Meet Sara Morton of Sara L Morton Art in Marietta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Morton.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started to focus on my artwork while completing my undergraduate degree at LaGrange College. At the time, I was immersed in many forms of art, as I wanted to hone my skills and decide on what I wanted to create. I began to focus the most on my photography in my later years at LaGrange. After receiving my BA 2014, I set out to get my MFA at The Savannah of College of Art and Design in Atlanta. My time at SCAD was all consuming, from the endless critiques to the countless art galleries visits. I became a stronger artist as the result. My work evolved and began to take shape as I finished my time at SCAD. I was surrounded by brilliant professors and peers that helped me realize the type of work I wanted to create. I exhibited my thesis show, In Fathomless Water, in Whitespec, the sister space of Whitespace Gallery. Since graduating SCAD in November 2017, I have been working as a full-time artist, creating and exhibiting my work across the southeast.

Has it been a smooth road?
It wasn’t always easy to decipher the type of work I wanted to create. I am passionate about so many forms of art, what I wasn’t sure in what direction I wanted to take my own practice. However, photography felt like a natural focus due to growing up with technology which made it easy for me to control what I wanted to make. But even in my photography, I wanted to manipulate my photos further. I experimented with painting on my photographs and toned them, anything I could do to involve my own “hand” in the process. When I started working on alternative process photography it combined everything I wanted to do and felt right. I was finally creating the work that I had been working up to my entire career.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Sara L Morton Art story. Tell us more about the business.
My artwork is currently focusing on cyanotypes, an alternative photography process. In my work I contact print a digital negative to a piece of paper that has been brushed with light sensitive chemicals. I experiment with the chemical application through a combination of painting and drawing. My multi-faceted process allows me to build the ethereal look that is central to my imagery. Creating cyanotypes allows me to easily combined different technologies and techniques where the possibilities are endless. It is refreshing to be working independently as an artist but I also love to collaborate. I work a lot alongside my father who frames all my work in beautiful hand-crafted frames. My father helps me bring my visions into reality. I also collaborate with my clients on commissions. Working with people closely inspires me and is something I am excited to continue to do in the future.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I already have seen a shift of photographers and artist move away from technology and revert to film and/or historical/traditional processes. We live in a world where everyone has a camera phone and is a self-proclaimed photographer, and I think because of that a lot of artists are wanting to create something other than digital photography. A lot of artist are going back to film and these processes that started it all. So many talented artists are doing things to combine these technologies and that blur the lines of digital and alternative-process’ artwork.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.saralmortonart.com
• Email: saralynnmorton@gmail.com
• Instagram: saralmorton.art

Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.