MARYLAND MOMENTS | A Baltimore sculptor's lasting impact on our city

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Driving around the city, you see them every day: landmarks that paint the Baltimore skyline, backdrops to our busy lives. But look again.

You may not have noticed some windows on the front of City Hall that are about a century younger than the rest. The carvings on the grounds of Johns Hopkins University -- reflect our own Chesapeake Bay. And tucked away inside a South Baltimore studio, one artist holds the tools that helped create them.

“Drive around Washington D.C. -- or Baltimore here – and like, I carved that chunk of City Hall or whatever and that’s kind of neat because it’s still there and will probably be there,” said artist, Sebastian Martorana.

Between the sparks, the smoke, and the dust – from a young age, Martorana found his passion in stone.

MARYLAND MOMENTS | Reimagining senior prom; School hosts day of dancing for senior citizens

“It resonates on a primal level. I'm just still a little kid that likes to beat rocks together,” Martorana said.

Moving from the D.C. area to Baltimore to receive his MFA at the Maryland Institute College of Art’s Rinehart School of Sculpture, now, for more than two decades, Martorana has focused on the art of carving.

It’s a craft that takes precision – and in some cases, there is no room for mistakes.

“The fact that it’s stone, it’s both tough and fragile,” Martorana said. “There’s no 'control Z' if something hits the floor, it’s done.”

But when done correctly, his messages can live on.

MARYLAND MOMENTS | Baltimore Arabbers keep traditions alive while providing mental health services

“He’s working with something that literally took millions of years to create. In a tradition that dates back more than thousands of years," said Brian Miller, Owner of Catalyst Contemporary.

Miller has been showcasing Martorana’s work in the Catalyst Contemporary Gallery in Baltimore, and as far away as Miami for the last two years.

“It takes a tremendous amount of patience and foresight to move through that stone process,” said Miller. “You can see that in every piece that he makes.”

Miller said one example of Martorana’s ability to marry skill and concept could be seen in his 2019 piece, ‘Seven Words.’

Etched into an old printer’s block, Martorana carved seven words that could not be used in certain federal documents at the time.

“Here’s a piece of history that was used to make prints -- and he's implanting it with these words that are now memorialized,” said Miller. “That concept-matching technique, to me, was perfect. It was absolutely perfect.”

From one piece to another, it’s inside the historic Hilgartner Natural Stone Company in South Baltimore; Martorana chisels them into shape.

"Baltimore is like the best city on the east coast for artists, it really is. You can't find this kind of space in D.C. or New York and still make work and not have to be so constantly worried about, you know, the financial side of what you're doing,” Martorana said.

Beyond the affordability in Baltimore, Martorana said there was also accessibility – so he is not just creating locally.

His work spans the east coast. From carvings inside the National Basilica in Baltimore and St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, to the Grand Seal at the Federal Reserve in Washington DC., -- and in between. We see a shining product -- he sees the grind it took to get there.

“The Grand Seal is part of this unbelievable marble interior inside of this building behind these massive glass doors. But I remember it right, right here with me -- sitting in a pile of dust -- you know, carving details in the eagle toes,” Martorana said.

So next time you are driving around Baltimore City – look up. Because his work will outlive us.

“Work that again, will, you know, survive fire and flood,” said Martorana. “What’s it going to look like in 500 years from now – what’s it going to look like 1,000 years from now when it’s being pulled out of the silt in the bottom of the ocean?"

Our story is being preserved through a medium with memory.

“What does it mean? Can it be deciphered? And what can we make a mark of now.”