Making magic out of metal
Todd Unangst shows off one of his “mlower” creations. Say hello to Todd in person this weekend at the Labor Day Arts Festival at Sam’s Woodsite. (Photos: Kirkner)
Todd Unangst celebrates Mlower Power
Unangst: A German word that means “to be without fear or anxiety,”which is exactly how Todd Unangst approaches his artwork. His website touts him as an artist who can make the impossible possible, and the spritely grin you encounter upon first meeting him makes you take that statement seriously. Seeing his artwork, which reminds you of Wonderland, where Alice, standing only an inch tall, met the singing flowers and the Caterpillar, you get that the sky really is the limit in the world of Unangst.
A commercial artist for a little less than two years now, Unangst has been creating art since his high school days in Brookfield, Conn. He decided to take his hobby to the next level in December 2008, and sold his first piece to Mammoth local Sabrina Nioche.
“I started out making things when the hill or town was too busy,” said the avid skier and mountain biker. “I made yard flowers for my wife and then her friends began asking for some.” Eventually, art connoisseurs were lining up for Unangst’s work as well.
The metal before the magic
Unangst’s main mediums are recycled metal, wood and stone. His most recognizable pieces are his metal flowers, or “mlowers” as dubbed by his website, www.AddisonMetalArt.com. The whimsical blossoms really took hold of him during one of his most defining moments as an artist.
“My mom gave me an orchid for Christmas,” Unangst said. “It was sitting on a counter in my house and when I went into the room and turned on the light, it hit the orchid and put shadows of it all over the wall.” This array of light immediately inspired him to start working on flower pieces.
Since then, the theme has continued to grow. “I think the flowers come [to me] because our summers here [in Mammoth] are so short,” he explained. “The ones I make can be left out in the snow all winter long.” He has become so skilled at these whimsical flower designs that the look of the bud he wants to create will sporadically pop into his head these days, allowing him to set aside the pictures of flowers in books he previously relied on. He uses the pieces on coat racks, candle holders and much more.
Unangst cuts all of his art freehand with plasma torches. He does not use anything of, by or relating to a computer, preferring to keep everything, including his process, old school. Today, in addition to his flowers, his collection has developed into other pieces that represent nature. Most recently he has started working on coat racks in the shape of trees, but the Unangst collection also boasts birdbaths made from rocks, as well as furniture.
Bats are some of Unangst's best sellers
Unangst created almost all of the furniture in his own home, which has a very natural yet contemporary feel. Don’t be surprised to see metal animals from ducks, to lobsters, to bats peeking out at you with anthropomorphic qualities just like John Tenniel’s Wonderland drawings, anywhere you find Unangst’s work. These animal pieces are so endearing that often, when he sits down to work, Unangst warms up with one of these creations.
“I’m always laughing the entire time I am making them,” he said, which gets his creative juices flowing to move on to other designs.
Unangst’s pieces can take anywhere from one to 120 hours depending on what the customer wants. The more he has to grind the metal to make it smooth, the longer the process. He finds his metal everywhere, including Brown’s Salvage Yard in Bishop, and oftentimes his friends will bring him pieces they have found hoping he can create something. He has worked with everything from old chairlift cables to plough parts and ball mills, and welds each type of metal at a different temperature for the optimum outcome. You could say he is the epitome of the adage, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
This weekend’s 41st Labor Day Arts Festival marks the one year anniversary of Unangst’s leap into the festival circuit; last year’s festival was his first real show. Since then he has taken part in all of the local holiday arts festivals. He’s also made the trip to Bishop for an art show there.
“You never know what you’re going to get at each show,” he explained. “But the Labor Day Arts Festival has been going on for so long that it has a following. People come just for the show, so it’s exhausting. Last year there was a constant flow of people coming through.”
Not that he’s complaining, it’s just that “at other shows you may be busy for a while, but then have a break,” he said.
The shows are not necessarily about selling a lot of product, according to Unangst, but more about taking orders and building relationships with other artists. Since beginning to attend the local art shows in the Eastern Sierra, Unangst has connected with other artists and frequently works with them on combine pieces. Wood artist Bob Drake commissions him often to work on items such as tables. Drake designs the table tops and Unangst supplies the intricately-designed metal legs that serve as their supports.
It’s been quite the journey for Unangst who came to California with no intention of living in the mountains.
“I moved here for the palm trees and the beaches, but that only lasted about a year,” he said with a smirk. He arrived in Mammoth in the winter of 1982-83 to experience one ski season, and like so many others before and after him, ended up staying.
“Sometimes you might get down on the place [Mammoth], but really, where else are you going to go?” he said, referring to all that Mammoth has to offer.
Flower and birdbath outside of Mammoth Liquor
You can find examples of Unangst’s work all over the town of Mammoth, including outside of Mammoth Liquor, all over Red Lily Floral Design, and in the redesigned railings at 1849. His work is for sale on a regular basis at the Mono Council for the Arts gallery in the Luxury Outlet Mall, and you can meet him in person at this weekend’s Labor Day Festival of the Arts (Sept. 4-6 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at Sam’s Woodsite). He’ll be the one with the magical grin. and the metal flowers.
