Wood carver establishes new roots
Originally from southwest Pennsylvania, Dan Fischer was inspired to work with wood from his father.
“Dad was an exotic wood turner,” Fischer said. “He made mostly canes, candlesticks and bowls.”
“I started working with wood when I lived in the mountains of New Hampshire,” Fischer said. “I started with the idea of carving a black bear holding a mail box. Then when we moved back to Pennsylvania and knew we were moving to Florida, I thought a seahorse might be more suitable. That’s where the seahorse came from.”
The seahorse was carved in Pennsylvania and is carved out of three pieces of maple tree trunk.
“In the winter before the move, I started carving birdhouses, planters and pendants with tropical designs,” he said. “The designs were of sea turtles, geckos and the seahorses.”
When Fischer moved with his wife to Bokeelia last March, he brought the seahorse with him and made it into a mailbox stand.
“My neighbor admired the seahorse and asked if I would do something with his live oak tree that had split during a tropical storm,” Fischer said. “That’s when I saw the making of an eagle.”