Bayview man has art displayed in PF Library

Bayview’s Bob Fletcher always has had a hand in the arts, and he won’t let a little thing like a useless left arm keep him away.

These days, he’s a costume designer and tailor.

That follows other accomplishments and gigs that have included winning an eighth-grade poster contest in his New Jersey grade school; leading a rock ‘n’ roll group in high school; making a 1953 appearance on Broadway in “Carousel” with Henry Gibson of “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” fame; working as promotion manager for MCA Records, for whom he publicized such talents as Elton John, the Who and Conway Twitty; and building puppets and costumes for high school and college team mascots.

His art now is an eclectic array of fancyworks that include Sioux Indian headdresses, hats modeled after those worn by Egyptian pharaohs, face masks made of leather and the robes, helmets, armor and swords worn by Japanese samurai warriors from the 1300s to the 1700s. His art also includes acrylic paintings and wall murals.

Fletcher, 65, says his left arm is useless. With no ball to fit into its socket, it is held together only by skin and muscle. That was caused, he claims, by a Veterans Affairs surgeon who allegedly botched a shoulder implant operation 10 years ago.

Fletcher was a Coast Guard seaman on the cutter Winona out of Port Angeles, Wash., from 1963 to 1965. That qualified him for VA medical care and also whetted his desire to live in the Northwest.

Emigrants from Los Angeles seven years ago, he and his wife, Nancy, are living on his Social Security benefits and her earnings as a home-health aide.

Two years ago, Fletcher says, he broke his right arm and had to have his left knee replaced because of a fall he took on his icy deck.

But his left shoulder, which he originally broke during a seizure, is the motivator for his current hobbies.

“Now I can’t go out at all during the winter because if I slip on the ice and fall on the shoulder, they’ll have to amputate my arm,” he said. “So I stay inside and make things.”

The Fletchers live in a tiny home, moved many years ago from the World War II Farragut Naval Training Center site on Lake Pend Oreille. And not surprisingly, it’s chockablock with Fletcher’s art.

But there’s another venue where the curious can view some products of his fascination with Japanese warriors and their accouterments. It’s the Post Falls Library, with a display that is scheduled to be up until at least May 15. Then, he says, it may move to the Japanese Cultural Center in Spokane.

At the library, you’ll find leather armor, helmets, samurai swords, robes and sashes meticulously copied from the originals. To ensure the accuracy of his renderings, Fletcher researches his subjects in the library and on the Internet.

“I got interested in the Japanese warrior culture several years ago when I looked into buying a samurai sword and learned that originals cost from $5,000 to $10, 000,” he said. “Their leather armor suits go for $25,000, and their helmets can run up to $5,000.

“At those prices, I decided to make my own.”

Fletcher’s interest in the tactile arts began with the Sioux headdresses. Each includes about 300 feathers, which, he said, are treated to look like those from eagles.

Eventually, Fletcher said, he’d like to open a museum. For now, he isn’t actively pursuing sales, but he’ll consider offers. He asks people interested to contact him via e-mail at nanfletcher2003@yahoo.com.