Out of more than 91 booths at the Southern Illinois Art and Craft Fair which took place at the SIUC Arena over the weekend displaying crafts such as SIUC apparel and ceramic Halloween decorations, many people flocked to an exhibit of model commodes.

John Werner, the creator of Outhouse Inspirations said it is not unusual for people to stop at his booth because his creations are so life like.

Outhouse Inspirations are miniature models of outhouses patterned after structures from the pioneer era.

Advertisement

The most interesting Outhouse Inspiration is the hollow log outhouse that was made out of an actual hollow log back in the 1900’s, Werner, who is also a carpenter, said. I get the reproductions from actual pictures of a book by Eric Sloane, who’s books deal with the pioneer days.

Werner said he has sold 750 Outhouse Inspirations in the last year-and-a -half.

People tend to like the outhouses because I can engrave their last name on them, and it makes it something unusual that can go specifically to them, Werner said.

He said he likes to use spalted wood which is wood that has been rotted and turned black to give the outhouses an authentic look.

Spalted wood is very beautiful, expensive and hard to find, but it makes the most pleasant results for my creations, Werner said.

Many of the people walking around the fair seemed the most interested in Werner’s booth.

Heather Tanner, an undeclared freshman said, I came to the craft fair because it seemed like a fun thing to do on Sunday. There is a lot of neat stuff here, like the Outhouse Inspirations. My mom would love these.

Advertisement*

Werner said he also makes miniatures of barns and covered bridges around the area, and his creations have been exhibited in many museums.

I do all the wood working and my wife Jennifer does all the painting and the hand details, Werner said.

The Southern Illinois Arts and Crafts Guild sponsored the fair. The guild has over ninety members and has helped with such events as the

Du Quoin Fair, Sharon Ricketts, Treasurer for the guild said.