An active one.

“It’s an old Republic Steel Plant that closed down, but it’s got wonderful buildings,” she says.  “Now it’s an operable quarry for road-grade material.”

For an artist, that can lead to some interesting moments. 

“When they blast, some of the stone comes over here,” she says.  “Usually, it crumbles the side of the quarry wall, but sometimes it throws off huge boulders that weigh three- to five-thousand pounds.”

Not many people take much interest in the rocks, but she does.  She’s begun to collect the ones pierced by holes, creating a series of sculptures called “Charms” out of them.  The limestone blocks wrapped in aluminum are now a hot commodity. 

Most of her work, though, is in different kinds of metal, including Corten steel and quarter-inch aluminum.  The challenge lies in how to introduce light to the material.  “The metal is just not very forgiving, with a flat surface to work on, and no light can come through,” she says.  “There’s always a fabrication, with laser cutting or water jet cutting that allows me to cut patterns onto an armature.”

It’s an industrial process of creation, but she believes she’s introducing a feminine influence to a masculine material.  “It creates an interesting balance,” she says.  “It’s hard to move a 5,000-pound rock, and dangle those charms.”

Her work could be read as a metaphor for the de-industrialization of the nation, and as an artistic commentary as well.

“The steel mill shut down and we had to innovate,” she says.  “As an artist I’m always trying to say something about the things we’re attached to and bound to, responsibly and irresponsibly.”

And she’s succeeding.

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Alabama artist Deedee Morrison created the 8-by-12 work of art with inspiration from organic forms, particularly the drawings of Ernst Haeckel, a contemporary of Charles Darwin who was also an artist, biologist, naturalist, philosopher, physician and professor who discovered, described, named and illustrated thousands of new species.

"I try to find things that I can mimic in nature and recreate as art," Morrison said.

An 18-foot solar tower next to the sculpture can store enough energy to light each of the six panels for 14 continuous hours. On a clear, sunny day, three days' worth of sunshine can be captured and stored to power the piece on cloudy days, according to Morrison.

The color scheme of the sculpture when in full "evening bloom" is meant to mirror the vibrant yellow hues of the sun, Morrison said. An after-dark walk around the art reveals reflections of each of the three alternating designs on the curved metal surfaces. 

Creating large-scale works of art out of "masculine" materials such as aluminum, steel and limestone is Morrison's specialty.

"Steel is considered a flat, one-dimensional medium. It is not considered particularly organic because it is not flexible," Morrison said.

Adding nature-inspired designs balances that out.

"The designs in the metal give it a really feminine, delicate component, juxtaposed against the really heavy, very masculine material," she said.

Morrison said the sculpture is also a really beautiful demonstration of the power of the sun and the power of sustainable energy.

Having her work placed in Renaissance Park next to 1.5 acres of wetlands is the perfect place to create opportunities with the public.

"This is really a good setting for the conversation I am trying to create. Hopefully, it will give someone a perspective on why we are here, the origins of life," she said.

Public Art Chattanooga's director, Peggy Townsend, said although Morrison's work was a challenging and complicated installation—being the first solar-powered piece of art in Chattanooga—it also has the potential to be a well-loved piece by the public.

"The park is a beautiful, passive, contemplative place. Her work also lends itself to that. The park is also a sustainable wetlands, so it made a great fit," Townsend said.

"Solar sculptures in the right environment are extremely effective ways to demonstrate how solar energy works and can become an icon of sustainability for a city. The sculpture will be a wonderful addition to Renaissance Park," Morrison said.

“Seed Pod” will be on exhibit for 18 months as part of Public Art Chattanooga's 2012 Biennial Sculpture Exhibition.

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Born in New Orleans, Deedee made her way to Birmingham, where she now resides and works in a very unique studio located in the center of Wade Sand and Gravel (which is on the grounds of the original Republic Steel Company; home to one of the largest coke smelting plants in Alabama).

“I am continually inspired by the surroundings here, to create large pieces suitable for harsh environments. Much of my work is motivated by the angle of working with both symbolic and representational aspects,” she says. 

Deedee attended college in Sewanee, Tn., “That was my connection to Chattanooga.”  She has traveled far since, working as an economist in London. Deedee decided to take an art class. “I knew I always wanted to be a sculptor. Though I graduated with a developmental economics degree; I wanted to weld. I went back to technical school and was the only female in a class of 19 guys learning to weld.”

When Deedee picked up her first welding gun it was an instant match. “I have always been fascinated by steel. It is heavy, flat and a difficult material to maneuver and its physical constraints does not allow light to be incorporated.” Deedee adds, “Steel is not usually considered feminine and this is what I love about what I do. I use very heavy masculine material and I am able to create sculptures, which to me are very feminine. The light that is incorporated into the sculptures creates a fluid, natural and organic looking material - not traditional.

“I also use, in addition to steel and aluminum, the rock that comes out of the quarry. When you blast in a quarry they use dynamite in a shaft-hole and sometimes the dynamite doesn’t blow the rock all the way apart. I will harvest them and bring them up to the studio, and put muriatic acid on them. It brings out the colors and I build a sculpture around that rock.”

One of the creations stemming from this idea is her charm series in which she welds steel and chains into a rock. These pieces also light up.

Deedee’s interest in the creations is about contrast - contrast that don’t necessarily contradict but they complement each other.

As she explains on her website; “The process is equally important. Though I am a sculptor, I spend much of my time with graphite and paper—drawing as many images necessary to appropriately plan my actions for a 3D project and after settling on the right design by achieving a sense of completion with a drawing.”

A CAD designer transmutes her drawing to a format which is sent to a laser service for precision cutting of the numerous pieces of steel or aluminum needed. Deedee then welds the pieces together over an armature for stability and support. Clear Lexan material is then riveted to the structure under the patterned cutouts and spray painted from the inside to achieve a variety of radiant colors. And interior light is powered by an LED or solar device and is placed in the interior space of the sculpture and the piece is complete.

“The final artwork is only half of the journey,” Deedee insists. In order to install the piece for Chattanooga, she had to rent a truck and get permits. It was considered a wide-load. “It is another round of complications to go through- you have no idea what goes on behind it. It’s a labor of love,” the artist reveals.

“Seed-pod”, which was installed in Chattanooga this week, is a solar-powered creation, “This particular sculpture is based on a seedpod design and the lunar panel had been built to form the shape of a seedpod and the seedpod has drawings that are based on botanical scenes. The solar power collects the energy during the day and then releases it to the seedpod at night. The seedpod actually lights up.”

Deedee has installed several of her sculptures all over the United States, such as Stevens Point Wis., Canton Mich., Clearwater, Fla., and Washington to name a few.

What motivates her?

The first piece she ever created was called, “Undone”.  She had taken a 14-foot piece of pipe and cut it open with a plasma cutter and cut a zipper. “It came at a time in my life when I was literally coming undone. I had just gone through a divorce and it just represented everything that I felt.”

A smaller version of that piece actually ended up being in a show.  Deedee recounts having a woman come up to her while she was painting it. “When the woman asked me what it was called, I told her ‘Undone’ and the woman nearly started dancing with joy. That’s when I really felt the power of the expression of art.”

Deedee has grown as an artist and as a woman who is in touch with not only her feminine side but also the power that lies within, which is her passion to combine the two contrasts with her solar projects.

In what the artist creates, it is more than a hunk of steel; it is indeed communication. One can view her work, see the emotion and take away with them a message that was uniquely conveyed.

She says, “Seed-pod is my favorite piece that I have ever done. I am a big believer of art having something to say and Seed-pod is mimicking nature; the sun and the seed-pod work together creating life. This sculpture gathering the power of the sun is also very educational and teaches us sustainability. That’s the direction I want to go in.” She maintains, “Every time that I create a new project I learn more about the materials that I work with.”

Deedee works as a professional studio and a public artist. Visit her website atwww.deedeemorrisonsculpture.com  and view Seed-pod at Chattanooga’s Renaissance Park, 100 Manufacturer’s Road.

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City of Fairhope workers installed of a sculpture titled "A Matter of Fiction" by Deedee Morrison of Birmingham on Friday Feb. 17, 2012 in front of the Fairhope Public Library on Fairhope Ave.

Morrison's work is not new to Baldwin County. Her work "Luminosity" is outside the Daphne Public Library, and "Lighthouse" is located on the grounds of the Orange Beach Art Center.

According to Morrison's website, she has been working as a professional studio and public artist for over ten years. "Her experience includes a broad spectrum of commissioned work and public art planning and development," it says.

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The artwork is titled “A Matter of Fiction” and will be installed in front of Fairhope Public Library.

“It’s one of my favorite pieces and a wonderful way to express the importance of a library and the sense of community,” Morrison says by long distance from her studio in Birmingham.

The piece weights about 5,000 pounds and will be illuminated by a dozen LED lights.

Morrison says “A Matter of Fiction” was constructed using 10 sheets of three-quarter-inch industrial-grade steel.

“The metal is gracefully bent to resemble the open pages of a book, with the jacket intricately laser-engraved to emulate the scroll patterns of a Renaissance manuscript,” she explains. “The cover panels are a light-box that will illuminate the sculpture from within and cast a warm glow on the interior pages of the book at night.”

Morrison says her sister, Anne Dixon Morrison, who lives in Fairhope, approached library director Tamara Dean to consider making the piece an addition to the library property.

“I had designed it with a library in mind,” Deedee Morrison says, “and when my sister showed the work to the director in Fairhope, it was a great fit.”

Morrison says funding for the work is by an anonymous corporate donor. The City of Fairhope prepared the concrete pedestal for the sculpture.

“We are delighted to install Deedee Morrison’s piece on the front lawn of the library,” Dean says in a news release. “The sculpture represents the open pages of a book. It is a great complement to the purpose and the history of the Fairhope Public Library and a great tribute to the culture of our community.”

“A Matter of Fiction,” inspired by illuminated manuscripts, is a visual metaphor for the many journeys of enlightenment a reader can take with a book, according to Morrison.

“The written word is the light of inspiration that allows the reader to travel the across the universe,” she says. “This sculpture is based on a wonderful literary tradition that has been carried down from the Middle Ages and Renaissance — that books are meant to preserve information and knowledge in a community.”

Deedee Morrison, a professional artist for the past decade, grew up in New Orleans and her family moved to Alabama while she was in junior high school. She attended the University of the South in Tennessee, lived in London for a time and took art classes there.

She returned to the United States, settled in Birmingham and began creating metal sculpture She now works in stone and metal, and she specializes in large public works of aluminum, steel, limestone, Lucite and solar-powered light. Her works have been exhibited and installed in permanent displays nationwide, from Clearwater, Fla., to Chattanooga, Oklahoma City and the San Juan Islands.

Working out of her studio in a turn-of-the century steel foundry and limestone quarry, she draws inspiration by the juxtaposition of the industrial with the natural environment.

“One of the reasons I love (metal sculpture) is that it’s interesting,” she says. “I love laser-engraving technology, which allows me to push the limitations of the medium, which is not airy or light. It is very heavy and static, and it doesn’t lend itself to much fluidity.

“The technology allows me to create what I think are very feminine components to a very masculine material. . . . I create a sense of lightness and fluidity into the medium.”

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The sun-catcher is a 15-foot tall figure, which is made of recycled aluminum and yellow Lucite panels. The structure situates in the middle of a street so that it has better sunlight exposure and it can provide light in nearby areas. Solar panels are integrated into the top of the yellow sculpture. The sculpture adds to the splendor and sustainability of the street.

The Sculpture360 art program was conducted by Clearwater’s Public Art and Design Program in association with the Downtown Development Board. Many enthusiasts visited Clearwater to enjoy the solar energy harvesting sculpture. Of course, the edifice is a better example for the world’s energetic efforts to set up a new culture of solar power and sustainable energy.

The idea behind sun-catcher is quite illuminating, indeed. Other cities and townships can also build similar structures with solar panels to produce light in dark. Besides bringing light for the street, the sun-catcher sculpture adds to the grandeur of the city. It can educate people about the importance of sustainable energy when the world is moving to big energy crisis.

Without any formal art schooling, she developed her own process of making an architectural drawing and having it translated through a computer-assisted design program so that the metal parts can be precision cut by laser. She then uses her welding experience to bend and fit the pieces together into hollow three-dimensional spaces that are welded to an interior armature for support. Patterned cutouts in the metal are riveted with painted lucite and illuminated from the inside by an LED or, as Morrison soon hopes to do exclusively, solar panels-- by which she in turn hopes to incorporate these solar panel designs into the flow of everyday life.

She seeks to incorporate into her work contrasts found in nature, from the bulky rock and metal to the airy weightlessness of light. In the combination of light trapped inside of heavy metal, the light is given weight, and the bulky metal structure attains a sense of weightlessness. Morrison developed these concepts of unbalanced contrasts working in harmony, in part, during her childhood in New Orleans, watching the way bulky and unwieldy barges could glide so smoothly and effortlessly in water. Today, her industrial setting carved out of nature inspires her work with similar contrasts and harmonies.

She is especially grateful to the Wades for providing affordable studio space because, as she puts it, the barrier to entry in public art sculpture is “prohibitively expensive.” Robin and Carolyn Wade have supported a number of artists form all over the world over the years as artists in residence at Wade Sand and Gravel. According to Robin Wade, “industry and art should work together.”

In fact, Morrison uses material found on the property in her art. She does not use all the old scrap metal from the former steel and iron plant, because she does conceptual design, not found art. But she does use rock left over from the blasting process of creating, well, sand and gravel. Cores are drilled into the rock to place charges, and sometimes large pieces of rock with these cylindrical cores survive the blast. Morrison incorporates these rock anchors into much of her work, fashioning steel and aluminum chains connecting her stylized metal sculptures to the shafts cut out of the rock remnants. Part of the idea is to think of “what we are bound to,” evoking everything from childhood memories to our most important commitments. For Morrison, the stone cores impart a primordial backdrop of materials that have existed for millions of years.

Morrison is enjoying success partly because some cities from Boise to Norfolk, but not Birmingham, are starting to budget art into their public spaces. Most of her work is pub licly bid and commissioned. She has done ten major public art installations in the last year, as near as Orange Beach and Daphne and as far away as Key West and San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington state. She believes in incorporating her art in the space and landscape design, considering all elements of the environment her work inhabits. She is currently working on installations for the Oklahoma City Library, the Fairhope Public Library, and downtown Shreveport.

Not surprisingly, for a designer, welder, and grant-getter, part of Morrison’s enjoyment of art is the process, as she takes her imag ined images and converts them to finished projects, in an artist’s journey through the interplay of human intelligence, technology, and nature.

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ORANGE BEACH — The ribbon cutting for Deedee Morrison’s “Lighthouse,” a 17-foot-high steel and Plexiglas sculpture, will take place at 3:30 p.m. Monday at Orange Beach Arts Center.

The event is open to the public and the community is encouraged to come meet the artist and see her work.

Morrison arranged the installation of “Lighthouse” to coincide with the center’s After School Arts Program.

The public art sculpture was made possible by a donation to Friends of the Arts Inc., the support organization for the Orange Beach Arts Center.

“With ‘Lighthouse’ I seek to rethink the shape of the recognizable creating a contemporary motif from traditional lighthouse and lantern designs,” Morrison says in a news release.

“Lighthouse” is constructed with four elements: a 17-foot Corten steel pipe; 32 laser-cut Corten steel panels; Plexiglas; and electricity.

“This piece is both representational and symbolic, based on the continuous interplay of nature, humanity and technology and the effect each plays on the other,” the artist says.

The piece brings art into the daily lives of the community and is set to become the landmark for the Orange Beach Arts Center. The sculpture took its cues from a traditional “lighthouse” that is a beacon for safety to passing ships.

The material used to fabricate the sculpture is industrial-grade steel which, with age, acquires a natural patina of the colors of the earth, natural warm browns and golden tones, developing an appeal of depth and permanence.

The sculpture has an interior light, a welcoming beacon, that casts a warm glow at night for all who see it.

“We are thrilled to have the ‘Lighthouse’ for the City of Orange Beach and for all of our art enthusiasts at the Orange Beach Arts Center,” says Wanda Price, coordinator for OBAC. “The Center’s landscape overlooking Wolf Bay provides the perfect backdrop to reveal the structure’s complexity and scale.”

Morrison was born in New Orleans and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn. . After several years in London, Morrison studied welding at Bessemer State College and began to work as a sculptor.

Over the years she has expanded her spatial scope and currently focuses on large-scale art including site-specific works created for architectural, urban or landscape settings.

DAPHNE, Alabama -- Artist Deedee Morrison recently dressed up the grounds of the Daphne Public Library with an illuminating outdoor sculpture. The prolific Birmingham-based sculptor last month installed "Luminosity," a 12-foot by 7-foot by 7-foot, painted steel and Plexiglas outdoor lantern-shaped sculpture featuring laser-cut medallions that radiate an emerald light.

"The medallions are the jewels of the lantern’s setting which, with all of its facets, evokes the internal universe and limitless journeys available to each reader in books," Morrison said. "It is a perfect metaphor for the profound possibilities of every book within the walls of a library."

The New Orleans native said the lighting of the medallion from within represents the illumination readers experience when they behold and understand the written word in books.

"The library board and I feel very honored that we were chosen for the donation of the sculpture," said Daphne Library Director Tonja Young. "All the city employees that I’ve talked to feel it is really beautiful, especially after dark when it triggers the lights and glows a green glow. We are just enjoying it. A lot of the kids like Harry Potter and I’ve heard some of them say the sculpture looks cool and fantasy-like."

Morrison also is putting the finishing touches on "Lighthouse," a 14-foot by 4-foot by 4-foot sculpture set for installation on the grounds of the Orange Beach Arts Center by mid-January. Purchased through the Friends of the Arts Center, Lighthouse will be a beacon for Orange Beach, a city that represents the cultural development of southern Alabama, Morrison said. The 14-foot Lighthouse sculpture consists of four elements: a Corten steel pipe, 32 laser-cut Corten steel panels, Plexiglas and electricity. When combined, the elements demonstrate the power of invention and humanity, Morrison said.

"Steel is a structural element that is easily overlooked for some of its more graceful qualities," she said. "The steel panels are laser cut and re-fabricated to make a sculpture with an interior light."

The Daphne and Orange Beach sculptures cost $100,000 each and both were funded through private donations, Morrison said.

Every sculpture created by Morrison is designed for strength as well as beauty. Made from industrial-grade steel, her sculptures are built to withstand inclement weather and real-world conditions. Morrison has worked as a professional studio and public artist for more than a decade. Her experience includes a broad spectrum of commissioned work and public art planning and development. Her sculptures can be found throughout the United States in cities such as New Orleans, Charlottesville, Va., Washington, D.C., Key West and Birmingham.

"I understand the big picture and the importance of client and public involvement and the critical effect it has on the planning process and the project deliverable and outcome," Morrison said.

She describes her work as symbolic — based on the continuous interplay of nature, humanity and technology — and the effect each plays on the other.

Ironically, she didn’t start out studying art. Instead, Morrison was trained in developmental economics at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., studying in Spain during her junior year before enrolling in a welding program at Bessemer State Technical College in 1999 and earning her certification two years later.

"My focus after school was not only on methods of structural economic change, but also on improving the potential for the mass of population," she said.

Morrison, whose Birmingham studio is situated in the outskirts of a rock quarry, said she views her art and mediums as metaphors for life, humanity and change.

"I seek in my work to represent this constant change of not only metal and stone, but also the change of people, nature and indeed life itself," she said. "I have sought to use water and illumination themes to reflect the human need for security and safe harbor in the storm of life. But at the same time, that which is tethered in security retains the potential to be set free: in nature, in life and in the immutable world of the spiritual."

Morrison’s sculptures are larger than life and they attempt to evoke more than visual enjoyment.

"Art has value because it affords potential to provoke emotion, soulful thought, glimpses of beauty and realization of those things larger than ourselves," she said. "Interaction with sculpture is a tactile experience that allows one the potential to explore intellectually and emotionally, to engage, to enjoy."