New sculpture by Brad Morton on display at the Valley Hotel in Homewood

It’s a good year for local art lovers. At the new Valley Hotel in Homewood you can view Birmingham’s local sculptor Brad Morton’s new piece, titles “Tree of Dreams.” We got the inside scoop about this installation, so read more to learn what this art means.

About Brad Morton

You might recognize Brad Morton for his sculpture work that you can find scattered throughout the city. Iconic Birmingham pieces like the Loblolly Fountain in the Botanical Gardens and Sister’s Vigil at St. Vincents are some of his public works.

Today, he owns an art studio midtown where he creates his gorgeous metal sculptures. Sometimes you can catch a glimpse of his current work in the studio’s courtyard.

“Tree of Dreams”

When you walk past the entrace on the north side of the Valley Hotel, you can capture the essence of the “Tree of Dreams.” Morton wanted this artwork to be a depiction of all of our dreams and aspirations.

So, each ring represents a leaf that symbolizes our dreams in life. The most special dreams are represented by the irregually spread lights.

What does the tree symbolize to you?

On the production

The hotel commissioned Morton back in January to add a permanent piece to their collection. Although the piece was originally meant to be displayed indoors, it became so big that they had to place it on an outer wall! In fact, this piece scales at 14 feet and it’s branches 16 feet out—WOW.

If you look closely, you’ll notice little lights randomly placed on the leaves. Through the use of fiberoptic—or flexible tiny lights—the leaves shine like little dreams.

After six months of creating clay models and casting bronze from the clay, the artwork was ready to be displayed. You can now view it any time you pass by Valley Hotel and even when sitting on the patio at the new Edgar’s.

FUN FACT: It took Morton and the hotel staff 2 days to install the “Tree of Dreams”!

Have you seen this artwork? Share your pics by tagging us @BhamNow.