As you drive toward Tom Morin’s studio in rural New Mexico, you are surrounded by a panorama of the ever present sun reflecting on subtly colored mesas, high desert beauty, and views of a vast horizon. During Morin’s fourteen years as a New Mexico resident, these scenes and the rich and varied cultures of New Mexico have continuously fed his artistic vision.  

Tom arrived in New Mexico with a rich history of his own in the arts. In 1960 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study art foundry casting in Florence, Italy. Upon his return, he began the first of what would become a long and illustrious academic teaching career. His first appointment was at the Rhode Island School of Design. While teaching sculpture at RISD, Tom’s iron cast sculpture “The Rub” was selected to be exhibited in the 1964 Whitney Biennial. For nine of the eighteen years Tom was at RISD, he was Head of the Department of Sculpture, Ceramics and Glass. He was responsible for designing and building a state of the art foundry and   procuring a donation of the third largest collection of rare woods in the country for the students majoring in furniture design. Morin was the first faculty member to be elected to the Board of Trustees. Besides his heavy academic schedule, Morin exhibited widely at museums and in galleries. In 1979 Tom became the Chairman of the Department of Art and Design at the University of Akron in Ohio and then in 1983 was appointed Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. At that time, his discovery of an unorthodox sculpture material became his medium of choice for the next 27 years. The potential of used sanding belts and discs with their remarkable colors from the resin of exotic woods imbedded in the abrasive was realized in a number of series of works. The seeds of this love began when he was acquiring the collection of rare woods for RISD in the early 70’s and blossomed when observing the discarded sanding belts and discs while at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Morin says ”I looked at the colors and patterns created by the embedment of exotic woods and said, what can I do with this? The rest is history. Every abrasive belt I get is different with regard to the source.” Today he gets belts from National Geographic, Spanish Pueblo Doors, Nambe Foundry, Norton Abrasives, and most recently a knife maker.  

“I am particularly pleased with the color pallet that reflects the high desert. When I started using this material 27 years ago the images were quite different”. Of his work practice Morin says” I paint with my eye. I cut the material apart to fit the idea. The colors and patterns are critical to my work but the content transcends the material.” This can be seen in “TRIBAL RUG SERIES #15”, which echoes the shapes and earthy tones of many southwestern weavings and natural dyes that have been used here for many generations. The viewer feels as if this piece is an ancient weaving that has come alive on a new wall. One can feel the hands of the maker and perimeters set by the loom.