Ann Braybrooks and photographs by Jennifer May, February 23, 2007

I just kind of have a knack for putting things together,” says Steve Morris, the owner of Steve Morris Designs on Route 9W in Port Ewen. The self-taught artist and draftsperson, who works mostly in metal but will create objects with other materials if a project grabs him, has designed and fabricated—and often installed—everything from sleek, contemporary-looking wall sconces and lighting to whimsical, organically inspired furniture, elaborate spiral staircases, and entire living spaces. For one client’s home, Morris created a modern-meets-Moroccan entertainment room and lounge complete with curved walls and doors, keyhole arches, and comfortable, built-in couches with illuminated crescent-shaped cutouts in their bases.

For the past dozen years, Morris has worked with homeowners, interior designers, architects, builders, and business owners in the Hudson Valley and New York City to produce architectural metalwork and functional sculpture. For a garden enthusiast in Tuxedo Park, Morris created a 25-foot facsimile of a white birch tree made out of stainless steel and carbon steel. Although the client had many real trees on his property and could afford to plant many more, he said he couldn't get another metal tree like the one Morris made. “He was very excited about it,” Morris recalls. “He really liked the way that we did the stainless-steel bark.”

For an artist’s home in Woodstock, Morris made four large bronze birds, three of which the client wanted mounted on the roof. The smallest bird measured 42 inches from head to tail; the largest, about six feet. “Each feather was cut out of sheet metal,” says Morris. “There were thousands and thousands of feathers. I welded feathers on for weeks.” According to Morris, the installation was “crazy.” The roof had to be pierced so the birds could be mounted to the ridge beam with big bolts, and each bird had to be separately grounded with a heavy copper line in case they attracted lightning.

Not every client has needed, or wanted, decorative trees or roosting birds. Functional projects have included signs, display cases, bars and barstools, deck and staircase railings, balconies, and gates (although one client commissioned Morris to create and install a metal gate between two metal trees—a fanciful “gate to nowhere” for her yard). To help him realize his designs, Morris employs three studio assistants. Carmel Holt, the artist’s romantic partner for the last 12 years, handles marketing, advertising, and graphic design, and she works with Morris on the creative direction of the studio. Morris designs everything himself, and he says that most of the sculpture, which comprises about half of his business, is commissioned by other artists who appreciate his aesthetic and craftsmanship.

Morris states that it has been hard, at times, to explain his business. “People ask, ‘What do you do, exactly?’ And I answer, ‘Well, although I couldn’t engineer your house, I could certainly design your house,'” he says. “I wouldn’t exactly call myself an interior designer, because we would make most of the furniture as well as design it. An interior designer would go to a home-design store and pick out the pieces for you and put together an ensemble for you.