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Rural Route Mercantile

by Karl Unnasch

Guild-of-One Workbench: Karl Unnasch




From November 1 of 2021 to March 31 of 2023, I asked local folks if they had any odds ’n’ ends that they wanted to donate to the studio. They were informed that they could send them in the mail or they could drop them off. From that point I played around with those items and turned them into other things… art-based things… useful things… curious things… beautiful things… interesting things…

The point was to recontextualize them… to take their original meaning/value/story and build upon that to somehow keep enough of what the item had that was important, showcase it, then make it special to memorialize it while at the same time adding a bit of flair, dazzle, or curious wonder.

Here are a few examples: 



Before   . . .   and After

Amalgam Vessel - before and after
Bubble Shark - before and after
Frozen Paint Brush - before and after
Rain Barrel Light Fixture - before and after
Candy Dish Candle Leer - before and after
Wish-In-A-Box - before and after
Cyber Ent - before and after
Blinky Modern Wizard Staff - before and after
Gamma Mutant Boss and Minions - before and after
Leg Amputee Insert Post-Apoc Tools - before and after
Mudlark Brush Handle Zen Drawing Tool - before and after
Brass Sheep Poop Casting Handle - before and after

* This activity is made possible through a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund.