Thousands head to NIC for art fair

Aaron Anstett plans to carve, cut and saw the way to his first car.

By turning discarded blocks of hickory, pine and maple into whimsical fish puzzles, he has discovered that art might just pay after all.

The 17-year-old from Coeur d’Alene is a budding craftsman who said he simply takes a piece of wood, shaves away the parts that don’t resemble a future fish, and voila! – six to 10 hours later he has in his hands a new wooden puzzle.

Buyers and browsers at Art on the Green marveled at some of the puzzles, which include trout and sperm whales, angel fish and sharks.

“This is just the sort of thing I like: something you can hold and use, not just something you look at,” said Kristy Reed Johnson, who bought two simple puzzles for twin grandsons to work on when they visit grandma’s house.

Anstett’s puzzles were a hit at North Idaho’s signature summer crafts fair. He tallied sales of more than three dozen by late Sunday afternoon.

Art on the Green drew an estimated 50,000 people to the North Idaho College campus for a weekend of music that ranged from classical to bluegrass, and food that included staples such as ice cream cones stacked a bit too high and German sausages overloaded with sauerkraut and mustard.

A few artists worried privately that sales were down. They said buyers were wary of the economy and their jobs.

For Anstett, the whole experience was rewarding.

“It’s a fun hobby,” he said. ” I hope I can sell enough to buy a car.”

He began carving pinewood derby-type cars years ago and discovered he had a knack with wood.

About two years ago, he set up shop in his father’s garage, where he spends hour after hour carving fish and then running a band saw through the carvings to make puzzle pieces.

The ends of a small-diameter dowel serve as the eyes of the fish puzzles and also as the key to the puzzles. Remove the dowel, and the carving can be disassembled and made ready for a puzzler.

He has picked up a few tricks along the way. His father, Dan Anstett, is a professional builder and hires Aaron to work on some of the detail-oriented jobs.

For more information, e-mail fishybusiness@icehouse.net