Karl Unnasch

---

My childhood memories were formed through a rugged farm upbringing punctuated with fanciful escapism. Everyone pitched in. Thanks were given. Labor was expected and innovation came from need. This labor of necessity reinforced the direct contact we had to the land, the farm, the buildings, the livestock, the weather. Each other. Out of this daily engagement, solution-based subsistence stories and memories were forged… Some were pleasant, but not all. The bounty of a full freezer came from butchering the livestock you helped raise. The safety of a home meant managing injuries while repairing a roof or replacing support beams for a barn. Long, hot days yielded cool, peaceful nights. 

As a child I built whimsical worlds joyfully made of sticks, sod and cardboard to escape the harsher realities of the farm. Now the symbolic implements and structures of my lived rural experiences is where I begin new stories. These artifacts carry the dents, scars, rust and repairs from their own toils, beckoning me to build fanciful stories of their exploits in response. The incorporation of stained glass adds relevance and reverence as a traditional illustrative tool that never masks its narrative function. This historical, crafted approach to a complex narrative echoes the straightforward panels of the comic books that provided wondrous tales in my youth.  I joyfully seek to enchant the rugged. This is vital. Stories must be grounded to affect – but then they can stretch and soar.