Meet Morgan Lugo of Morgan Lugo Sculpture in East Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan Lugo.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have always been busting at the seams with creativity and excitement for the arts. However, it took me a long time to actually figure out how to apply my creativity to a tangible form of art. I grew up completely immersed in playing sports, specifically ice hockey. I am sure that the last thing you would expect from a Puerto Rican/Sicilian girl from the south is to be an intense ice hockey goalie, but I was on the ice five days a week for twelve years. I was always on multiple teams and usually playing with all guys. Between sports and school, I barely had a chance to breathe, let alone explore my artistic side. I knew it was in there somewhere, but I truly had no idea what I was meant to create. When I graduated from high school I took my hockey scholarship and decided to go to art school. This seemed to be a huge change of gears for me, but I was so excited to make the leap of faith and try something I have never done before. After my first two years of college I was convinced I had made a terrible mistake, I was floundering in my intro drawing and 2D design classes, nothing seemed to click with me and I still felt like my cloud of creativity was completely untapped. Finally, I took intro to sculpture, followed by ceramics, and then eventually mold making. Everything starting making sense to me — once I got into metal casting it was like my soul had caught back on fire again. I had craved the adrenaline and camaraderie that sports gave me, and this couldn’t have been a more perfect outlet. Metal Sculpture is very much a team sport and something you can’t really do alone. While simultaneously sculpture is electrifying, exciting, dirty, tangible and (at times) dangerous— which for me is the perfect recipe. Once I saw my first 500 lb. ladle of molten iron flow, I was completely hooked.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
A SMOOTH ROAD!? Oh gosh, no. It feels like there has been nothing smooth about it. I work my butt off, it is really not easy to make it as a sculptor. Recently, I have been putting in anywhere from 60 to 80-hours a week between my full-time foundry job, my side hustle free-lance work, and my personal art. Sculpture is truly not for the faint of heart. That being said, I have never been one to back down from a challenge.

Some struggles I have faced range from personal health issues, to sexism, to monetary confinements. Early into my studies as a sculptor I got a serious concussion and had to hardship withdrawal from my studies. I couldn’t leave my bed for a month, couldn’t drive for 6 months, and I even forgot almost everything I had learned in my intro to foundry class. Eventually, I pushed through the long journey of healing and re-taught myself all of the skills I forgot. I truly feel that this was a defining moment for my personal perseverance. Sadly, another struggle that is near impossible to avoid when working in a male dominated industry is sexism. Over the years, I have had experiences all over the spectrum from good to bad, empowering to belittling, people getting so excited seeing a young woman in a metal shop and people who do not even want you to touch their work because they cannot even fathom the fact that you would be capable of doing it. It gets really hard sometimes to constantly feel like you have to prove yourself 3x more than all of the men you work with because you happen to be a woman with long flowing hair. I take these negative situations as a test to my patience and dedication my craft. At the end of the day we have to do what feeds our souls and not live within some people’s narrow stereotypes of what society should look like. Lastly, the monetary confinements that force me into a truly crazy work load. I choose to stick with jobs that will teach me things to better my craft instead of my bank account. I could easily get a job that had nothing to do with art but I believe its part of the struggle to becoming the best I can be. Everyday seems long and grueling but I can go to bed every night knowing I am better at sculpture than I was when I woke up that morning. As draining and crazy as it makes me feel sometimes, I take this as a test to my passion and am constantly working towards the long-term.

So in short, yes… it has been a bumpy road. I am sure it will continue to be a bumpy road— one full of pot holes, sharp turns, flat tires and steep cliffs. The only thing I know how to do is teach myself how to navigate around the damaging elements and how to fix my own problems to get to the destination I desire. Until then, I will take it one tank of gas at a time.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Morgan Lugo Sculpture – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am a sculptor coming out of Atlanta and I specialize in mold making, metal fabrication, and metal casting. My first contact with metal working was about 4 years ago now. Since I graduated GSU in May of 2015, I have become a nationally and internationally exhibited artist. I have also worked at art foundries in the US and Berlin. As well as worked as a fabrication welder for a multitude of different projects, done freelance mold making and clay modeling work. I have been officially employed as a full time metalworker/mold maker for about a year. I believe what sets me apart from other artists is having a unique skill set and style, my unwavering determination, and the ability to do it all while staying true my light-hearted and goofy personality.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I have a lot of plans for the future. Most immediately I will be traveling to Germany in the beginning of May for a show and molten iron performance during the “Night of Museums” in Gütersloh. This will be a truly exciting event for me, I will be working with two of my biggest artist influences; George Beasley and Susanne Rower. Later in May, I will be giving an artist talk at the University of Georgia sculpture department and will be showing at the Stephen Smith Fine Art Gallery in Fairfield, AL in a show called “In The Belly of the Beast”. This show is featuring some of the greatest contemporary metal casters and will be a truly remarkable spread of sculpture. Then I will be preparing all sorts of new work for Art San Diego in October, I can’t wait to get new work pumping out of my studio! I have a few other tricks up my sleeve that I can’t quite announce yet. Looking towards the future to my long-term plans for myself can seem a bit overwhelming at times because I have SO MANY goals. Including some very large scale outdoor sculptures, gallery representation, becoming fully funded by my own artwork, and eventually starting a non-profit. I am looking forward to the journey of following my passions and excited for where this is going to take me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.morganlugosculpture.com
• Email: morgan@morganlugosculpture.com
• Instagram: @morganlugosculpture

Image Credit:
Joslyn Eliott- Fort Wayne Museum of Art
Sarah Stover

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