Duluth Artist Embraces Disability With Creativity

Tony Adams was in a sereve motorcycle accident, leaving him in a coma for three months

DULUTH, Minn. – Most of Tony Adams’ life has been spent working with his hands.

“I could work on any car motorcycle aircraft. I was a really good mechanic,” Adams said.

On his way home from work one day, Adams was riding his motorcycle when he was struck by car who ran a stop sign. “After my accident I forgot everything I learned,” Adams said. “I was in a coma for three months, hospital for about a year. It took me two years to learn how to walk again.”

This life changing event left him with a traumatic brain injury and with no immediate family to help him recover, Adams saw his life fading in front of him. “I learned from the wrong people,” Adams said. “My mental judgment was very bad. I just chose the wrong people to follow.”

Unable to walk much from his accident, Adams knew he had to focus his mind on something else. “I had to use a walking stick to walk, so I started making walking sticks for myself to walk.”

Using his skills as a mechanic and memories of building houses with his dad as a child, Adams found a new passion working with wood. “I like to repurpose, reuse old stuff that people would normally throw away.”

Before his accident, Adams had never made anything artistic, but when his neighbor challenged him to build a musical instrument a whole new door of creativity opened in his mind.

“It made my life better, much better,” said Adams. “I am able to express myself the way I want to; more abilities to be more creative.”

Using any piece of scrap wood he can get his hands on, Adams now spends most days here in his basement, hand–crafting an assortment of stringed instruments

“People are going to throw [pieces of wood] away and I say let me have that, then I reuse it,” Adams said.

Using things like cigar boxes and tin lunch cans, Adams creates his own musical instruments like guitars banjos. The artist says he can make an instrument out of anything he can find.

“Certain parts of making them has to be exact, you can’t improvise on that,” Adams says. “I just do what I can to make it my own style, my own taste.”

A modest perfectionist, Adams says his stuff isn’t what you’ll find at most music shops.

“That’s why I think my disability is a little bit of a benefit, because I’m not able to make it exact like they do, but I love doing it the way I do it.”

Adams’ work has caught the attention of Eric Faust, owner of the Duluth Coffee Company, who now has his work on display at the walls of his business.

“He’s a true craftsman,” said Faust. “He’s the reflection of what we think craftsmanship is all about. We love Tony and we’re proud to have his artwork here. It’s been fantastic.”

Faust even bought a banjo from Adams, which he plays from time to time. “It’s super unique, the instruments are beautiful. They work like real instruments.”

The definition of original art, from the mind of a man who found his own creative way to express himself.

“I can’t believe they actually want my stuff up here, it makes me feel very proud,” said Adams.

Adams received a grant through the Arrowhead Regional Art Council for $3,000, which helped him buy some new tools.

His instruments are currently for sale at the Duluth Coffee Company . You can also find his work on Facebook here.