THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF DECORATIVE ARTS
The Canadian Society of Decorative Arts/ Cercle canadien des arts décoratifs was formed, with the generous support of the Macdonald Stewart Foundation, to provide a forum for all those interested in the decorative arts.
The Ontario Arts Council is an Agency of the Government of Ontario
Ross Morrow’s Interactive Works in Silver
On the following pages, Ornamentvm converses with Canadian silversmith Ross Morrow, whose work combines meticulous traditional techniques of metalsmithing with innovative and whimsical design. Classically trained in Ireland, he has won several awards, including “Best Hollowware” (2002) and “Best Design” (2000) from the Metal Arts Guild. Ross teaches silversmithing at George Brown College.
Ponticelli di Luce, 2005
29 x 32 cm, Silver and granite.
Photograph: Waddington's Studio W
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE SILVER AS YOUR MATERIAL / MEDIUM? WERE THERE SPECIFIC INFLUENCES AT THE BEGINNING? ARE THERE OTHER INFLUENCES NOW?
It took me a long time to choose silver as a medium. The idea of making things had intrigued me from a very young age. The first memory that had a profound effect on me was a visit to an art college open house in the fall of 1974. I felt a connection to the studio environment and it stuck with me. A few years after this my parents met the Scottish silversmith John Prince. To meet a working silversmith was intriguing; we were all fascinated by his work.
My education followed a fairly normal route, high school, a B.A. from Trent, then work with a major accounting firm. But still in the background was this desire to make things. Having an interest in silver I began collecting and being handy I started to fix up some of my purchases. I was encouraged by an antique dealer, Richard Holder, who became my first client in the repair business. Because I wanted more I read as much as I could and tried a night school course. In 1996 I found an ad in Metalsmith magazine for silversmithing workshops at The Old School House in Ballinaclash, County Wicklow in Ireland. It sounded like poetry and I was hooked. The only problem was I was married with three children under the age of five, a big mortgage and car payments. To travel to Ireland to take silversmithing courses seemed an impossibility. But my wife just picked up the phone and called Ireland. It was a call that changed my life. When I arrived and walked into that studio I felt I was home. I learned more in those first two weeks than I had on my own over six years. I went back five more times, the last time not as a student but to help my friend and mentor Brian with an important commission.
In the early years I was influenced by historical silverware. I wanted to know how these pieces were made. More recently I have been influenced by architecture as can been seen in the series of tea and coffee pots I made in the shape of Canadian lighthouses. As I grew in the understanding of silver as a medium my work has taken on a much freer and more unique form. I have also included other materials such as stone in my work.
COULD YOU DESCRIBE FOR US, AS AN EXAMPLE, THE PROCESS OF MAKING A SIMPLE OBJECT, FROM ITS CONCEPTION TO THE FINISHED PRODUCT?
The process of making a piece begins with an idea either of my own or from a client. Sometimes I see these ideas fully formed in my mind. Other times I begin to draw shapes on paper until something clicks. I don’t begin to work on a piece until I have finalized the design. Once I have the design I break the piece down into components, the body, lids, feet, spout, etc. I always start to work on the largest part of the finished object. I rarely make things that are the same so there are always some technical problems to work out. As a traditional silversmith most of my pieces begin with a flat sheet of sterling silver in the shape of a disk. The piece takes shape through a process called raising. The metal is compressed over forms called stakes. This work is done using a variety of hammers. I have approximately 200 hammers and they are all different. As the metal is worked it becomes hard and must be softened through a process called annealing. This is done by heating the piece to about a thousand degrees Fahrenheit. Slowly the form takes shape. The silver is a bluish gray at this point. It does not take on its lustrous sheen until the polishing stage. Most of my work has a bright mirror finish. This means that I spend hours planishing the piece to a very fine hammered finish. Then through a series of emery cloths and polishing on the polishing wheel, the silver’s natural beauty is revealed. This process can take days. Many silversmiths avoid this laborious and tiresome work by giving their pieces a matt or textured surface.
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