A bit of organized chaos had enveloped one corner of the Nakusp Public Library. Books, instead of perching on their ledges as usual, had been herded into brown boxes that sat lumpily on the couch across from the windows facing out to the lake. Where the old bowing shelves turned off-white with age had once been now stood a band of natural wood lining the space, waiting for its finishing licks.
Mickey Wojnarowski’s new shelves are a labour of love, the first love after six years of liver illness and recovery.
“This is quite a momentous occasion for me,” Mickey acknowledged with a smile. The shelves mark more than one milestone for the woodworker, who had been limited by not having a shop with the capability of producing projects like this. At last, his dream shop is up and running thanks to the help of a close friend.
Once the shop was ready, Mickey had to get himself ready. Although he had been doing a lot of studying while he was sick by reading woodworking material – when not having to focus solely on his health – the big challenge was using tools again. After his prolonged illness, it had become an exhausting endeavour.
The “wood rainbows” – what Mickey calls the different-coloured stripes of wood that run sinuously through the shelves – were another challenge, something he had never done before. The wood worker also paid close attention to the top of the shelves, which are sure to get a lot of attention as they face south where the sun streams in and mixes with clouds to make eye-catching skyscapes around Saddle Mountain.
The shelves display several different kinds of local wood including yew and walnut. It’s all been milled locally, some at Laurie McCormack’s in Burton, and its quality can’t be found at retail lumber yards.
“You can’t go into a store and get it,” remarked Mickey, who said this was indeed a labour of love, not just a container for books. Library devotees George and Tyson joined in on the action, taking part in a sanding party, and a few special touches were added to the ends of the shelves. Written in pencil, wishes for peace and happiness and more are inscribed on the unseen parts of the boards. These well-wishes are something Mickey does as part of every one of his projects.
Now that he’s back in the swing of things, Mickey looks forward to working more with wood, although it will be at his own pace, he added. But his recovery from illness has only fuelled his enthusiasm.
“I would really like to do my own furniture,” he told the Arrow Lakes News. “One thing I learned from being sick is that there’s no time like the present, do it now.” He’s keen to develop his own designs and find his own style for everything from cutlery to beds to gazebos to musical instruments. Unlike other fields he’s worked in, Mickey sees infinite learning possibilities with woodworking.
Math and art makes woodworking, he said, and that combination can keep him going for a lifetime.