THE DIRTY BUSINESS OF MAKING ART

Artist Tom Runnels sat on the front porch of his log cabin on Cat Ranch drinking coffee and talking about his life and his work.

Runnels' dog, Shadrach, was a popular subject for his columns. Shadrach died recently and his collar now hangs on Runnels' front porch.

There's nothing glamorous about it. The end result of his metal sculptures is a sight to behold, but getting there is a heap of hard work and sweat that Tom Runnels could just as soon do without.

"I like when it is finished," Runnels said. "I am always proud of it. But it is a lot of sweat, fear and worry and everything you don't like."

The Marble Hill artist does not make a big deal about his livelihood as an artist.

"I get just as much enjoyment making that fence as I do working on my sculptures," he said.

Runnels, though, has sold sculptures all over the country. Some are commissioned. Others he makes and sells as is.

He does all types of sculpture -- anything from Greek gods to the wild west have been fashioned in his Marble Hill shop, located at the renowned Cat Ranch. Eagles also seem to be a popular theme among customers.

"I could sell eagles from now until doomsday," Runnels said. "But I didn't want to be known as the Bollinger bird boy."

But he has made an impression on Bollinger County history. One of his paintings has been reproduced on the back inside cover of the book, 'Bollinger County 1851-1976,' which was a bicentennial history of the county.

Runnels also used to give tours of his Cat Ranch for school children and other community members. After he had some heart problems, he could not handle the crowds, so he decided to help out the community in other ways.

He paints signs and does other little things to make the place a better community for the residents.

"I don't think people know what he does," said Shirley Cooper, a music instructor in Marble Hill. "A lot of the things he does, he just does quietly without people knowing that it is him."

Cooper went to grade school with Runnels in Marble Hill.

"I sat across from him and graded his spelling papers," Cooper said.

Even then, Runnels was a budding artist.

"Every little drop of his spelling papers had a drawing," Cooper said. "He drew in between words. He didn't like spelling that much."

Runnels left Marble Hill and joined the Air Force during the Korean War. He was metallurgist during the war and that is where he learned to weld. He went to an art school in Japan while he was in the forces and later attended the Kansas City Art Institute. But he quit his senior year.

"I'm a dropout and tickled to death," Runnels said. "Had I finished, I would have got a teacher's job. It would not have been enough to make a living, but it would have been enough to scare me off from anything else."

He packed his bags and came home to Marble Hill. He bounced around for a bit painting signs for a few weeks at a time in communities all across the Southeast Missouri area."

"I made good money," Runnels said. But he said he spent it as soon as he got it.

Now he does work on his sculptures and whatever project might come up on his property for him to do.

He doesn't make a drawing of his sculptures, just works until he thinks it is done. There is no waiting for inspiration before he starts work on his art projects.

"Hunger pains can inspire the hell out of you," he said.

In his spare time, he writes a column he sells to newspapers.

"Mostly, I write about drinking and bars," Runnels said. "You know -- things I like to do. People seem to like it."

One of the regular features of his column was his dog Shadrach, who died a few weeks ago.

"People would come from Arizona to visit," Runnels said. "They'd say, 'we didn't come to see you, we came to see Shadrach.'"

Runnels said his column is a lighthearted look at life that comes from a philosophy of enjoying life and not worrying about what tomorrow brings.

"People get so tired of reading about who killed who," Runnels said. "That is why people like it. It is always light."