Please join the Seabrook Island Artist Guild for a reception to meet Rod
and view his creative art on Tuesday, June 4 from 4:30 pm-6:00 pm at
The Lake House. He will unveil his new artwork created especially for the
Artist of the Month Reception.
Rod Morris is a Fine Craft artist blending woodworking and metal creating unique and beautiful 3-D art. He was born in Redding, California and throughout his childhood moved often precipitated by his father’s career with the US Bureau of Mines. Rod graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1972 with a degree in elementary education and taught in public schools for three years. Having a strong Christian faith and putting his faith into action, Rod and his family moved to Dallas where he accepted a fourth-grade teaching position with a small Christian school. Rod would build small wooden trophies for the students who achieved certain academic goals.
The birth of his daughter inspired him to build her a doll house and as Rod states “every conceivable toy imaginable”. To supplement his teacher’s salary, he and Elaine began participating in craft fairs around the Dallas area. He also attended the University of North Texas receiving a Master’s degree in school administration and 1981 began his career as the elementary principle of Trinty Christian Academy. Until his retirement in 2015 he continued in that role. After researching the best places to retire in the US, the couple moved to Seabrook Island in 2022.
Rod’s art forms changed after he and Elaine visited New Concepts Galley in Santa Fe. He was immediately taken with the art and sculpture of Richard Swenson. His use of scrap metal transformed into sculpture captivated Rod. Once retired he was ready to start a new artistic chapter. He pondered how to integrate metal and wood, so to accomplish this, he reached out to an old friend who rebuilt automobile engines. Rod was allowed to take the metal pieces that were destined to be sold as scrap. With the process of uniting and integrating metal and wood, his new form of 3-D art was born.
Rod’s work has been featured in the Alumni and Faculty Art Show sponsored by Trinty Christian Academy and his work was selected into the juried Piccolo Spoleto art shows in 2023 and 2024 where it will be displayed in the City Gallery of Charleston.
More information about the Seabrook Island Artist Guild can be found by clicking here.
-Submitted by Bonnie Younginer, Seabrook Island Artist Guild
(Image credit: Rod Morris)